He preaches love
With a hostile word of denial...
N. A. Nekrasov
One of the main features of the work of N.V. Gogol is humor. Lunacharsky called Gogol "the king of Russian laughter". Rejecting "dissolute" laughter born "from the idle emptiness of idle time", Gogol recognized only laughter "born from love for a person." Laughter is a great tool for educating a person. Gogol therefore believed that one should laugh not at the “crooked nose of a person”, but at his “crooked soul”.
Laughter in the poem "Dead Souls" is a merciless weapon of evil. Such laughter, which had a huge moral potential, "enthusiastic." Gogol himself, who assessed the main feature of his talent, saw it in the ability to "look around the whole tremendously rushing life, look at it through laughter visible to the world and invisible, unknown to him tears." Belinsky wrote that Gogol's comedy is the result of "a sad outlook on life, that there is a lot of bitterness and sorrow in his laughter." That is why Gogol's works are "at first funny, then sad."
In Dead Souls, the funny is tragic in nature, that is, as in life: the serious has merged with the funny, the tragic with the comic, the insignificant with the vulgar, the great and beautiful with the ordinary. This interweaving was reflected in Gogol's definition of the genre of the work and its title: on the one hand, this is a poem, that is, an exalted perception and image of life, on the other hand, the title of the work at the level of farce, parody. All characters are given in two dimensions: first we see them as they seem to themselves, and then we see them as the writer sees them. The characterization of each character is necessarily given through a certain circle of things: Manilov is inseparable from the gazebo with blue columns and the inscription "Temple of Solitary Reflection"; The box is necessarily surrounded by many small motley bags with coins; Nozdryov with a hurdy-gurdy that constantly strays from one music to another and cannot be stopped; , resembling a medium-sized bear, surrounded by bulky furniture that bears a strange resemblance to it; Chichikov, owner of a thousand peasants, in a tattered dressing gown and a strange cap on his head. The poem begins with a description of the britzka in which Chichikov arrived, and the reader already knows something about this hero. Gogol attached great importance to all these trifles of everyday life, believing that they reflect the character of a person.
All characteristics of the characters are accompanied by the author's commentary, which makes the reader smile ironically. So, when talking about dead souls, Manilov makes such an expression, "which, perhaps, was not seen on a human face, except for some too smart minister, and even then at the moment of the most puzzling business." Korobochka, in a dispute with Chichikov, says Gogol, suddenly has a “turn of thoughts”: what if they (dead souls) “are somehow needed on the farm for an occasion.” And Sobakevich, when he understood what was at stake, asked Chichikov "very simply, without the slightest surprise, as if it were about bread."
The chapters characterizing the characters, as a rule, end with a detailed author's commentary, which removes the seriousness and introduces a satirical stream. So, reflecting on the character of Nozdryov, who had already been "punished" more than once for cheating and lying, but after that everyone met with him "as if nothing had happened, and he, as they say, is nothing, and they are nothing." Such a strange thing, Gogol concludes, "can happen only in Rus' alone." About Sobakevich, he remarks somehow in passing: “It seemed that there was no soul in this body at all, or he had one, but not at all where it should be.” Gogol ends Plyushkin's characterization with a conversation with an imaginary demanding and distrustful reader: “And a person could descend to such insignificance, pettiness, disgust! Could have changed! And does it look like the truth? And the author sadly replies: "Everything looks like the truth, everything can happen to a person." The characteristics of officials and ladies of the city of NN are more generalized. The object of satire here became, as it were, not individuals, but the social vices of society. We see just a governor who likes to drink; a prosecutor who constantly blinks; ladies - just pleasant and ladies - pleasant in all respects. Most of all from Gogol the satirist goes to the prosecutor, who, having learned about the appointment of a new governor, came home and gave his soul to God. Gogol is ironic: now they only realized that the prosecutor had a soul, "although, due to his modesty, he never showed it."
The world of landlords and bureaucrats is inhabited by scoundrels, vulgarities, loafers, whom Gogol exposed to general ridicule. Gogol's "laughter through tears" expanded the boundaries of humor. Gogol's laughter aroused disgust for vice, it exposed all the ugliness of the police-bureaucratic regime, undermined respect for it, clearly revealing its rottenness, insolvency, and brought up contempt for this regime.
