Analysis of the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls"

In the 30s of the 19th century, N.V. Gogol dreams of a great epic work dedicated to Russia, and therefore joyfully perceives Pushkin's "hint" - the story of "dead souls".

In October 1841, Gogol comes from abroad to Russia with the first volume of the great poem. On the first impression, "Dead Souls" is more of a novel. The system of characters, outlined in sufficient detail, is the first sign of the novel. But Leo Tolstoy said: “Take Gogol's Dead Souls. What is this? Not a novel, not a short story. Something completely original." This is not a novel in the traditional form, not a great epic in the Homeric style (there are no major historical events), but still an epic, in the sense of the exceptional breadth of the depiction of morals and types: “although from one side”, but “all of Rus'”.

The plot and composition were guessed by Pushkin, who, according to Gogol, “found that the plot of Dead Souls is good ... in that it gives complete freedom to travel all over Russia with the hero and bring out a wide variety of characters.”

The main plot motif of the poem sounds anecdotal: the purchase of dead souls. But the incredible is firmly connected with the real: the reader most often does not even think that buying dead souls is impossible. Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov personifies something new, frightening his interlocutors with his unusualness, but not at all impossible from their point of view. Chichikov's project is not so fantastic from the point of view of landlord psychology. Serfdom patriarchal savagery is fertile ground for the projector "negotion" of Pavel Ivanovich, the newly-minted Russian bourgeois.

Gogol constantly discovers features in the gallery of landowners that unite them with the main character. It would seem that what is in common between the businesslike Chichikov and the parody-idle Manilov? "Manilovshchina" is an independent theme in "Dead Souls". The image of a person "... so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan" W is a classic image of social parasitism and spinelessness.

However, the author finds a psychological "bridge" between the inner worlds of Chichikov and Manilov. The point is not only in their identical "pleasantness" of treatment. Passion for projecting - that's what they have in common. Empty passive daydreaming converges with daydreaming, as if based on a business project. Manilov is an indifferent landowner. The estate, the farm and all the peasants are placed under the control of the clerk, whose main passion is feather beds and down jackets. And Manilov knows nothing about the poor peasants, and how many of them died is also "completely unknown."

Nozdrev is a reckless nature, a player, a reveler. For Nozdrev, any sale and purchase had no moral barriers, like all his life actions. Therefore, Chichikov's idea cannot surprise him - it is close to his adventurous nature. It is not surprising that Chichikov least of all doubts the success of business negotiations with Nozdryov.

The unity of the reconstruction of the world of characters is not destroyed by the image of Plyushkin either. The greatest artistic type, Plyushkin is the personification of hoarding and spiritual decay. The reader can trace how an intelligent and non-idle person turned into a "hole in humanity." A truly dead soul, Plyushkin spreads death around him: the disintegration of the economy, the slow death of hungry peasants downtrodden by the “patched” master, living in buildings where there is “special dilapidation”, where the roofs “through like a sieve”. Chichikov immediately starts commercial negotiations with the owner. A common language is found quickly. Only one thing worries the “patched” gentleman: how not to incur losses when making a purchase of a fortress. Reassured by Chichikov's statement about his readiness to bear the costs of the bill of sale, Plyushkin immediately concludes that his guest is completely stupid. The two participants in the deal are spiritual brothers, despite the stinginess of one and the imaginary generosity of the other.

The unity of Chichikov with the gallery of landlord images is expressed in another feature of the narrative - in the portrait style of the central image. Mimicry is the most accurate word that can be used to characterize the external and internal appearance of Pavel Ivanovich. Looking closely at the scenes of Chichikov's meetings with the landowners, you notice how he almost copies the external mannerisms of his interlocutors.

This artistic technique is demonstrative, and Gogol accompanies the meeting at Korobochka with a direct commentary on how people in Russia differ in different ways.

you talk to the owners of two hundred, three hundred, five hundred souls: "... even rise up to a million, there will be all shades." With Korobochka, Chichikov, while maintaining some kindness, treats without any special ceremonies, and the rough vocabulary of the hostess here is in tune with the completely non-artistic style of the guest.

The appearance of Sobakevich, personifying in the eyes of the "merchant" a certain oak strength, the solidity of the landowner's life, immediately prompts Pavel Ivanovich to talk about dead souls in as much detail as possible: "... started somehow very remotely, touched the whole Russian state in general and responded with with great praise for its space, said that even the most ancient Roman monarchy was not so great ... ”The style is guessed, and the bargaining is successful.

Chichikov's mimicry demonstrates the unity of the main character with the inner world of the people he meets - both in the inhumanity of the principles of their behavior, and in the commonality of their ultimate social and moral ideals. This unity continues in the "urban" theme of Dead Souls. The city here is connected with the landowners' estates not only in plot (Chichikov came to make purchases for dead souls), but also internally, psychologically, he is part of the same way of life, hated by Gogol and reproduced with amazing relief.

The satirical effect of the narration begins to acquire greater sharpness, a new political connotation. Already not one estate, but a whole provincial city in the power of "holes in humanity." Hunger, disease, drunken fights, crop failures and broken pavements, and the governor ... embroiders on tulle.

The theme of fear is developing: it has specific, physical consequences - the commotion in the city, caused by the appointment of a new boss and rumors about the mysterious Chichikov enterprise, leads to the unexpected death of the prosecutor. The comic shade in her description is motivated by the author's characterization of the complete meaninglessness of the prosecutor's life: "What the dead man asked, why he died, or why he lived, only God knows about this."

The story about Captain Kopeikin directly expresses the idea of ​​the “managing” role of the capital in creating an atmosphere of fear, an atmosphere of lawlessness and inhumanity. Therefore, censorship banned the publication of these pages. To understand Gogol's social position, it is important that the writer very actively sought to preserve this story in the text of the book, which is not directly related to the plot. Exhausted by disasters, hunger, outraged by the indifference of his superiors, an invalid - the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Captain Kopeikin becomes the chieftain of the "gang of robbers" operating in the Ryazan forests. And Gogol also adds that all this activity of the rebellious officer is worthy of a special long story: "... it is here that, one might say, the thread begins, the plot of the novel." The story of Captain Kopeikin makes even more grandiose the already colossal artistic thought in Dead Souls, which embraced "all of Russia."

But there is another side to the content of the poem. The entrepreneurship of the “new” man, Chichikov, the anecdote of landowner life, the dead provincial town, despite the existence of “pleasant ladies in all respects” in it, heartlessness in the capital, Kopeikin’s rebellion - everything is illuminated by a bright thought about the great destiny of Russia. Herzen said that "living souls" are visible behind dead souls. This must be understood broadly. Of course, the fleetingly mentioned dead peasants, talented Russian working people, and the very image of the author with his sad and bitter laughter and satirical anger are the “living soul” of an amazing book.

