Formation of Chichikov's life ideals. Life ideals and moral character of Chichikov, essays on Russian literature

N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” was written in the late 40s of the 19th century. In this work, Gogol depicts the Russian society of that time, all the shortcomings of autocratic-serf Russia. The main character of the poem is the nobleman Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. Whether he came from the pillars or personal nobles - we do not know. He received a modest education, but due to his “excellent” abilities he was promoted, although he did not stay in one place for long.

Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov's parents belonged to a bankrupt

The nobility and lived far from the city on their abandoned estate. Chichikov spent his entire childhood at home - “he didn’t go anywhere or go anywhere.” His life went very dimly and unnoticed. His father, a sick man, always told him: “Don’t lie, obey your elders and carry virtue in your heart.”

So nine years passed. One spring morning, on an old nag, Pavlusha’s father takes Pavlusha to the city to study. This is where our hero’s independent life begins.

Before leaving, Pavel Ivanovich's father gave him advice for life. They became the “prayer” of his life: “Look, Pavlusha, study, don’t be stupid and don’t hang around, but most of all please your teachers and bosses. Don’t hang out with your comrades, they won’t teach you any good, but if that’s the case, hang out with those who are richer, so that they can be useful to you on occasion. Take care and save a penny, it will not give you away, no matter what trouble you are in. You will do everything and ruin everything in the world with a penny.” Chichikov never forgot these instructions from his father in his life, he followed them everywhere and always, they became the goal and incentive of his worthless life, for only self-interest, money and selfishness entered the heart of this man from childhood.

From the very next day, Pavlusha began going to school. He did not have any special abilities for any of the sciences, but he turned out to have completely different abilities, from the practical side. From the very first day, he began to follow his father’s instructions: he was friends only with the rich, he was the first favorite, “in class he sat so quietly that no one could sit like that for even a minute - the teachers loved him very much for this. When the bell rang, he jumped up, handed the teacher his briefcase, and then met him in the corridor five times, greeted him and bowed deeply.”

From the very first days, Chichikov was also interested in the material issue. He starts saving money. Either he makes a figure out of wax and sells it profitably either at the market or among his comrades, or he buys gingerbread and waits until his comrades’ stomachs tighten, and then he will “rip off four skins” for it. He put the money in a bag. When they reached five rubles, Chichikov sewed it together and began saving it for another.

When our hero left school, he immediately got to work. He worked day and night, slept on tables in the office rooms, dined with the guards, but at the same time always remained neat.

Chichikov was noticed by his superiors, and he was sent to an old military officer for guidance. All the time, Pavel Ivanovich pleased his mentor and became his “son”. He promised to marry the daughter of the police officer. The old official gave a recommendation to Chichikov, and he also received the rank of police officer. This is what Pavel Ivanovich needed. He stopped going to his “patron” and did not think about marrying his daughter. Chichikov became a famous official. In the service, he took bribes, and the treasury did not go unnoticed by our hero - he got there too. Now he walked around very fashionably and richly dressed. But suddenly, in place of the former head-mattress, a new military man was sent, Strict, the enemy of bribe-takers and everything that is called untruth. He quickly figured out the matter, and Chichikov was kicked out of service.

After some time, Chichikov enters the customs service. There he also “robs” people and the state, but at the same time he works very well. The authorities say about him: “This is a devil, not a man.”

When checking cases at customs, many shortcomings were found. Many officials were arrested. Seeing this, Chichikov himself leaves the service. “He has ten thousand left in money, a small chaise, two serfs,” - all that Pavel Ivanovich was able to “put together” for himself with such efforts.

Time has passed. Chichikov again lives in “beggarly conditions, walks in only a frock coat and wears dirty shirts.” One day he got lucky and got a job as an attorney, where he again carried out his scams and went into hiding.

Pavel Ivanovich is on the road again. So she brings him to the scene of the novel. Here Chichikov decided to run another business: he wants to buy dead serfs from landowners, dead souls who are listed according to the revision

fairy tale alive.