A simple person ceased to look with respectful apprehension at the powers that be. Laughing at them, he began to realize his moral superiority. Nekrasov, a few days after Gogol's death, dedicated a poem to him, which very accurately defines Gogol's personality as a writer:
Breast fed with hatred
Mouth armed with satire,
He walks a thorny path
With his punishing lyre...
The author of the immortal "Inspector General" noted that only laughter is a positive hero. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, when working on a work, set the task of "collecting into one heap everything bad in Russia" and ridiculing the prevailing customs.
The story described by Gogol is typical of his contemporaneity. Exposing the vices of the county officials, the author sarcastically showed this sad picture, so laughter in his work sounds “through tears”.
The images of the characters are presented in some detail and even through "speaking" surnames. At the same time, the reader has the opportunity to supplement the idea of them through comic situations in which the author constantly puts the characters.
For example, the insignificant metropolitan bureaucrat Khlestakov boasts to the mayor’s wife of his acquaintance with Pushkin: he is allegedly “on a friendly footing” with him and is himself the author of a number of well-known works. The stupid imaginary auditor does not realize that he is talking complete nonsense, but those around him, suppressed by fear, do not even think of questioning Khlestakov's incredible stories.
Another character - Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin "takes bribes with greyhound puppies", he considers this natural, but understands absolutely nothing in court cases due to lack of education. Strawberry, who takes care of charitable institutions, is also distinguished by originality. For him, the patient “if he dies, he will die anyway; If he recovers, then he will recover.” The hospitals are in disarray, but the sick are allegedly "recovering like flies." At the same time, another consonant phraseological unit immediately comes to mind. And the police in the city of NN interpret the right to keep order as permissiveness. They themselves are prone to commit atrocities, which Derzhimorda confirms, saying that they put “lanterns under their eyes” on both the right and the guilty.
Thus, the grotesque depiction of the authorities of a certain county town causes natural laughter. But laughter in comedy is not present for the sake of fun, the author assigned a more important meaning to it - a mockery of realism. This is an affordable way to expose the corrupt morals of the top of society and the criminal reality that prevails throughout Russia.
Updated: 2017-01-29
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What is present in N.V. Gogol's comedy "The Government Inspector"? Of course, this is the humor behind which the essence of this comedy is hidden. The whole of Russia is reflected in a small town, in which such unrest is happening as embezzlement, bribery, ignorance and arbitrariness. All these vices we observe in the course of the comedy.
In the city, the chief leader is the mayor. It is he who is to blame for most of the mistakes made, which caused the audience to “laughter through tears ...”. After the announcement of the arrival of the auditor, the mayor immediately gives orders to his subordinates to take urgent measures in the hospital, court, and schools. At the same time, it is amusing to listen to the thoughtful opinion of the most “enlightened and free-thinking” person in the city, Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin, who explains this visit with political reasons, with the fact that Russia wants to wage war. This scene gives an idea of the state of affairs in the city. Everywhere is clutter and dirt. In court, the watchman bred geese, of course, this is not acceptable in such an institution, but this does not mean that the judge can just let them go to dinner without asking the watchman. In this we see one of the listed vices - arbitrariness. Let us recall how readily the postmaster accepts the mayor's request to “print and read a little” each letter arriving at the post office.
Many interesting and funny moments are connected with Khlestakov. This young man essentially does not represent anything, but it is amazing how he lies with inspiration and artistic, and officials believe his every word and do not notice the holes in this lie. But not only Khlestakov lies, but all the heroes of the comedy, trying to impress the auditor. The mayor claims that he is disgusted with card games, in his opinion, it’s better to spend time “for the benefit of the state”. But he does it completely differently.
