Provincial officials in the poem are dead souls. Essay “Brief description of the images of landowners and officials in the novel “Dead Souls”

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The city governor is one of the minor characters in the poem "Dead Souls". Like other officials of the city of N, the governor is delighted with the charming swindler Chichikov, invites him to his evening and introduces him to his wife and daughter. The stupid governor, like all other officials, realizes too late who Chichikov is. The swindler Chichikov safely leaves the city with ready-made documents for the “dead souls”.

Vice-Governor “...with the Vice-Governor and the Chairman of the Chamber, who were still only state councilors...” “...And the Vice-Governor, isn’t it, what a nice person?..” (Manilov about him) “...Very, very worthy a man,” answered Chichikov...” “... He and the vice-governor are Goga and Magog!...” (Sobakevich says that the vice-governor and the governor are robbers)

The prosecutor is one of the officials of the city of N in the poem “Dead Souls” by Gogol. The main features of the prosecutor's appearance are his thick eyebrows and his blinking eye. According to Sobakevich, among all the officials the prosecutor is the only decent person, but he is still a “pig.” When Chichikov's scam is revealed, the prosecutor is so worried that he suddenly dies.

The postmaster is one of the officials of the city of N in the poem “Dead Souls”. This article presents a quotation image and characteristics of the postmaster in the poem “Dead Souls”: a description of the appearance and character of the hero
The chairman of the chamber is one of the officials of the city N in the poem "Dead Souls". Ivan Grigorievich is a rather nice, amiable, but rather stupid person. Chichikov easily deceives both the chairman and other officials. The stupid chairman of the chamber does not suspect Chichikov’s scam and even helps himself draw up documents for the “dead souls.”

Police chief Alexey Ivanovich is one of the officials of the provincial city N in the poem “Dead Souls”. Sometimes this character is mistakenly called "police chief". But, according to the text of “Dead Souls,” the hero’s position is called “police chief.” This article presents a quotation image and characteristics of the police chief in the poem “Dead Souls”: a description of the appearance and character of the hero.
Inspector of the medical board “...he even came to pay respects to the inspector of the medical board...” “... Inspector of the medical board, he is also an idle person and, probably, at home, if he didn’t go somewhere to play cards...” (Sobakevich about him) “... Inspector the doctor's office suddenly turned pale; he imagined God knows what: didn’t the word “dead souls” mean sick people who died in significant numbers in hospitals and other places from epidemic fever, against which no proper measures were taken, and that Chichikov was not sent ... "

City mayor “...Then I was […] at a snack after mass, given by the city mayor, which was also worth lunch...” “Nozdryov […] read in the mayor’s note that there might be a profit, because they were expecting some newcomer for the evening...” (the mayor hopes to profit)

Gendarme Colonel “...the Gendarme Colonel said that he was a learned man...” (Colonel about Chichikov)

Manager of state-owned factories “...then he was […] with the head of state-owned factories..”
City architect “...he even came to pay respects […] to the city architect

Officials are a special social stratum, a “link” between the people and the authorities. This is a special world, living by its own laws, guided by its own moral principles and concepts. The topic of exposing the depravity and limitations of this class is topical at all times. Gogol dedicated a number of works to her, using the techniques of satire, humor, and subtle irony.

Arriving in the provincial town of N, Chichikov pays visits to the city's dignitaries in accordance with etiquette, which prescribes visiting the most significant persons first. The first on this “list” was the mayor, to whom “the hearts of the citizens trembled with an abundance of gratitude,” and the last was the city architect. Chichikov acts on the principle: “Don’t have money, have good people to work with.”

What was the provincial city like, about whose welfare the mayor was so “concerned”? There is “bad lighting” on the streets, and the house of the “father” of the city is like a “bright comet” against the background of the dark sky. In the park the trees “became ill”; in the province - crop failures, high prices, and in a brightly lit house - a ball for officials and their families. What can you say about the people gathered here? - Nothing. Before us are “black tailcoats”: no names, no faces. Why are they here? – Show yourself, make the right contacts, have a good time.