But it is also a direct hymn to the future of Russia. “Rus, where are you going, give me an answer? Doesn't give an answer. A bell is filled with a wonderful ringing; the air rumbles and becomes torn to pieces by the wind; everything that is on the earth flies past, and, looking askance, other peoples and states step aside and give it the way, ”the first volume of this great and sad book ends with such a major chord, a chord that justifies its genre -“ poem ”. Let the reader not be confused by Gogol's words about the "God's miracle", which the rushing Russia-troika appears to the contemplator - this is still more of an emotional formula than a concept. Religious and mystical ideas will come to Gogol a little later.

Herzen said that "Dead Souls" shocked all of Russia. The meaning of these upheavals was revealed by Belinsky, saying, firstly, that the incessant disputes about the book are both a literary and social issue, and secondly, that these disputes are a "battle of two eras." Epochs are the forces of the old and emerging Russia.

In 1842, Gogol began writing the second volume of the poem, but burned the manuscript three years later. Three years later, he resumed work, and a few days before his death, he again burned what had been written - the finished book. Only five chapters have been preserved by chance. This dramatic story of the book reflected the inner drama of the writer.

Gogol tried to create an image of a positive Russia. The image of the young landowner Tentetnikov in the second volume of "Dead Souls" has long been rightly placed on a par with artistic types like Onegin, Rudin, Oblomov. The reflection of a provincial thinker with a weak will and a limited view of the world is conveyed with considerable psychological certainty.

Not inferior to the first volume in terms of visual power is such a character as Pyotr Petrovich Petukh - one of the classic images of the Russian glutton. The colorful Colonel Koshkarev is a special version of office work, a self-sufficient passion for paperwork. The ideal landowner Konstantin Fedorovich Kostanzhoglo, a supporter of patriarchy, isolated from the latest civilization, is presented by the writer as a person needed by the peasants. Gogol endows the young Russian bourgeois, the farmer Murazov, with all the virtues, in particular, with the fact that he puts into his mouth words condemning the passion for acquisitiveness. But the paradoxical idea led to an artistic defeat: a pure scheme, a fictional illustration of a false idea, turned out.

The same thing happened with the image of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, who, according to the will of the author, was to take the path of moral resurrection. Gogol did not paint an ideal picture of the life of the transformed Chichikov, but, unfortunately, the artistic trend of the second volume of Dead Souls led precisely to such a picture (the third volume was also supposed, where it probably should have been presented in full).

The burning of the manuscript before his death - this dramatic fact with sufficient force explains the writer's doubts about the correctness of his artistic path in recent years.

Having revealed to the world “all of Rus'”, first of all, its funny, sad, dramatic sides (but not only these, but also heroic), prophetically speaking about its wonderful future, Gogol created a book that was a genuine discovery in artistic culture, had a great influence on development of Russian literature and art in general.

The main work of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is not only in terms of the scale and depth of artistic generalizations. For this author, working on it has become a long process of writing and human self-knowledge. The analysis of "Dead Souls" will be presented in this article.

Gogol noticed after the publication of the first volume that the main subject of his work was not at all ugly landowners and not the province, but a "secret" that was suddenly to be revealed to readers in subsequent volumes.

"The Pale Beginning" of a Grand Design

Searching for a genre, changing the idea, working on the text of the first two volumes, as well as thinking about the third - these are fragments of a grandiose "construction" carried out by Nikolai Vasilyevich only partially. When analyzing "Dead Souls", it should be understood that the first volume is only a part in which the outlines of the whole are outlined. This is the "pale beginning" of labor, according to the definition of the writer himself. No wonder Nikolai Vasilievich compared it with a porch, hastily attached to the "palace" by the provincial architect.

How did the idea for the piece come about?

Features of the composition and plot, the originality of the genre are associated with the deepening and development of the original idea of ​​"Dead Souls". Pushkin stood at the origins of the work. As Nikolai Vasilievich said, the poet advised him to take on a large essay and even suggested a plot from which he himself wanted to create "something like a poem." However, it was not so much the plot itself as the "thought" contained in it that was Pushkin's "hint" to Gogol. The future author of the poem was well aware of the real stories that are based on scams with the so-called "dead souls". In the youthful years of Gogol, one of such cases occurred in Mirgorod.

"Dead Souls" in Gogol's Russia

"Dead souls" - who died, but continued to be listed as alive until the next "revision tale". Only after it they were officially considered dead. It was after the landlords stopped paying for them - a special tax. Peasants that existed on paper could be mortgaged, donated or sold, which scammers sometimes used, seducing landowners not only with the opportunity to get rid of serfs that did not bring income, but also to receive money for them.

The buyer of "dead souls" at the same time became the owner of a very real state. The adventure of the protagonist of the work, Chichikov, is a consequence of the "most inspired thought" that dawned on him - the Board of Trustees will give 200 rubles for each serf.

An adventurous picaresque novel

The basis for the so-called adventurous picaresque novel was given by the "joke" with "dead souls". This type of novel has always been very popular, because it was interesting. Gogol's older contemporaries created works in this genre (V. T. Narezhny, F. V. Bulgarin, and others). Their novels, despite the rather low artistic level, were a great success.

Modification of the genre of adventure-picaresque novel in the process of work

The genre model of the work we are interested in is precisely an adventurous and picaresque novel, as the analysis of "Dead Souls" shows. She, however, greatly changed in the process of the writer's work on this creation. This is evidenced, for example, by the author's designation "poem", which appeared after the general plan and the main idea were corrected by Gogol ("Dead Souls").

Analysis of the work reveals the following interesting features. "All Rus' will appear in it" - Gogol's thesis, which not only emphasized the scale of the idea of ​​"Dead Souls" in comparison with the initial desire "at least from one side" to show Russia, but at the same time meant a radical revision of the genre model chosen earlier. The framework of the traditional adventurous and picaresque novel became tight for Nikolai Vasilyevich, since he could not contain the wealth of the new idea. Chichikov's "odyssey" has become only one of the ways of seeing Russia.

The adventurous picaresque novel, having lost its leading role in Dead Souls, remained at the same time a genre shell for the epic and moralistic tendencies of the poem.

Features of the image of Chichikov

One of the tricks that is used in this genre is the mystery of the origin of the hero. The main character in the first chapters was either a man from the common people or a foundling, and at the end of the work, having overcome life's obstacles, he suddenly turned out to be the son of wealthy parents, received an inheritance. Nikolai Vasilievich resolutely refused such a template.