After getting to know the city, its father-officials, visiting all kinds of dinners and balls, Chichikov goes on a journey to the landowners to carry out his plan to buy dead souls.

The first of the landowners to visit Chichikov is Manilov, a sugary, sentimental man who always dreams of various fables. Then he visits the thick-headed landowner Korobochka, Nozdryov - a reckless driver and a reveler, Sobakevich - a strong owner, Plyushkin - a miser and a morally dead man. In all these houses, Chichikov behaves differently, acquiring dead souls by any means and ways. Manilov simply gives them to our hero “out of love and respect for him.” Korobochka sells souls only because she is afraid of the evil spirits with which our businessman frightened her. Sobakevich also sells dead peasants, but not out of fear, but because of his own profit. And Plyushkin sells the peasants “fearing for every penny.” Only Pavel Ivanovich does not acquire anything from Nozdryov, but instead almost falls into the hands of a drunken landowner, then, for the same reason, he hastily leaves the city of N.

That's all we know about the life of our hero. Having read Gogol's poem, we can say about its main character as a low and vile person, resourceful and unprincipled. Yes, this is not an ideal to follow. But...Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is a typical representative of a new type of bourgeois businessman in feudal Russia in the first half of the 19th century.

Chichikov himself cannot only be blamed for his behavior (although it largely depends on the person himself). Time itself, the course of history, plays a significant role here.

N.V. Gogol showed in “Dead Souls” the face of Russia at that time, when the nobility as a class is degrading, when new people come to the first place in life - businessmen-acquirers, people whose thoughts are low, in whose hearts there is nothing human left, except for profit, personal gain.

In his poem, the writer exposes feudal Russia (Chichikov, landowners, officials), whose life is measured only by money, where the dead are bought, where the living are sold. And all this is ruled by “dead souls” - people without souls and hearts. “Where are you rushing, Rus'-troika, what are you striving for if you are dead and only the dead live among you?” - Gogol asks his readers. Gogol wrote his poem, trying to revive Russia and protect it from Chichikov and others like him.

Fulfilling the task set for himself “to show at least one side of the whole of Russia,” Gogol creates the image of an entrepreneur-adventurer, almost unknown before him in Russian literature. Gogol was one of the first to notice that the modern age is an age of mercantile relations, when material wealth becomes the measure of all values in human life. In Russia at that time, a type of new person appeared - the acquirer, the goal of whose life aspirations turned out to be money. The rich tradition of the picaresque novel, the center of which was a hero of low birth, a swindler and a deceiver seeking to profit from his adventures, gave the writer the opportunity to create an artistic image reflecting Russian reality in the first third of the 19th century.

In contrast to the virtuous character of classic novels, as well as the hero of romantic and secular stories, Chichikov had neither nobility of character nor nobility of origin. Defining the type of hero with whom the author had to go hand in hand for a long time, he calls him a “scoundrel.” The word "scoundrel" has several meanings. It denotes both a person of low origin, a descendant of the rabble, and one who is ready to do anything to achieve a goal. Thus, the central figure of Gogol’s poem becomes not a tall hero, but an antihero. The result of the education that the tall hero received was honor. Chichikov follows the path of “anti-education”, the result of which is “anti-honor”. Instead of a high code of morality, he learns the art of living amidst adversity and misadventure.

Chichikov's life experience, which he acquired in his father's house, taught him to place his happiness in material wealth - this undoubted reality, and not in honor - an empty appearance. Advising his son upon entering school, his father gives him precious instructions that Pavlusha will follow throughout his life. First of all, the father advises his son to “please teachers and bosses.”

Then his father, not seeing the benefit of friendship, advises him not to associate with his comrades, or, for that matter, to associate with those who are richer, so that they can be useful on occasion. Not to treat or treat anyone, but to behave in such a way that he will be treated, is another wish of the father to his son. And finally, the most valuable advice is to “save and save a penny most of all: this thing is more reliable than anything in the world.” “A comrade or friend will deceive you and in trouble will be the first to betray you, but a penny will not betray you, no matter what trouble you are in. You will do everything and ruin everything in the world with a penny.”