However, “tailcoats” are not uniform. “Thick” (they know how to manage things better) and “thin” (people who are not adapted to life). “Fat” people buy real estate, registering it in their wife’s name, while “thin” people let everything they have accumulated go down the drain.

Chichikov is going to make a deed of sale. The “white house” opens to his gaze, which speaks of the purity of the “souls of the positions located in it.” The image of the priests of Themis is limited to a few characteristics: “wide necks”, “lots of paper”. The voices are hoarse among the lower ranks, majestic among the bosses. The officials are more or less enlightened people: some have read Karamzin, and some “have not read anything at all.”

Chichikov and Manilov “move” from one table to another: from the simple curiosity of youth - to Ivan Antonovich Kuvshinny’s snout, full of arrogance and vanity, creating the appearance of work in order to receive the due reward. Finally, the chairman of the chamber, shining like the sun, completes the deal, which should be noted, which is carried out with the light hand of the police chief - a “benefactor” in the city, receiving twice as much income as all his predecessors.

The extensive bureaucratic apparatus in pre-revolutionary Russia was a true disaster for the people. Therefore, it is natural that the satirical writer pays attention to him, sharply criticizing bribery, sycophancy, emptiness and vulgarity, low cultural level, and the unworthy attitude of bureaucrats towards their fellow citizens.

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Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol more than once addressed the topic of bureaucratic Russia. The satire of this writer affected contemporary officials in such works as “The Inspector General,” “The Overcoat,” and “Notes of a Madman.” This theme is also reflected in N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls,” where, starting from the seventh chapter, bureaucracy is the focus. In contrast to the portraits of landowners depicted in detail in this work, the images of officials are given in only a few strokes. But they are so masterful that they give the reader a complete picture of what a Russian official was like in the 30s and 40s of the 19th century.

This is the governor, embroidering on tulle, and the prosecutor with thick black eyebrows, and the postmaster, the wit and philosopher, and many others. The miniature portraits created by Gogol are well remembered for their characteristic details, which give a complete picture of a particular character. For example, why is the head of the province, a person occupying a very responsible government position, described by Gogol as a good-natured man who embroiders on tulle? The reader is forced to think that he is not capable of anything else, since he is characterized only from this side. And a busy person is unlikely to have time for such an activity. The same can be said about his subordinates.

What do we know from the poem about the prosecutor? It is true that he, as an idle man, sits at home. This is how Sobakevich speaks of him. One of the most significant officials in the city, called upon to monitor the rule of law, the prosecutor did not bother himself with public service. All he did was sign papers. And all the decisions were made for him by the solicitor, “the first grabber in the world.” Therefore, when the prosecutor died, few could say what was outstanding about this man. Chichikov, for example, thought at the funeral that the only thing the prosecutor could be remembered for was his thick black eyebrows. “...Why he died or why he lived, only God knows” - with these words Gogol speaks of the complete meaninglessness of the life of a prosecutor.

And what meaning is the life of the official Ivan Antonovich Kuvshinnoe Rylo filled with? Collect more bribes. This official extorts them using his official position. Gogol describes how Chichikov placed a “piece of paper” in front of Ivan Antonovich, “which he did not notice at all and immediately covered with a book.”

N.V. Gogol in the poem “Dead Souls” not only introduces the reader to individual representatives of the bureaucracy, but also gives them a unique classification. He divides them into three groups - lower, thin and thick. The lower ones are represented by petty officials (clerks, secretaries) Most of them are drunkards. The thin ones are the middle stratum of the bureaucracy, and the fat ones are the provincial nobility, who know how to derive considerable benefit from their high position.

The author also gives us an idea of ​​the lifestyle of Russian officials in the 30s and 40s of the nineteenth century. Gogol compares officials with a squadron of flies swooping down on tasty morsels of refined sugar. They are occupied by playing cards, drinking, lunches, dinners, and gossip. In the society of these people, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. Gogol portrays this class as thieves, bribe-takers and slackers. That is why they cannot convict Chichikov of his machinations - they are bound by mutual responsibility, each, as they say, “has a cannon.” What if they try to detain Chichikov? for fraud, all their sins will come out.

