How are people represented in dead souls? Composition

Russia in Gogol's time was ruled by landowners and officials similar to the heroes of Dead Souls. It is clear in what position the people, the serf peasantry, had to be.

Following Chichikov on his journey from one landowner's estate to another, we observe a bleak picture of the life of the serf peasantry: their lot is poverty, illness, hunger, and terrible mortality. The landowners treat the peasants as their slaves: they sell them individually, without families; dispose of them like things. “Perhaps I’ll give you a girl,” Korobochka says to Chichikov, “she knows the way, just watch!” Don’t bring it, the merchants have already brought one from me.”

In the seventh chapter, Chichikov reflects on the list of peasants he bought. And before us is revealed a picture of the life and back-breaking work of the people, their patience and courage, violent outbursts of protest. Particularly attractive are the images of Stepan Probka, endowed with heroic strength, a remarkable carpenter-builder, and Uncle Micah, who meekly replaced the murdered Stepan in his dangerous work.

In the soul of the enslaved peasantry there lives a desire for freedom. When the peasants can no longer endure serfdom, they run away from the landowners. True, flight did not always lead to freedom. Gogol tells the ordinary life of a fugitive: life without a passport, without work, almost always arrest, prison. But Plyushkin’s servant Popov still preferred life in prison to returning under the yoke of his master. Abakum Fyrov, escaping from serfdom, went to barge haulers.

Gogol also speaks about cases of mass indignation. The episode of the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin shows the struggle of the serf peasantry against their oppressors.

The great realist writer, Gogol, figuratively speaks about the downtroddenness of the people: “The police captain, even if you don’t go yourself, but only send one cap to your place, then this one cap will drive the peasants to their very place of residence.”

In a country where the peasants were ruled by cruel and ignorant little boxes, Nozdryovs and Sobakeviches, it was not surprising to meet the stupid Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya, and the courtyard Pelageya, who did not know where the right side was and where the left side was.

But Gogol sees at the same time the mighty power of the people, suppressed, but not killed by serfdom. It is manifested in the talent of Mikheev, Stepan Probka, Milushkin, in the hard work and energy of the Russian person, in his ability not to lose heart under any circumstances. “Russian people are capable of anything and get used to any climate. Send him to Kamchatka, just give him warm mittens, he claps his hands, an ax in his hands, and goes to cut himself a new hut,” say officials, discussing the resettlement of Chichikov’s peasants to the Kherson province. Gogol also speaks about the high qualities of the Russian person in his remarks about the “lively people”, about the “efficient Yaroslavl peasant”, about the remarkable ability of the Russian people to aptly characterize a person in one word.

Thus, depicting feudal-serf Rus', Gogol showed not only landowner-bureaucratic Russia, but also people’s Russia, with its persistent and freedom-loving people. He expressed his faith in the living, creative forces of the working masses. A vivid image of the Russian people is given by the writer in his famous likening of Russia to a “three bird”, personifying the essence of the national Russian character.

The people in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"

Russia in Gogol's time was ruled by landowners and officials similar to the heroes of Dead Souls. It is clear in what position the people, the serf peasantry, had to be.
Following Chichikov on his journey from one landowner's estate to another, we observe a bleak picture of the life of the serf peasantry: their lot is poverty, illness, hunger, and terrible mortality. The landowners treat the peasants as their slaves: they sell them individually, without families; dispose of them like things. “Perhaps I’ll give you a girl,” Korobochka says to Chichikov, “she knows the way, just watch!” Don’t bring it, the merchants have already brought one from me.”
In the seventh chapter, Chichikov reflects on the list of peasants he bought. And before us is revealed a picture of the life and back-breaking work of the people, their patience and courage, violent outbursts of protest. Particularly attractive are the images of Stepan Probka, endowed with heroic strength, a remarkable carpenter-builder, and Uncle Micah, who meekly replaced the murdered Stepan in his dangerous work.
In the soul of the enslaved peasantry there lives a desire for freedom. When the peasants can no longer endure serfdom, they run away from the landowners. True, flight did not always lead to freedom. Gogol tells the ordinary life of a fugitive: life without a passport, without work, almost always arrest, prison. But Plyushkin’s servant Popov still preferred life in prison to returning under the yoke of his master. Abakum Fyrov, escaping serfdom, went into barge hauling.
Gogol also talks about cases of mass indignation. ‘The episode of the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin shows the struggle of the serf peasantry against their oppressors.
The great realist writer, Gogol, figuratively speaks about the downtroddenness of the people: “The police captain, even if you don’t go yourself, but only send one cap to your place, then this one cap will drive the peasants to their very place of residence.”
In a country where the peasants were ruled by cruel and ignorant little boxes, Nozdryovs and Dogevichs, it was not surprising to meet the stupid Uncle Mitya and Uncle Minya, and the courtyard Pelageya, who did not know where the right side was and where the left side was.
But Gogol sees at the same time the mighty power of the people, suppressed, but not killed by serfdom. It is manifested in the talent of Mikheev, Stepan Probka, Milushkin, in the hard work and energy of the Russian person, in his ability not to lose heart under any circumstances. “Russian people are capable of anything and get used to any climate. Send him to Kamchatka, just give him warm mittens, he claps his hands, an ax in his hands, and goes to cut himself a new hut,” say officials, discussing the resettlement of Chichikov’s peasants to the Kherson province. Gogol also speaks about the high qualities of the Russian person in his remarks about the “lively people”, about the “efficient Yaroslavl peasant”, about the remarkable ability of the Russian people to aptly characterize a person in one word.
Thus, depicting feudal-serf Rus', Gogol showed not only landowner-bureaucratic Russia, but also people’s Russia, with its persistent and freedom-loving people. He expressed his faith in the living, creative forces of the working masses. A vivid image of the Russian people is given by the writer in his famous likening of Russia to a “three bird”, personifying the essence of the national Russian character.