Analyzing the poem "Dead Souls", it should certainly be noted that Chichikov is a man of the "middle". The author himself says about him that he is "not bad looking", but not handsome, not too thin, but not too fat, not very old and not very young. The life story of this adventurer is hidden from the reader up to the final, eleventh chapter. You will be convinced of this by carefully reading "Dead Souls". Analysis by chapters reveals the fact that the author tells the background only in the eleventh. Deciding to do this, Gogol begins by emphasizing the "vulgarity", the mediocrity of his hero. He writes about how "modest" and "dark" his origins are. Nikolai Vasilievich again rejects extremes in defining his character (not a scoundrel, but not a hero either), but he dwells on Chichikov's main quality - this is an "acquirer", "owner".

Chichikov - "average" person

Thus, there is nothing unusual in this hero - this is the so-called "average" person, in whom Gogol strengthened a trait that is characteristic of many people. Nikolai Vasilyevich sees in his passion for profit, which replaced everything else, in the pursuit of the ghost of an easy and beautiful life, a manifestation of "human poverty", poverty and spiritual interests - all that many people so carefully hide. Analysis of "Dead Souls" shows that Gogol needed a biography of the hero not so much to reveal the "secret" of his life at the end of the work, but to remind readers that this is not an exceptional person, but quite ordinary. Anyone can discover in himself some "part of Chichikov."

"Positive" heroes of the work

In adventurous picaresque novels, the traditional plot "spring" is the persecution of the main character by malicious, greedy and vicious people. Against their background, the rogue who fought for his own rights seemed almost a "perfect model." As a rule, he was helped by compassionate and virtuous people who naively expressed the ideals of the author.

However, no one pursues Chichikov in the first volume of the work. Also, there are no characters in the novel who could at least to some extent be followers of the writer's point of view. Analyzing the work "Dead Souls", we can notice that only in the second volume "positive" characters appear: the landowner Kostanzhoglo, the farmer Murazov, the governor, who is irreconcilable to the abuses of various officials. But even these characters, unusual for Nikolai Vasilyevich, are very far from novel templates.

What interests Nikolai Vasilyevich in the first place?

Far-fetched, artificial were the plots of many works written in the genre of an adventurous picaresque novel. At the same time, the emphasis was on adventures, the “adventures” of rogue heroes. And Nikolai Vasilievich is not interested in the adventures of the protagonist in themselves, not in their "material" result (Chichikov eventually got his fortune by fraudulent means), but in their moral and social content, which allowed the author to make roguery a "mirror" reflecting modern Russia in Dead Souls. Analysis shows that this is a country of landowners who sell "air" (that is, dead peasants), as well as officials who assist the swindler, instead of hindering him. The plot of this work has a huge semantic potential - various layers of other meanings - symbolic and philosophical - are superimposed on its real basis. It is very interesting to analyze the landowners ("Dead Souls"). Each of the five characters is very symbolic - Nikolai Vasilievich uses the grotesque in their depiction.

Plot slowdown

Gogol deliberately slows down the movement of the plot, accompanying each event with detailed descriptions of the material world in which the characters live, as well as their appearance, reasoning about their not only dynamics, but also significance, the adventurous and picaresque plot loses. Each event of the work causes an "avalanche" of the author's assessments and judgments, details, facts. The action of the novel, contrary to the requirements of this genre, almost completely stops in the last chapters. This can be seen by independently analyzing Gogol's poem "Dead Souls". For the development of the action, only two events of all the others, which occur from the seventh to the eleventh chapter, are important. This is the departure from the city of Chichikov and the execution of the bill of sale.

Requirements for readers

Nikolai Vasilyevich is very demanding of readers - he wants them to penetrate into the very essence of phenomena, and not to slip on their surface, to ponder the hidden meaning of the work "Dead Souls". It should be analyzed very carefully. It is necessary to see behind the "objective" or informative meaning of the author's words not an explicit, but the most important meaning is a symbolic-generalized one. Just as necessary as Pushkin in "Eugene Onegin" is the co-creation of readers by the author of "Dead Souls". It is important to note that the artistic effect of Gogol's prose is created not by what is told or portrayed, but by how it is done. You will be convinced of this by once analyzing the work "Dead Souls". The word is a subtle instrument, which Gogol mastered to perfection.

Nikolai Vasilyevich emphasized that the writer, addressing people, must take into account the fear and uncertainty that live in those who commit bad deeds. Both approval and reproach should carry the word "lyrical poet". Reasoning about the dual nature of the phenomena of life is a favorite topic of the author of the work that interests us.

This is a brief analysis ("Dead Souls"). Much can be said about Gogol's work. We have highlighted only the main points. It is also interesting to dwell on the images of the landowners and the author. You can do this yourself, based on our analysis.

Frame from the film "Dead Souls" (1984)

Volume One

The proposed history, as will become clear from what follows, took place somewhat shortly after the "glorious expulsion of the French." A collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov arrives in the provincial town of NN (he is not old and not too young, not fat and not thin, rather pleasant and somewhat rounded in appearance) and settles in a hotel. He makes a lot of questions to the tavern servant - both regarding the owner and income of the tavern, and revealing the solidity of it: about city officials, the most significant landowners, asks about the state of the region and whether there were "what diseases in their province, epidemic fevers" and other similar adversity.

Having gone on visits, the visitor discovers extraordinary activity (visiting everyone, from the governor to the inspector of the medical board) and courtesy, for he knows how to say something pleasant to everyone. He speaks about himself somehow vaguely (that he “experienced a lot in his lifetime, endured in the service for the truth, had many enemies who even attempted on his life,” and now he is looking for a place to live). At the governor's house party, he manages to gain general favor and, among other things, make acquaintance with the landowners Manilov and Sobakevich. In the following days, he dines with the chief of police (where he meets the landowner Nozdryov), visits the chairman of the chamber and the vice-governor, the farmer and the prosecutor, and goes to the Manilov estate (which, however, is preceded by a fair author's digression, where, justifying his love for detail, the author certifies in detail Petrushka, the visitor's servant: his passion for "the process of reading itself" and the ability to carry with him a special smell, "responding somewhat to residential peace").