Already the first steps of the independent life of Gogol’s hero revealed in him a practical mind and the ability to self-sacrifice for the sake of accumulating money. Without spending a penny on delicacies from the half-ruble of copper he received from his father, he added to it that same year. His ingenuity and enterprise in ways of making money are amazing. He made a bullfinch out of wax, painted it and sold it very profitably. He bought food at the market and sat next to those who were richer, tempting them with gingerbread or a bun. When they felt hungry, he took money from them, taking into account their appetite. Having discovered amazing patience, he tinkered with the mouse for two months, teaching it to get up and lie down on command, so that he could later sell it at a profit. He sewed the proceeds from these speculations into a bag and began saving another one.

Ingenuity in terms of ways to make money will become his hallmark in the future. If he himself had not participated in the enterprise with the journey of Spanish sheep across the border, no one would have been able to carry out such a thing. The idea of buying up dead souls that came to his mind was so unusual that he had no doubt about its success, if only because no one would believe in the possibility of such an enterprise.

“In relation to his superiors, he behaved even smarter,” says the author. His obedience at school was unparalleled.

Immediately after the lesson, he handed the teacher a hat, and on the way home he caught his eye three times, constantly taking off his hat. All this helped him to be in excellent standing at the school, upon graduation to receive an excellent certificate and “a book with golden letters for exemplary diligence and trustworthy behavior.”

But then a misfortune happened with the teacher, who distinguished Pavlusha from others and set him up as an example to the rest of the students. Former students, wise men and wits, whom this teacher did not like, suspecting them of disobedience and arrogant behavior, collected the funds necessary to help him. Only Chichikov refused to help his teacher, regretting the money he had accumulated. “He cheated me, he cheated me a lot...” the teacher will say when he learns about the behavior of his favorite student. These words will accompany Pavel Ivanovich all his life.

The next person Pavel Ivanovich will cleverly trick in order to get a higher position is the stern military commander under whom he served. Having achieved nothing by pleasing his unapproachable boss, Chichikov cleverly uses his ugly daughter, pretending to be in love with her. However, having received a new position, he forgets about the wedding and immediately moves to another apartment. Unscrupulousness and even cynicism are revealed in these actions of the hero, who is ready to use any means for the sake of success in his career.

The service for Chichikov was a place of bread, from which he could feed himself through bribes and embezzlement. When the persecution of bribes began, he was not afraid and turned them to his advantage, revealing “straight Russian ingenuity.” By arranging everything so that clerks and secretaries took bribes and shared them with him as the head of the clerk, Chichikov retained his reputation as an honest and incorruptible person.

And Chichikov’s scam with Brabant lace, when he was serving at customs, gave him the opportunity to accumulate in one year such capital as he would not have earned in twenty years of zealous service. Exposed by his comrade, he was sincerely perplexed as to why he was the one who suffered. After all, no one yawns at a position, everyone gains. In his opinion, the position exists to make money.

However, he was not a miser or a miser, who loved money for money's sake and denied himself everything for the sake of hoarding alone. Ahead he imagined a life of all pleasures, with all prosperity, carriages, a well-appointed house, delicious dinners. He even thought about getting married and cared about his future offspring. For this, he was ready to endure all kinds of restrictions and hardships, to conquer everything, to overcome everything.

Thoughts about a possible marriage, like everything else, in Pavel Ivanovich’s mind were accompanied by material calculations. Having accidentally met on the way to Sobakevich a girl he did not know, who later turned out to be the governor’s daughter, who struck him with her youth and freshness, he thought that she could be a tasty morsel if they would give her “a dowry of two thousand two hundred.”