After that, we observe another vice - bribery. All officials give bribes to the auditor, and Khlestakov willingly accepts them, each time asking for more and more “you don’t have money, do you borrow a thousand rubles?” The mayor's wife and daughter are actively preparing for the arrival of the "capital thing", upon his arrival they flirt with him, and Khlestakov, not knowing whom to choose, rushes to one lady, then to another. Leaving, he promises to marry Marya Antonovna, and, of course, everyone believed. And the mayor and his wife are already fantasizing with might and main about life in St. Petersburg and about the appointment of the mayor to the post of general.
One of the vices of comedy helps to find out the truth about Khlestakov and the auditor “I see a letter, and the address on Pochtamtskaya Street is from the auditor. I took it and printed it out. Khlestakov reveals the whole truth about the officials in this letter. But instead of understanding and correcting, officials are angry with him and grieve about their money. At the end, a real auditor arrives, and we can say that fate judged everyone fairly.
Essay on literature on the topic: Laughter through tears
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- In The History of a City, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin rose to the top of the government: in the center of this work is a satirical depiction of the relationship between the people and the authorities, the Foolovites and their mayors. The author is convinced that bureaucratic power is the result of “minority”, the civil immaturity of the people. The book satirically Read More ......
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- Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is an outstanding master of words, a brilliant prose writer and an unsurpassed satirist. His creations are an inexhaustible source of the bewitching beauty of art, scourging satire and sparkling humor. At the time when Gogol began his literary activity, the main issue of the social development of Russia was Read More ......
In the comedy "The Government Inspector" N.V. Gogol "decided to collect everything bad in Russia into one heap ... and at one time laugh at everything." In the play, the writer draws satirical images of officials and comical situations with their participation. However, exposing the vices of society, Gogol lays down the idea of the relevance of the problem he posed, which is why laughter sounds in the comedy “through tears”.
For a more accurate understanding of the images of the characters by the reader, Gogol gives a description of the portrait, character, manner of speech and other details of each character in the poster. Thanks to this technique, even before the start of the action, it becomes known about the bribery of the mayor, about Khlestakov’s “candor and simplicity”, about the helpfulness and fussiness of Strawberry, as well as about other features of the inhabitants of the city N. Through an accurate description of each of the characters, the author emphasizes the satirical nature of the image of each of them and helps the reader to recognize himself in any character. This is necessary for the implementation of the set by N.V. Gogol's tasks: to make society think about universal human vices and eradicate them.
It is worth referring to the situations recreated by the writer. So, for example, at Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin's court, "the watchmen brought domestic geese with small caterpillars." No matter how comical this fact may sound, it speaks of the irresponsibility of the person holding the post of judge. Although Lyapkin-Tyapkin does not take his official duties seriously: "... I have been sitting on the judge's chair for fifteen years now, and when I look at the memorandum - ah! I just wave my hand. " The caretaker of charitable institutions Strawberry is just as irresponsible. The hero has long given up on everything: he knows about theft in hospitals, but he doesn’t care at all about this. Strawberry declares about his patients: “He will die, he will die like that, if he recovers, then he will recover anyway.” The postman also shows a careless attitude to the service Shpekin: the hero loves to read other people's letters, and leaves the ones he likes as a keepsake.By drawing the life of the inhabitants of the city N, N.V. Gogol makes the reader understand that his play is not so funny as it is sad.
Special attention should be paid to the brightest character in the comedy - Khlestakov. He is an ordinary office worker and an avid card player, loves to lie and easily believes his own lies. When the hero realizes that he was recognized as an auditor, he quickly gets used to the role, which can be concluded from Khlestakov's monologues. For example, Khlestakov says that he is “on a friendly footing” with Pushkin, and in general he often sees writers. The hero appropriated to himself the authorship of many famous works, and his house is known throughout St. Petersburg ("It's already known: the house of Ivan Alexandrovich."). Such a topical character, embodied by Gogol in comedy, gave rise to the concept of "Khlestakovism", the meaning of which lies in lies and pretense, in the ability to try on "masks" and convincingly get used to the role. The image of Khlestakov, like no other, proves the sadness of N.V. Gogol.
Thus, in the comedy "The Government Inspector", N.V. Gogol satirically denounced universal human vices, forcing the reader to think about the need to fight them.