Having traveled, against the promised, not fifteen, but all thirty miles, Chichikov finds himself in Manilovka, in the arms of an affectionate owner. Manilov's house, standing on a jig, surrounded by several English-style flower beds and a gazebo with the inscription "Temple of Solitary Reflection", could characterize the owner, who was "neither this nor that", not weighed down by any passions, only unnecessarily cloying. After Manilov's confessions that Chichikov's visit was "a May day, a name day of the heart", and a dinner in the company of the hostess and two sons, Themistoclus and Alkid, Chichikov discovers the reason for his arrival: he would like to acquire peasants who have died, but have not yet been declared as such in the revision help, having issued everything legally, as if on the living (“the law - I am dumb before the law”). The first fright and bewilderment are replaced by the perfect disposition of the kind host, and, having made a deal, Chichikov departs for Sobakevich, and Manilov indulges in dreams of Chichikov's life in the neighborhood across the river, of the construction of a bridge, of a house with such a belvedere that Moscow is visible from there, and of their friendship, having learned about which the sovereign would grant them generals. Chichikov's coachman Selifan, much favored by Manilov's yard people, in conversations with his horses misses the right turn and, at the sound of a downpour, knocks the master over into the mud. In the dark, they find lodging for the night at Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka, a somewhat timid landowner, with whom Chichikov also begins to trade dead souls in the morning. Explaining that he himself would now pay taxes for them, cursing the old woman’s stupidity, promising to buy both hemp and lard, but another time, Chichikov buys souls from her for fifteen rubles, receives a detailed list of them (in which Peter Savelyev is especially struck. Disrespect -Trough) and, having eaten an unleavened egg pie, pancakes, pies and other things, departs, leaving the hostess in great concern as to whether she had sold too cheap.

Having driven out onto the main road to the tavern, Chichikov stops for a bite to eat, which the author provides with a lengthy discourse on the properties of the appetite of middle-class gentlemen. Here Nozdryov meets him, returning from the fair in the britzka of his son-in-law Mizhuev, for he lost everything with his horses and even the watch chain. Describing the charms of the fair, the drinking qualities of dragoon officers, a certain Kuvshinnikov, a great lover of "to use about strawberries" and, finally, presenting a puppy, "a real muzzle", Nozdryov takes Chichikov (thinking to get hold of here too) to himself, taking away his reluctant son-in-law. Having described Nozdryov, “in some respects a historical person” (for wherever he was, there was history), his possessions, the unpretentiousness of dinner with an abundance, however, drinks of dubious quality, the author sends his son-in-law to his wife (Nozdryov admonishes him with abuse and a word “fetyuk”), and Chichikova is forced to turn to her subject; but he can neither beg nor buy souls: Nozdryov offers to exchange them, take them in addition to the stallion or make a bet in a card game, finally scolds, quarrels, and they part for the night. Persuasion resumes in the morning, and, having agreed to play checkers, Chichikov notices that Nozdryov is shamelessly cheating. Chichikov, whom the owner and the servants are already trying to beat, manages to escape in view of the appearance of the police captain, who announces that Nozdryov is on trial. On the road, Chichikov's carriage collides with a certain carriage, and while the onlookers who come running are breeding tangled horses, Chichikov admires the sixteen-year-old young lady, indulges in reasoning about her and dreams of family life. A visit to Sobakevich in his strong, like himself, estate is accompanied by a thorough dinner, a discussion of city officials, who, according to the owner, are all swindlers (one prosecutor is a decent person, “and even that one, to tell the truth, is a pig”), and is crowned with an interesting guest deal. Not at all frightened by the strangeness of the object, Sobakevich bargains, characterizes the favorable qualities of each serf, provides Chichikov with a detailed list and forces him to give a deposit.

Chichikov's path to the neighboring landowner Plyushkin, mentioned by Sobakevich, is interrupted by a conversation with a peasant who gave Plyushkin an apt, but not too printed nickname, and by the author's lyrical reflection on his former love for unfamiliar places and the indifference that has now appeared. Plyushkin, this "hole in humanity", Chichikov at first takes for a housekeeper or a beggar, whose place is on the porch. His most important feature is his amazing stinginess, and he even carries the old sole of his boot into a heap heaped in the master's chambers. Having shown the profitability of his proposal (namely, that he would take over the taxes for the dead and runaway peasants), Chichikov fully succeeds in his enterprise and, refusing tea with rusk, provided with a letter to the chairman of the chamber, departs in the most cheerful mood.

While Chichikov is sleeping in the hotel, the author reflects with sadness on the meanness of the objects he paints. Meanwhile, the satisfied Chichikov, waking up, composes merchant's fortresses, studies the lists of acquired peasants, reflects on their alleged fate, and finally goes to the civil chamber in order to conclude the case as soon as possible. Manilov, met at the gates of the hotel, accompanies him. Then follows a description of the public office, Chichikov's first ordeals and a bribe to a certain jug snout, until he enters the chairman's apartment, where, by the way, he also finds Sobakevich. The chairman agrees to be Plyushkin's attorney, and at the same time speeds up other transactions. The acquisition of Chichikov is being discussed, with land or for withdrawal he bought peasants and in what places. Having found out that they were sent to the Kherson province, having discussed the properties of the sold peasants (here the chairman remembered that the coachman Mikheev seemed to have died, but Sobakevich assured that he was still alive and "has become healthier than before"), they finish with champagne, go to the chief of police, "father and a philanthropist in the city” (whose habits are immediately outlined), where they drink to the health of the new Kherson landowner, become completely excited, force Chichikov to stay and attempt to marry him.

Chichikov's purchases make a splash in the city, a rumor is circulating that he is a millionaire. Ladies are crazy about him. Several times trying to describe the ladies, the author becomes shy and retreats. On the eve of the governor's ball, Chichikov even receives a love letter, though unsigned. Having used, as usual, a lot of time on the toilet and being pleased with the result, Chichikov goes to the ball, where he passes from one embrace to another. The ladies, among whom he is trying to find the sender of the letter, even quarrel, challenging his attention. But when the governor's wife approaches him, he forgets everything, because she is accompanied by her daughter ("Institute, just released"), a sixteen-year-old blonde, whose carriage he encountered on the road. He loses the favor of the ladies, because he starts a conversation with a fascinating blonde, scandalously neglecting the rest. To top off the trouble, Nozdryov appears and loudly asks if Chichikov has bought a lot of the dead. And although Nozdryov is obviously drunk and the embarrassed society is gradually distracted, Chichikov is not given a whist or the subsequent dinner, and he leaves upset.

At this time, a tarantass with the landowner Korobochka enters the city, whose growing anxiety forced her to come, in order to still find out what the price of dead souls is. The next morning, this news becomes the property of a certain pleasant lady, and she hurries to tell it to another, pleasant in all respects, the story is overgrown with amazing details (Chichikov, armed to the teeth, breaks into Korobochka in the dead of midnight, demands the souls that have died, inspires terrible fear - “ the whole village has come running, the children are crying, everyone is screaming. Her friend concludes from the fact that the dead souls are only a cover, and Chichikov wants to take away the governor's daughter. After discussing the details of this enterprise, the undoubted participation of Nozdryov in it and the qualities of the governor's daughter, both ladies dedicate the prosecutor to everything and set off to rebel the city.