(347 words) The main place in the work of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is given to the theme of the people. During the author’s life, Russia was ruled by landowners and officials, whom the heroes of the work “Dead Souls” resembled. Therefore, the writer depicted bleak scenes of survival of serfs. Noble landowners mercilessly take advantage of their labor, sometimes treating them like slaves: they buy and sell like their property, sometimes separating them from the family.

Watching the scam of the main character of the poem, Chichikov, it immediately becomes clear in what sad state the Russian peasantry is arriving. The estates of the landowners are replaced one after another, but the general picture of the sad state of the serf peasantry is the same: a low standard of living, a horrific percentage of the dying, advanced stages of disease, a constant lack of food and all-consuming poverty. Someone, like Manilov, simply does not care about the condition of people, letting their lives take their course. Someone, like Sobakevich, keeps them in tight rein, amassing capital. Someone, like Korobochka, keeps everything in exemplary order, but does not understand the needs and aspirations of the peasant, using him only as draft animals. Someone like Nozdryov mindlessly carouses and squanders all the results of peasant labor overnight. And someone like Plyushkin drives his faithful servants to starvation with his greed.

However, in the soul of the serf people there is a thirst for freedom. When bondage becomes an unbearable burden, they run away from their “slave owners.” But escape rarely ends in liberation. Nikolai Vasilyevich reveals the typical life of a fugitive: without work, without a passport, in most cases - in prison. Although Popov, who worked as a yard servant for Plyushkin, chose prison instead of working for his master, such a choice can be characterized as throwing between two evils, from which one chooses the lesser.

A country under the rule of rude and ruthless masters gave birth to the uneducated Uncle Minai and the courtyard Pelageya, who did not understand which side was right and which was left. However, the power of the Russian man, infringed, but not torn apart by serfdom, also opens before us. It’s all in people like the brave Stepan Probka, the gifted Mikheev, and simply in the hard-working and energetic Russian people, who do not lose heart in any, even the most difficult situations.

In his depiction of feudal-serf Rus', Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol revealed Russia not only as a landowner-bureaucratic, but also a people's country, with its gifted and strong population. He showed his confidence in the bright future of his homeland if its support - the peasantry - rises from its knees.

The image of the people in the poem "Dead Souls". The poem “Dead Souls” occupies a special place in the work of N.V. Gogol. Gogol’s global plan is to show all of Russia in cross-section, all its vices and shortcomings. The majority of the population of Russia at that time were peasants. In the poem, their world is described very figuratively.

In my opinion, it is divided into several components. Every landowner always has a little world of peasants that belongs to him and characterizes him.

The peasants themselves are not described, but we can judge them by their homes. At Manilov's, for example, "gray log huts darkened length and breadth."

Korobochka already had other huts, “which, although they were built scattered, but, according to a remark made by Chichikov, showed the contentment of the inhabitants.” Sobakevich’s peasant lands do not cause surprise - we see them as we expected to see them - “poorly tailored, but tightly sewn.” The huts of Plyushkin's peasants, like himself, are shown to be old, dilapidated, and practically unnecessary. In addition to the little worlds of the peasants, in my opinion, there are other little worlds. The first is an allegorical world of peasants who died or fled from their landowners, very different from all the others, which is mentioned only occasionally.

Also on the pages of the poem we feel the presence of another - the so-called “central world of peasants, presented in specific situations. The strangest and most incomprehensible for us, probably, is the world of dead or fled peasants. Its inhabitants are, as it were, opposed to the population of the world of the “living”.