Chichikov’s irresistible strength of character is amazing, his ability not to get lost under the crushing blows of fate, his readiness to start all over again, arm himself with patience, again limit himself in everything, and again lead a difficult life. He expressed his philosophical attitude towards the vicissitudes of fate in the words of proverbs: “If you catch it, you drag it, if it breaks, don’t ask.” Crying won’t help your grief, you have to do something.” The readiness for any adventure for the sake of money makes Chichikov truly a “hero of a penny,” a “knight of profit.”
This capital should become the basis of prosperity for himself and his offspring. Chichikov, who sells nothing and buys nothing, is not bothered by the lack of logic in his desire to build his well-being from scratch.

The image of the new man created by Gogol, who appeared in Russian reality, is not a virtuous person capable of selfless acts for the sake of high ideals, but a cunning rogue performing his tricks in a deceiving and deceived world. It is like a mirror that reflects the dysfunctional state of the social and spiritual life of the nation. This dysfunction, imprinted in the character of the central character, ultimately made his existence possible.

The topic of the Great Patriotic War will disturb the minds and hearts of Russian people for a long time. Our country paid too high a price for its victory. But who won this victory: generals or ordinary soldiers? Is it possible to preserve humanity in inhuman conditions? Are all war participants heroes? How do different people behave in a mortal test situation? Many modern authors pose and solve these and similar questions in their works. The development of the front-line theme, starting from the late 60s - early 70s, proceeded in two main directions: the creation of wide historical canvases - “panoramas”

I have a hamster. This is a female. Her name is Ryzhka. My parents gave it to me last year for my birthday. My hamster has a red back and a white tummy. Ryzhka's fur is soft and fluffy. The hamster's tail is short. When Ryzhka hears a suspicious rustling, she stands up on her hind legs, raises her gray ears and looks in surprise with her black, round, beady eyes. Ryzhka's nose is pink. Sniffing, she moves her antennae. Ryzhka loves bread, seeds, and oatmeal. Loves to eat carrots, cabbage and a piece of apple. Ryzhka stuffs food into her cheeks, and

The creation of the poem “Dead Souls” occurred precisely at a time when in Russia there was a change in the traditional, outdated foundations of society, reforms and changes in people’s thinking were brewing. Even then it was clear that the nobility, with its old traditions and views on life, was slowly dying out; it had to be replaced by a new type of person. Gogol's goal is to describe the hero of his time, declare him loudly, describe his positive qualities and explain what his activities will lead to, as well as how it will affect the destinies of other people.

The central character of the poem

Nikolai Vasilyevich made Chichikov the central character in the poem; he cannot be called the main character, but it is on him that the plot of the poem rests. Pavel Ivanovich's journey is the framework for the entire work. It’s not for nothing that the author placed the hero’s biography at the very end; the reader is not interested in Chichikov himself, he is curious about his actions, why he collects these dead souls and what this will lead to in the end. Gogol does not even try to reveal the character of the character, but he introduces the peculiarities of his thinking, thus giving a hint where to look for the essence of this act of Chichikov. Childhood is where the roots come from; even at a tender age, the hero formed his own worldview, vision of the situation and search for ways to solve problems.

Description of Chichikov

The childhood and youth of Pavel Ivanovich are unknown to the reader at the beginning of the poem. Gogol portrayed his character as faceless and voiceless: against the background of bright, colorful images of landowners with their quirks, the figure of Chichikov is lost, becomes small and insignificant. He has neither his own face nor the right to vote; the hero resembles a chameleon, skillfully adapting to his interlocutor. This is an excellent actor and psychologist, he knows how to behave in a given situation, instantly determines a person’s character and does everything to win him over, says only what they want to hear from him. Chichikov skillfully plays the role, pretends, hides his true feelings, tries to be one of the strangers, but he does all this in order to achieve the main goal - his own well-being.