In a short time, the city seethes, to which is added the news of the appointment of a new governor-general, as well as information about the papers received: about the fake banknote maker who showed up in the province, and about the robber who fled from legal persecution. Trying to understand who Chichikov is, they recall that he was certified very vaguely and even spoke about those who attempted on his life. The postmaster’s statement that Chichikov, in his opinion, is Captain Kopeikin, who took up arms against the injustice of the world and became a robber, is rejected, since it follows from the entertaining postmaster’s story that the captain is missing an arm and leg, and Chichikov is whole. An assumption arises whether Chichikov is Napoleon in disguise, and many begin to find a certain similarity, especially in profile. Questions from Korobochka, Manilov, and Sobakevich did not yield any results, and Nozdryov only multiplied the confusion by announcing that Chichikov was definitely a spy, a maker of forged banknotes, and had an undoubted intention to take away the governor's daughter, in which Nozdryov undertook to help him (each of the versions was accompanied by detailed details up to the name priest who took up the wedding). All these rumors have a tremendous effect on the prosecutor, he has a stroke, and he dies.

Chichikov himself, sitting in a hotel with a slight cold, is surprised that none of the officials visits him. Finally, having gone on visits, he discovers that they do not receive him at the governor's, and in other places they fearfully shun him. Nozdryov, visiting him at the hotel, among the general noise he made, partly clarifies the situation, announcing that he agrees to facilitate the kidnapping of the governor's daughter. The next day, Chichikov hurriedly leaves, but is stopped by a funeral procession and forced to contemplate the whole world of bureaucracy flowing behind the coffin of the prosecutor Brichka leaves the city, and the open spaces on both sides of it evoke sad and encouraging thoughts about Russia, the road, and then only sad about their chosen hero. Concluding that it is time for the virtuous hero to give rest, but, on the contrary, to hide the scoundrel, the author sets out the life story of Pavel Ivanovich, his childhood, training in classes where he already showed a practical mind, his relationship with his comrades and teacher, his service later in the state chamber, some kind of commission for the construction of a government building, where for the first time he gave vent to some of his weaknesses, his subsequent departure to other, not so profitable places, transfer to the customs service, where, showing honesty and incorruptibility almost unnatural, he made a lot of money in collusion with smugglers, went bankrupt, but dodged the criminal court, although he was forced to resign. He became an attorney and, during the troubles about the pledge of the peasants, put together a plan in his head, began to go around the expanses of Rus', so that, having bought dead souls and pledged them to the treasury as alive, he would receive money, perhaps buy a village and provide for future offspring.

Having again complained about the properties of his hero’s nature and partly justified him, having found him the name of “owner, acquirer”, the author is distracted by the urged running of horses, the similarity of the flying troika with rushing Russia and the ringing of the bell completes the first volume.

Volume two

It opens with a description of the nature that makes up the estate of Andrei Ivanovich Tentetnikov, whom the author calls "the smoker of the sky." The story of the stupidity of his pastime is followed by the story of a life inspired by hopes at the very beginning, overshadowed by the pettiness of service and troubles later; he retires, intending to improve the estate, reads books, takes care of the peasant, but without experience, sometimes just human, this does not give the expected results, the peasant is idle, Tentetnikov gives up. He breaks off acquaintances with his neighbors, offended by the treatment of General Betrishchev, stops visiting him, although he cannot forget his daughter Ulinka. In a word, without someone who would tell him an invigorating “forward!”, He completely turns sour.

Chichikov comes to him, apologizing for a breakdown in the carriage, curiosity and a desire to pay respect. Having won the favor of the owner with his amazing ability to adapt to anyone, Chichikov, having lived with him for a while, goes to the general, to whom he spins a story about an absurd uncle and, as usual, begs for the dead. On the laughing general, the poem fails, and we find Chichikov heading towards Colonel Koshkarev. Against expectation, he gets to Pyotr Petrovich Rooster, whom he finds at first completely naked, keen on hunting for sturgeon. At the Rooster, having nothing to get hold of, for the estate is mortgaged, he only overeats terribly, gets acquainted with the bored landowner Platonov and, having incited him to travel together in Rus', goes to Konstantin Fedorovich Kostanzhoglo, married to Platonov's sister. He talks about the ways of managing, by which he increased the income from the estate dozens of times, and Chichikov is terribly inspired.

Very promptly, he visits Colonel Koshkarev, who has divided his village into committees, expeditions and departments and has arranged a perfect paper production in the mortgaged estate, as it turns out. Returning, he listens to the curses of the bilious Costanjoglo to the factories and manufactories that corrupt the peasant, to the peasant's absurd desire to enlighten, and to his neighbor Khlobuev, who has run a hefty estate and is now lowering it for nothing. Having experienced tenderness and even a craving for honest work, after listening to the story of the farmer Murazov, who made forty millions in an impeccable way, Chichikov the next day, accompanied by Kostanzhoglo and Platonov, goes to Khlobuev, observes the unrest and debauchery of his household in the neighborhood of a governess for children, dressed in fashion wife and other traces of ridiculous luxury. Having borrowed money from Kostanzhoglo and Platonov, he gives a deposit for the estate, intending to buy it, and goes to the Platonov estate, where he meets his brother Vasily, who effectively manages the economy. Then he suddenly appears at their neighbor Lenitsyn, obviously a rogue, wins his sympathy with his skillfully tickling a child and receives dead souls.

After many seizures in the manuscript, Chichikov is found already in the city at a fair, where he buys fabric of a lingonberry color so dear to him with a spark. He runs into Khlobuev, whom, apparently, he cheated, either depriving him, or almost depriving him of his inheritance by some kind of forgery. Khlobuev, who missed him, is taken away by Murazov, who convinces Khlobuev of the need to work and determines for him to raise funds for the church. Meanwhile, denunciations are being found against Chichikov both about forgery and about dead souls. The tailor brings a new coat. Suddenly, a gendarme appears, dragging smart Chichikov to the governor-general, "angry as anger itself." Here all his atrocities become apparent, and he, kissing the general's boot, plunges into the prison. In a dark closet, tearing his hair and coat tails, mourning the loss of a box of papers, Murazov finds Chichikov, awakens in him with simple virtuous words the desire to live honestly and goes to soften the governor general. At that time, officials who want to harm their wise superiors and receive a bribe from Chichikov deliver him a box, kidnap an important witness and write many denunciations in order to completely confuse the matter. Unrest breaks out in the province itself, greatly worrying the governor-general. However, Murazov knows how to feel the sensitive strings of his soul and give him the right advice, with which the Governor-General, having released Chichikov, is already going to use it, as "the manuscript breaks off."

retold

The main work created by Gogol is Dead Souls. He wrote it for 17 long years, often rethinking and rewriting chapters, changing characters. Only over the first volume worked 6 years. The idea to write such a work was suggested to him by Pushkin. Alexander Sergeevich himself wanted to use this plot, but decided that Gogol would do it better. And so it happened.