With the help of this technique, Gogol manages to emphasize the poverty of the morals of the main characters. After Sobakevich’s excessively boastful speech describing his dead peasants, he himself, cunning and selfish, descends in our eyes to several levels at once. But the peasants are the property of the landowner; skilled, spiritually rich people were forced to meekly submit to a man with the life principles of a tradesman.

The following reminders about this world show us it from a completely different side. It appears to us as the “world of the living” who have left the “world of the dead.” The so-called central world requires special attention. He imperceptibly joins the narrative at the very beginning of the poem, but its plot line does not often come into contact with it. At first it is almost invisible, but then, along with the development of the plot, the description of this world is revealed.

At the end of the first volume, the description turns into the anthem of all Rus'. Gogol figuratively compares Rus' “with a brisk and unstoppable troika” rushing forward. Throughout the entire narrative, the writer extols the peasants, who constitute the main, most active and useful part of this world, through contrast with the deliberately humiliated landowners, officials, and employees. The description of this world begins with a conversation between two peasant craftsmen discussing the technical capabilities of a crew entering the city of NN. On the one hand, their conversation smacks of idleness; one feels its incompleteness and uselessness.

But, on the other hand, both of them showed a fairly high level of knowledge of the structure and capabilities of the crew. These two characters, in my opinion, are expressionless and are shown more on the negative side than on the positive side. They appear at the very beginning of the work and, as it were, introduce us to the world of the poem. The next colorful representatives of the “central world” shown in the poem are two men who showed Chichikov the way to Manilovka. They know the territory well, but their speech is still lame.

The most colorful character among the peasants, in my opinion, is the one we saw when he dragged “a very thick log E like a tireless ant to his hut.” He expresses the whole sweeping nature of the Russian person. Gogol emphasizes this by speaking through his lips “an aptly spoken Russian word.” The most striking expression of the writer’s patriotic feelings in the poem is his discussion of the fate of Rus'.

Comparing her “immense expanses with the incalculable spiritual riches of her people, Gogol sings an ode of praise to her: “Isn’t it here, in you, that a boundless thought will not be born, when you yourself are endless? Shouldn't a hero be here when there is room for him to turn around and walk?

And a mighty space envelops me menacingly, reflecting with terrible force in the depths of my soul; My eyes lit up with unnatural power: oh! What a sparkling, wonderful, unknown distance to the earth! - Rus!"

Unified State Exam assignment C5 in literature:

How does the ambiguity of the author’s position manifest itself in the depiction of the people? (Based on N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls.”)

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol had a very ambiguous attitude towards the Russian people, and this can be seen in the poem “Dead Souls”.

On the one hand, only peasants can be considered “alive” - morally and spiritually - in the work. The landowners are dead internally: he paints static, practically non-developing images. Manilov indulges in fruitless dreams - and the only book in his office has been open on the same page for many years. The box was mired in household chores. “Cudgel-headed” is the epithet given to this limited woman. Nozdryov has an eccentric disposition, which only temporarily hides his moral squalor from the reader. Sobakevich is a “fist man”, completely devoid of spiritual needs. Plyushkin's stinginess reaches caricature proportions - he is no longer even a person, but a “hole in humanity.”

The officials whose images Gogol paints satirically are also morally dead. These are crooks and bureaucrats who have lost their human appearance.

It is unlikely that the classic’s hopes for a better future for the state were associated with the image of the central character, Chichikov. He knows how to make money, but is alien to any moral principles.

The writer contrasts the Russian people with “dead souls”: landowners, officials, bourgeois. These are smart and hard-working people. Let us remember the episode when Chichikov rereads the lists of dead peasants he bought. It’s a paradox: the men are no longer in the world, but there is much more life in their characteristics than in the descriptions of landowners or officials.

If Gogol speaks of dead serfs with admiration, then humorous notes are felt in the depiction of living peasants. An example is the scene when Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minyai unsuccessfully try to pull Chichikov’s chaise onto the road.

According to Gogol, the future of Russia is connected with the Russian people. However, the writer is far from idealizing the peasants. These are ordinary workers on whom the state rests. But the workers are forced, serfs. They have enormous spiritual potential. And at the same time, one cannot help but notice their ignorance, lack of education, and sometimes even slavish obedience. The serf girl Pelageya does not know how to distinguish the right side from the left. Plyushkin's courtyard servants Proshka and Mavra are extremely busy.

At the end of the poem, Gogol creates a symbolic image of Rus'-troika, which, in my opinion, reveals the writer’s contradictory attitude towards the people. The horses are racing into the distance: Rus', “all inspired by God,” is rushing into an unknown future. And in the chaise, Chichikov is a deceiver, a businessman. There is something to think about... “Rus, where are you going? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer...

Larisa Alexandrova ©