The childhood of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov

A person’s worldview is formed at a young age, so many of his actions in adulthood can be explained by carefully studying his biography. What guided him, why he collected dead souls, what he wanted to achieve with this - all these questions are answered by The hero’s childhood cannot be called happy, he was constantly haunted by boredom and loneliness. In his youth, Pavlush knew neither friends nor entertainment; he did monotonous, tedious and completely uninteresting work, listened to the reproaches of his sick father. The author did not even hint about maternal affection. One conclusion can be drawn from this - Pavel Ivanovich wanted to make up for lost time, to receive all the benefits that were not available to him in childhood.

But you shouldn’t think that Chichikov is a soulless cracker, thinking only about his own enrichment. He was a kind, active and sensitive child, subtly perceiving the world around him. The fact that he often ran away from his nanny in order to explore previously unseen places indicates Chichikov's curiosity. Childhood shaped his character and taught him to achieve everything on his own. His father taught Pavel Ivanovich to save money and please bosses and rich people, and he put these instructions into practice.

Chichikov's childhood and studies were gray and uninteresting; he tried in every possible way to become a popular person. At first he pleased the teacher in order to become a favorite student, then he promised the boss to marry his daughter in order to get a promotion, working at customs, he convinces everyone of his honesty and impartiality, and he makes a huge fortune for himself through smuggling. But Pavel Ivanovich does all this not with malicious intent, but with the sole purpose of making his childhood dream of a big and bright house, a caring and loving wife, and a bunch of cheerful children come true.

Chichikov's communication with landowners

Pavel Ivanovich could find an approach to everyone, from the first minutes of communication he could understand what a person was like. For example, he did not stand on ceremony with Korobochka and spoke in a patriarchal-pious and even slightly patronizing tone. With the landowner, Chichikov felt relaxed, used colloquial, rude expressions, completely adapting to the woman. With Manilov, Pavel Ivanovich is pompous and amiable to the point of cloying. He flatters the landowner and uses flowery phrases in his speech. By refusing the offered treat, even Plyushkin was pleased by Chichikov. “Dead Souls” very well demonstrates the changeable nature of man, because Pavel Ivanovich adapted to the morals of almost all landowners.

What does Chichikov look like in the eyes of other people?

The activities of Pavel Ivanovich greatly frightened city officials and landowners. At first they compared him with the romantic robber Rinald Rinaldin, then they began to look for similarities with Napoleon, thinking that he had escaped from the island of Helena. In the end, Chichikov was recognized as the real Antichrist. Of course, such comparisons are absurd and even comical to some extent; Gogol ironically describes the fear of the narrow-minded landowners, their speculation about why Chichikov is actually collecting dead souls. The character's characterization hints that the heroes are no longer the same as they used to be. The people could be proud, take an example from the great commanders and defenders, but now there are no such people, they have been replaced by selfish Chichikovs.

Character's Real Self

One would think that Pavel Ivanovich is an excellent psychologist and actor, since he easily adapts to the people he needs and instantly guesses their character, but is this really so? The hero was never able to adapt to Nozdryov, because impudence, arrogance, and familiarity are alien to him. But even here he is trying to adapt, because the landowner is incredibly rich, hence the address to “you”, Chichikov’s boorish tone. Childhood taught Pavlush to please the right people, so he is ready to step over himself and forget about his principles.

At the same time, Pavel Ivanovich practically does not pretend to be with Sobakevich, because they are united by serving the “kopek”. And Chichikov has some similarities with Plyushkin. The character tore the poster from the pole, read it at home, folded it neatly and put it in a small chest in which all sorts of unnecessary things were stored. This behavior is very much reminiscent of Plyushkin, who is prone to hoarding various rubbish. That is, Pavel Ivanovich himself was not so far removed from the same landowners.

The main goal in the hero's life

And once again, money - this is precisely why Chichikov collected dead souls. The character's characteristics indicate that he invents various frauds not just for the sake of profit; there is no stinginess or miserliness in him. Pavel Ivanovich dreams that the time will come when he can finally use his savings, live a calm, prosperous life, without thinking about tomorrow.