The title of the poem reflects the process of selling dead serfs, as well as the truly “dead” souls of the soulless, immoral landowners who were engaged in such a sale in order to enrich themselves.

The main theme of the work is the immorality that reigned in Rus' in the 30s of the 19th century and the vices emanating from it. The author has covered this topic very broadly and deeply.

The plot of the work is that Chichikov travels around Russia in order to buy up "dead souls" in order to get rich on this later. This plot allowed the author to widely show the whole life of Russia from the inside, as it is.

The composition of the poem consists of 11 published chapters of the first volume and a few more surviving chapters of the second volume. These chapters are united by the image of the main character Chichikov. Gogol completed the second volume shortly before his death. But only a few chapters remained from him, which have come down to us. There are different opinions about where the manuscript went. Some literary scholars say that he burned it himself, while others say that he gave it to his acquaintances writers, who subsequently lost it. But we won't know for sure. He never wrote the third volume.

The first chapter introduces us to the main character Chichikov and the inhabitants of the city. Chapters 2-6 are devoted to landowners, a description of their way of life and way of life, their customs. Reading these chapters, we get acquainted with the portraits of landowners, which the author portrayed so subtly in a satirical way. But the next 4 chapters are devoted to the ugly way of life of officials. Bribery, tyranny and other vices characteristic of most officials flourish here.

The poem is written in the style of realism, although it also has romantic notes: a beautiful description of nature, philosophical reflections, lyrical digressions. So, at the end of the work, the author reflects on the future of Rus', on its strength and power.

Gogol, using the suggested idea, developed the plot. For him, the cases of "dead souls" were well known. He heard a lot about such scams, because in Russia of that time the purchase and sale of the dead, but according to official documents, registered serfs was a common thing. The population census was carried out every 10 years, and during these 10 years the dead serfs were given, sold, pawned in order to get rich.

At first, the author thought of writing his work as a satirical novel, but then he realized that it was impossible to fit into the novel everything that he wanted to write about, that is, the whole ins and outs of the life of Rus'. Gogol changes the genre of the work to a poem. He intended to write a poem in 3 volumes, in the likeness of Dante's poem. And although many literary critics call "Dead Souls" a novel, it is customary to call the work a poem, exactly as the author intended.

Option 2

N.V. Gogol is one of the unique and mysterious writers of the 19th century. The scale of his work has amazed readers for several centuries. The originality of the writer is manifested in all his works. The truth about the Russian reality of the nineteenth century is one of the leading themes of his creations.

One of the most brilliant works of N.V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is considered. Seventeen years of work of the creator was not in vain. The subtle psychologist of human souls in the images of the heroes of his poem recreated the real history of that time. The title itself contains a deep philosophical meaning of what the writer intended. Dead souls - whether those dead people who were collected by the main character, or is it Chichikov himself with his entourage.

The plot is unusual and at the same time simple. The collegiate adviser Chichikov buys dead but still listed serfs from the landowners, dreaming of getting rich on this. Each party to the transaction benefits from this. One sells air, the other buys it. The author shrouded in mystery the origin of the protagonist, his age until the last 11 chapters, in which the secret of the adviser Chichikov is revealed. The writer intentionally in the development of the storyline does not focus on the past of the hero. For Gogol, he did not differ in anything remarkable, an “average” little man. Revealing the secret of Chichikov's birth, the writer wants to emphasize the mediocrity of his hero.

The theme prompted by the writer A.S. Pushkin is the reality of that time. Fraud, cynicism, the desire for profit by any means - exposes Gogol in his creation.

Compositionally, the poem consists of the first volume and several chapters of the second volume. Bright lyrical digressions complement the atmosphere of Russian life. Six portraits are painted before the reader's eyes by the word artist Gogol. In full color, Chichikov, Sobakevich, Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Plyushkin appear before the eyes. With undisguised humor, the writer describes his characters: tyranny, stupidity, prudence - their main character traits. 11 chapters of the poem reveals the whole inner essence of the society of that time. The literary genre of the work is amazing - a poem (as the author himself called it). But the absence of poetic rhyme, the structure would rather resemble a novel. Gogol called his creation a poem because of the large number of digressions of a lyrical nature, the philosophical reflections of the author. Until now, the monologue about the Russian troika, which traces the present and future of Russia, is admired.

The relevance of the work has not dried up to this day. Aren't there people now who want to get wealth out of nothing? And what about the Manilovs who dream but do nothing for this? Stupid and stingy Boxes? Undoubtedly there are, they are nearby and you just have to take a good look, you will meet Gogol's heroes in our days. This is where the immortality of N.V. Gogol's creation called "Dead Souls" is manifested.

Dead Soul Analysis

The poem “Dead Souls” is one of the most significant works of N.V. Gogol. The author spent 17 years writing it. Initially, the work was conceived as a comic, but the further the development of the storyline progressed, the more logical the transition to realism seemed. After its publication, the poem became the subject of general controversy and raised a commotion in the literary community. Throughout the work, the theme of the present and future of Russia is traced, which was very exciting for the author himself. It is transmitted in Chichikov's relationship with the same charlatans and swindlers.

Gogol loved his country and his people very much. He described ordinary Russian people who would lead Russia into a brighter future. But the question of estates that are becoming obsolete, their souls are rotten and degraded, also remains open. Hence the name of the poem, which, in addition to its direct meaning, also has a figurative one. Dead souls are peasants who have departed to another world, but continue to be listed behind the estate. Gogol also calls nobles and landowners “dead souls”, who hinder the development of the country, have no interests and live out their lives, morally decaying. Such were Manilov, Korobochka, Sobakevich, Plyushkin and others. We begin to get acquainted with these characters from the second chapter, when the collegiate councilor Chichikov leaves the city of NN and begins his journey through the nearby villages. There he meets the landowners, who are the collective images of the nobility of Gogol's time.

Each chapter is dedicated to a separate master. The chapters are structured logically and sequentially, as if each of them is a separate story. Those that describe the landlords have a similar composition, which allows you to visually compare the images. Despite the logically built sequence, the author uses alogisms and absurdity to convey the characters' characters. Also in the poem there are lyrical digressions and short stories that do not relate to the main plot, but help to more fully understand the idea of ​​the whole work.

The work itself is more like a story or a novel, but Gogol calls it an epic poem. It has a ring composition, but it has a certain originality. Thus, the last 11 chapter can be an informal beginning of the work and also its formal end. The action in the poem begins with Chichikov's entry into the city of NN and ends when he leaves the city.

Russian character ... How many legends and stories go about him. Are there many such people, are they Russian or not? I think that there are not very many such people and that even people of other nationalities can be called a person with a Russian character

Every year, in the summer, I go to the village to my grandmother. I spend all summer there. It's very good there. I have many friends there. And most of all I love spending time with my horse.