In the wonderful comedy The Inspector General, N.V. Gogol easily and freely introduces the reader to the world of a provincial county town, remote from the capital. The measured course of life is disturbed by the "unpleasant news" about the arrival of the auditor. Such a plot was not new; funny anecdotes circulated about such cases. Even Gogol himself was once mistaken for a secret auditor. This plot made it possible for the remarkable satirist to depict the entire bureaucratic Rus'.
The author builds various comic situations in the play, which help to understand the vices of the bureaucratic class. The mayor is described in most detail in the comedy, thanks to the remarks, the author's remarks, the image of a swindler, a bribe taker and a petty tyrant emerges. With the arrival of the auditor, wretchedness of thinking, stupidity and cowardice are added to these qualities. For example, in response to a message from one of the wards that the assessor “slightly smells of vodka,” he recommends that he “be advised to eat onions or garlic.”
The main object of Gogol's satire is the Russian bureaucracy. The author tried to create images-symbols that personify the main vices of this social group. Each of the characters is multifaceted, but has a certain predominant character trait that allows us to consider him the personification of a specific social evil. For example, Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin is the embodiment of an indifferent attitude to the case, an absolute misunderstanding of the essence of his activity. At the same time, he is far from the most negative character, although he takes bribes, like all officials, he justifies himself by the fact that he receives not money, but greyhound puppies. He is an avid hunter, is known in the city as a freethinker, because he has read five or six books, and this sharply distinguishes him from the bureaucratic environment. It's amusing to listen to the thoughtful conclusions of the most "enlightened" person in the city, who characterizes the visit of the inspector by the fact that Russia is going to start a war with Turkey.
Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky tells the trustee of charitable institutions, Zemlyanika, to put the patients in order, pointing out that strong tobacco is smoked in the hospital, they go without caps and in general are more like blacksmiths. A special place in the comedy is occupied by Luka Lukich Khlopov, a terrified superintendent of county schools, who is afraid of superiors: “... if someone speaks to me with a higher rank, I have no soul dirt sticks." To the reasoning of the mayor about school teachers, for example, about the one who, having entered the department, necessarily makes a terrible grimace, which can be misinterpreted by Mr. Inspector, Khlopov recalls how, because of such behavior of the teacher, he he was reprimanded for instilling freedom-loving thoughts in the youth. Isn't such a conclusion absurd, which speaks, firstly, of the empty talk of officials-no one's reasoning, and secondly, of the absolute limitation of their horizons. No less ridiculous is the figure of the postmaster, who with such readiness and understanding perceives the request of the city-nothing to "print and read a little" every letter that comes to the post office. Shpekin does not hesitate to read other people's letters, which he finds more interesting than Moskovskiye Vedomosti. He keeps the ones he especially likes in order to read out the most “playful” passages to the public.
The image of Khlestakov, who was mistaken for a secret auditor, helps to expand the scope of the idea of \u200b\u200bthe outright stupidity of the heroes. The inspired lie of this character makes us no longer smile, but openly laugh. It's funny to hear about sumptuous meals delivered directly from Paris, from the lips of a man leading a half-starved existence. Having lied, he pretends to be a famous writer, naming the popular magazine Moskovskie Vedomosti as his work. His lie goes so far that he appropriates the authorship of "Yuri Miloslavsky", and to the question of Maria Antonovna whether this work is Mr. Zagoskin's, he answers: "Ah, yes! This is definitely Zagoskina, but there is another “Yuri Miloslavsky”, so that one is already mine. But here a paradoxical situation arises. A simple-minded person (without a king in his head), who does not lie according to plan and therefore lets it out, unwittingly, circles around the finger of worldly-wise officials who take Khlestakov's nonsense for the truth, and his true face for a skillful mask. The remark that accidentally escaped from Khlestakov’s lips: “As you run up the stairs to your fourth floor, you only say to the cook:“ On, Mavrushka, overcoat ”- is taken by the audience for the role of a poor official skillfully played by him.
Thus, exposing to the public the vices of civil servants. Gogol whips them with his merciless laughter: And the comic here sets off even more vividly the tragic picture of bureaucratic abuses.