The author's attitude towards the hero

There is an assumption that in subsequent volumes Gogol planned to re-educate Chichikov and make him repent of his actions. In the poem, Pavel Ivanovich is not opposed to landowners or officials; he is the hero of the capitalist formation, the “first accumulator” who replaced the nobility. Chichikov is a skilled businessman, an entrepreneur who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. The scam with dead souls was not a success, but Pavel Ivanovich did not suffer any punishment. The author hints that there are a huge number of such Chichikovs in the country, and no one wants to stop them.

It denotes both a person of low origin, a descendant of the rabble, and one who is ready to do anything to achieve a goal. Thus, the central figure of Gogol’s poem becomes not a tall hero, but an antihero. The result of the education that the tall hero received was honor. Chichikov follows the path of “anti-education”, the result of which is “anti-honor”. Instead of a high code of morality, he learns the art of living amidst adversity and misadventure.

Chichikov’s life experience, acquired by him in his father’s house....

When Chichikov went to the city of N, readers knew practically nothing about him, but as events developed in the poem, we began to understand a little, although it is still unclear, what kind of person he was, why and for what purposes he came. Chichikov frightened us a little with how quickly he “copied” the external manners of his interlocutors, with the fact that he is an integral part of provincial society (there is some kind of unity between the main character and the inner world of the people he met). Although we cannot say that Chichikov has a purely inhuman, negative character.

For example, he was repulsed by many features in the everyday life, appearance, and psychology of his new acquaintances, but it cannot be said that he was going to make any adjustments to his plans.

Father and life taught Chichikov to save every penny, to please his boss, not to associate with comrades who “won’t teach him good,” and to behave in such a way that, on occasion, his comrades would treat and treat him. “He did not appear to have any special abilities for science; He distinguished himself more by diligence and neatness; but he turned out to have great intelligence from the practical side.” Judging by these words, we can say that Chichikov’s character was formed depending on the conditions in which he found himself. Pavlusha followed his father's advice.

Moreover, already in his childhood his mind was very inventive, “showing almost extraordinary resourcefulness: he molded a bullfinch from wax, painted it and sold it very profitably. Then, for some time, he embarked on other speculations: having bought food at the market, he sat in the classroom next to those who were richer, and, as soon as he noticed that his friend was starting to feel sick, ... he took the money, taking into account his appetite.” Pavlusha trained the mouse for two months and sold it also very profitably. It cannot be said that the hero’s nature was callous (remember how he treated his school mentor); it cannot be said that he knew neither pity nor compassion.

He began his career twice: the first time, when, with great difficulty, he entered the state chamber and served diligently at first in order to become noticeable, the second time, when he served at the customs. But all his attempts to become rich were unsuccessful. Chichikov is a smart, energetic, enterprising person. He miraculously escapes prison and again decides to take the next step.

The acquisition of dead peasants is the purpose of his arrival in the city of N. But this requires both a good education and knowledge of legal matters. Chichikov has all this. The hero is also distinguished by his gentle character and sociability; he is only a mask behind which was hidden an amazing perseverance. Chichikov is an excellent psychologist; he has the ability to immediately determine a person’s character. So, Chichikov is a “new” person in Russia, who aroused the greatest interest and curiosity. He lived at a time when capital was the master in the minds and hearts of people.

For N.V. Gogol, Chichikov is not a petty swindler. The writer saw indomitable energy in the Chichikovs (precisely in the Chichikovs, because Russia is great, there are many of them on earth, and the image of Chichikov seems to me to be collective), in the desire for capital, for the “million”. But he also understood that, striving for millions, people free themselves from everything pure, honest, noble in their souls and become merciless towards people who interfere with the implementation of their plans.

“My hero is not a villain at all...” - these are the words that Gogol wrote in one of his letters to friends. They can also be attributed to Chichikov. He is the only character whose life story is described in every detail.

The hero's whole life passes before us. In order to more fully depict Chichikov’s character, it was important for the writer to show him in his origins - psychological and social - and the process of his subsequent development.

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