Dead Souls is a poem for the ages. The plasticity of the depicted reality, the comical nature of situations and the artistic skill of N.V. Gogol paint the image of Russia not only of the past, but also of the future. Grotesque satirical reality in harmony with patriotic notes create an unforgettable melody of life that resounds through the centuries.

Collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov goes to distant provinces to buy serfs. However, he is not interested in people, but only the names of the dead. This is necessary to submit the list to the Board of Trustees, which "promises" a lot of money. A nobleman with so many peasants had all the doors open. To implement his plan, he pays visits to the landowners and officials of the city of NN. All of them reveal their selfish disposition, so the hero manages to get what he wants. He also plans a profitable marriage. However, the result is deplorable: the hero is forced to flee, as his plans become well known thanks to the landowner Korobochka.

History of creation

N.V. Gogol considered A.S. Pushkin by his teacher, who “given” a story about the adventures of Chichikov to a grateful student. The poet was sure that only Nikolai Vasilievich, who had a unique talent from God, was able to realize this “idea”.

The writer loved Italy, Rome. In the land of the great Dante, he began work on a book involving a three-part composition in 1835. The poem was supposed to be similar to Dante's Divine Comedy, depicting the hero's immersion in hell, his wanderings in purgatory and the resurrection of his soul in paradise.

The creative process continued for six years. The idea of ​​a grandiose picture, depicting not only "all of Rus'" present, but also the future, revealed "the incalculable riches of the Russian spirit." In February 1837, Pushkin dies, whose “sacred testament” for Gogol is “Dead Souls”: “Not a single line was written without me imagining him before me.” The first volume was completed in the summer of 1841, but did not immediately find its reader. The censors were outraged by The Tale of Captain Kopeikin, and the title was perplexing. I had to make concessions, starting the headline with the intriguing phrase "The Adventures of Chichikov." Therefore, the book was published only in 1842.

Some time later, Gogol writes the second volume, but, dissatisfied with the result, burns it.

The meaning of the name

The title of the work causes conflicting interpretations. The used oxymoron technique gives rise to numerous questions that you want to get answers as soon as possible. The title is symbolic and ambiguous, so the “secret” is not revealed to everyone.

In the literal sense, "dead souls" are representatives of the common people who have gone to another world, but are still listed as their masters. Gradually, the concept is being rethought. The "form" seems to "come to life": real serfs, with their habits and shortcomings, appear before the reader's gaze.

Characteristics of the main characters

1. Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov - "gentleman of the middle hand." Somewhat cloying manners in dealing with people are not without sophistication. Educated, neat and delicate. “Not handsome, but not bad-looking, not ... fat, nor .... thin…”. Prudent and careful. He collects unnecessary knickknacks in his chest: maybe it will come in handy! Seeking profit in everything. The creation of the worst sides of an enterprising and energetic person of a new type, opposed to landowners and officials. We wrote about it in more detail in the essay "".
2. Manilov - "knight of the void." Blond "sweet" talker "with blue eyes". The poverty of thought, the avoidance of real difficulties, he covers up with a beautiful-hearted phrase. It lacks living aspirations and any interests. His faithful companions are fruitless fantasy and thoughtless chatter.
3. The box is "club-headed". Vulgar, stupid, stingy and stingy nature. She fenced herself off from everything around, shutting herself in her estate - the “box”. Turned into a stupid and greedy woman. Limited, stubborn and unspiritual.
4. Nozdrev is a "historical man". He can easily lie what he pleases and deceive anyone. Empty, absurd. Thinks of himself as a broad kind. However, the actions expose the careless, chaotically weak-willed and at the same time arrogant, shameless "tyrant". Record holder for getting into tricky and ridiculous situations.
5. Sobakevich is a "patriot of the Russian stomach." Outwardly, it resembles a bear: clumsy and indefatigable. Totally incapable of understanding the most elementary things. A special type of "drive" that can quickly adapt to the new requirements of our time. Interested in nothing but housekeeping. we described in the essay of the same name.
6. Plyushkin - "a hole in humanity." A creature of unknown gender. A vivid example of a moral fall that has completely lost its natural appearance. The only character (except Chichikov) who has a biography that "reflects" the gradual process of personality degradation. Complete nothingness. Plyushkin's maniacal hoarding "results" into "cosmic" proportions. And the more this passion seizes him, the less of a person remains in him. We analyzed his image in detail in the essay. .

Genre and composition

Initially, the work was born as an adventurous - picaresque novel. But the breadth of the events described and the historical truthfulness, as if "compressed" among themselves, gave rise to "talk about" the realistic method. Making accurate remarks, inserting philosophical reasoning, referring to different generations, Gogol saturated "his offspring" with lyrical digressions. One cannot but agree with the opinion that the creation of Nikolai Vasilyevich is a comedy, since it actively uses the techniques of irony, humor and satire, which most fully reflect the absurdity and arbitrariness of the "squadron of flies that dominate Rus'."

The composition is circular: the britzka, which entered the city of NN at the beginning of the story, leaves it after all the vicissitudes that happened to the hero. Episodes are woven into this “ring”, without which the integrity of the poem is violated. The first chapter describes the provincial city NN and local officials. From the second to the sixth chapters, the author introduces readers to the estates of Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin. The seventh - tenth chapters - a satirical image of officials, the execution of completed transactions. The string of these events ends with a ball, where Nozdrev "narrates" about Chichikov's scam. The reaction of society to his statement is unambiguous - gossip, which, like a snowball, is overgrown with fables that have found refraction, including in the short story ("The Tale of Captain Kopeikin") and the parable (about Kif Mokievich and Mokiya Kifovich). The introduction of these episodes makes it possible to emphasize that the fate of the motherland directly depends on the people living in it. It is impossible to look indifferently at the outrages that are happening around. Certain forms of protest are brewing in the country. The eleventh chapter is a biography of the hero forming the plot, explaining what he was guided by when performing this or that act.

The connecting thread of the composition is the image of the road (you can learn more about this by reading the essay “ » ), symbolizing the path that the state “under the modest name of Rus” passes in its development.

Why does Chichikov need dead souls?

Chichikov is not only cunning, but also pragmatic. His sophisticated mind is ready to “make candy” out of nothing. Not having sufficient capital, he, being a good psychologist, having gone through a good life school, mastering the art of “flattering everyone” and fulfilling his father’s precept “save a penny”, starts a great speculation. It consists in a simple deception of "those in power" in order to "warm their hands", in other words, to help out a huge amount of money, thereby providing for themselves and their future family, which Pavel Ivanovich dreamed of.

The names of the dead peasants bought for a pittance were recorded in a document that Chichikov could take to the Treasury Chamber under the guise of a pledge in order to obtain a loan. He would pawn the serfs like a brooch in a pawnshop, and could re-pawn them all his life, since none of the officials checked the physical condition of people. For this money, the businessman would have bought both real workers and an estate, and would have lived on a grand scale, taking advantage of the favor of the nobles, because the wealth of the landowner was measured by the representatives of the nobility in the number of souls (peasants were then called “souls” in noble slang). In addition, Gogol's hero hoped to win trust in society and profitably marry a rich heiress.

main idea

A hymn to the motherland and people, the hallmark of which is diligence, sounds on the pages of the poem. Masters of golden hands became famous for their inventions, their creativity. The Russian peasant is always "rich in invention." But there are those citizens who hinder the development of the country. These are vicious officials, ignorant and inactive landowners and swindlers like Chichikov. For their own good, the good of Russia and the world, they must take the path of correction, realizing the ugliness of their inner world. To do this, Gogol mercilessly ridicules them throughout the entire first volume, however, in the subsequent parts of the work, the author intended to show the resurrection of the spirit of these people using the protagonist as an example. Perhaps he felt the falsity of subsequent chapters, lost faith that his dream was feasible, so he burned it along with the second part of Dead Souls.

Nevertheless, the author showed that the main wealth of the country is the broad soul of the people. It is no coincidence that this word is placed in the title. The writer believed that the revival of Russia would begin with the revival of human souls, pure, unstained by any sins, selfless. Not just believing in the free future of the country, but making a lot of efforts on this swift road to happiness. "Rus, where are you going?" This question runs like a refrain throughout the book and emphasizes the main thing: the country must live in constant movement towards the best, advanced, progressive. Only on this path "other peoples and states give it way." We wrote a separate essay about the path of Russia: ?

Why did Gogol burn the second volume of Dead Souls?

At some point, the thought of the messiah begins to dominate in the mind of the writer, allowing him to "foresee" the revival of Chichikov and even Plyushkin. The progressive "transformation" of a person into a "dead man" Gogol hopes to reverse. But, faced with reality, the author is deeply disappointed: the heroes and their destinies come out from under the pen far-fetched, lifeless. Did not work out. The impending crisis in worldview became the reason for the destruction of the second book.

In the surviving passages from the second volume, it is clearly seen that the writer depicts Chichikov not in the process of repentance, but in flight towards the abyss. He still succeeds in adventures, dresses in a devilish red coat and breaks the law. His exposure does not bode well, because in his reaction the reader will not see a sudden insight or a paint of shame. He does not even believe in the possibility of the existence of such fragments at least ever. Gogol did not want to sacrifice artistic truth even for the sake of realizing his own idea.

Issues

1. Thorns on the way of the development of the Motherland is the main problem in the poem "Dead Souls", which the author was worried about. These include bribery and embezzlement of officials, infantilism and inactivity of the nobility, ignorance and poverty of the peasants. The writer sought to make his contribution to the prosperity of Russia, condemning and ridiculing vices, educating new generations of people. For example, Gogol despised doxology as a cover for the emptiness and idleness of existence. The life of a citizen should be useful for society, and most of the heroes of the poem are frankly harmful.
2. Moral problems. He considers the absence of moral norms among the representatives of the ruling class as the result of their ugly passion for hoarding. The landowners are ready to shake the soul out of the peasant for the sake of profit. Also, the problem of selfishness comes to the fore: the nobles, like officials, think only about their own interests, the homeland for them is an empty weightless word. High society does not care about the common people, they just use them for their own purposes.
3. Crisis of humanism. People are sold like animals, lost at cards like things, pawned like jewelry. Slavery is legal and is not considered something immoral or unnatural. Gogol covered the problem of serfdom in Russia globally, showing both sides of the coin: the mentality of a serf, inherent in a serf, and the tyranny of the owner, confident in his superiority. All these are the consequences of the tyranny that pervades relationships in all walks of life. It corrupts people and destroys the country.
4. The author's humanism is manifested in attention to the "little man", a critical exposure of the vices of the state system. Gogol did not even try to avoid political problems. He described a bureaucracy functioning only on the basis of bribery, nepotism, embezzlement and hypocrisy.
5. Gogol's characters are characterized by the problem of ignorance, moral blindness. Because of it, they do not see their moral squalor and are not able to independently get out of the quagmire of vulgarity that is engulfing them.

What is the originality of the work?

Adventurism, realistic reality, a sense of the presence of the irrational, philosophical discussions about earthly good - all this is closely intertwined, creating an "encyclopedic" picture of the first half of the 19th century.

Gogol achieves this by using various techniques of satire, humor, visual means, numerous details, rich vocabulary, and compositional features.

• Symbolism plays an important role. Falling into the mud "predicts" the future exposure of the main character. The spider weaves its webs to capture the next victim. Like an "unpleasant" insect, Chichikov skillfully conducts his "business", "weaving" the landowners and officials with a noble lie. “sounds” like the pathos of the forward movement of Rus' and affirms human self-improvement.
• We observe the heroes through the prism of "comic" situations, apt author's expressions and characteristics given by other characters, sometimes built on the antithesis: "he was a prominent person" - but only "at a glance".
• The vices of the heroes of "Dead Souls" become a continuation of the positive character traits. For example, Plyushkin's monstrous stinginess is a distortion of former frugality and thriftiness.
• In small lyrical "inserts" - the thoughts of the writer, hard thoughts, anxious "I". In them we feel the highest creative message: to help humanity change for the better.
• The fate of people who create works for the people or not for the sake of "those in power" does not leave Gogol indifferent, because in literature he saw a force capable of "re-educating" society and contributing to its civilized development. The social strata of society, their position in relation to everything national: culture, language, traditions - occupy a serious place in the author's digressions. When it comes to Rus' and its future, through the centuries we hear the confident voice of the “prophet”, predicting the future of the Fatherland, which is not easy, but aspires to a bright dream.
• Philosophical reflections on the frailty of being, on the bygone youth and impending old age, evoke sadness. That is why the gentle “fatherly” appeal to the youth is so natural, on whose energy, diligence and education depends on what “path” the development of Russia will take.
• The language is truly folk. The forms of colloquial, bookish and written-business speech are harmoniously woven into the fabric of the poem. Rhetorical questions and exclamations, the rhythmic construction of individual phrases, the use of Slavicisms, archaisms, sonorous epithets create a certain structure of speech that sounds solemn, excited and sincere, without a shadow of irony. When describing landowners' estates and their owners, vocabulary is used that is characteristic of everyday speech. The image of the bureaucratic world is saturated with the vocabulary of the depicted environment. we described in the essay of the same name.
• The solemnity of comparisons, high style, combined with original speech, create a sublimely ironic manner of narration that serves to debunk the base, vulgar world of the owners.