In “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” Gogol completes the collective portrait of an official he gave in the poem. The indifference that the disabled war hero Kopeikin faces is terrifying. And here we are no longer talking about some small county officials. Gogol shows how a desperate hero, who is trying to get the pension he is entitled to, reaches the highest authorities. But even there he does not find the truth, faced with the complete indifference of a high-ranking St. Petersburg dignitary. Thus, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol makes it clear that vices have affected the entire bureaucratic Russia - from a small county town to the capital. These vices make people “dead souls.”

In "Dead Souls" the theme of serfdom is intertwined with the theme of bureaucracy, bureaucratic arbitrariness and lawlessness. The guardians of order in the poem are in many ways related to the landowners. Gogol draws the attention of readers to this already in the first chapter of Dead Souls. Talking about thin and fat gentlemen, the author of the poem comes to the conclusion: “Finally, the fat man, having served God and the sovereign, having earned universal respect, leaves the service... and becomes a landowner, a glorious Russian gentleman, a hospitable man, and lives and lives well. ..” This is an evil satire on robber officials and on the “hospitable” Russian bar.
Both the owners of the estates and the provincial officials are at the lowest level of culture and education. Manilov, as we remember, has had the same book open on page fourteen for two years now. The officials “were also more or less enlightened people: some read Karamzin, some Moskovskie Vedomosti, some didn’t even read anything at all.”
Landowners and officials do not burden themselves with concerns about state affairs. The concept of civic duty is alien to both. Both of them live idly.
In the notes to the first volume of Dead Souls, Gogol wrote: “The idea of ​​a city. Emptiness that has arisen to the highest degree. Idle talk. Gossip that has gone beyond limits... All this arose from idleness and took on the expression of the most ridiculous...”
When registering the purchase of serfs, witnesses were required. “Send now to the prosecutor,” says Sobakevich, “he is an idle man and, probably, sits at home: the lawyer Zolotukha, the greatest grabber in the world, does everything for him. The inspector of the medical board, he is also an idle man and, probably, at home, if not I went somewhere to play cards..."
In the society of officials, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. The ladies quarrel, and their husbands quarrel: “Of course, there was no duel between them, because they were all civil officials, but one tried to harm the other wherever possible, which, as you know, is sometimes harder than any duel.”
The city's leaders are unanimous only in their desire to live widely at the expense of "the sums of their dearly beloved fatherland." Officials rob both the state and the petitioners. Embezzlement, bribery, robbery of the population are everyday and completely natural phenomena. The police chief “only has to blink when passing a fish row or a cellar” for balychki and excellent wines to appear on his table. No request is considered without a bribe. The chairman of the chamber warns Chichikov: “... don’t give anything to the officials... My friends shouldn’t pay.” The only exception is for friends (but Chichikov still, just in case, did not break the unwritten law and gave a bribe to Ivan Antonovich).
The police keep the city in constant fear. When society began to talk about a possible revolt of Chichikov’s men, the police chief noted that “in the disgust of it (the rebellion) there is the power of the police captain, that the police captain, although he did not go himself, but only sent his own cap to take his place, but one cap will drive the peasants to their very place of residence."
There is no significant difference in the actions and views of officials, in their way of life. Gogol creates, as it were, a group portrait of people connected by mutual responsibility.
When Chichikov’s scam was revealed, the officials were confused, and “suddenly they found ... sins in themselves.” Hence their indecision: is Chichikov the kind of person “who needs to be detained and captured as ill-intentioned, or is he the kind of person who can himself seize and detain them all as ill-intentioned.” The tragic situation in which the “owners of the city” found themselves was created as a result of their criminal activities. Gogol laughs, laughs evilly and mercilessly. People in power help the fraudster in his dirty, criminal machinations and are afraid of him.
Arbitrariness and lawlessness are committed not only by the authorities of the provincial city, but also by senior officials and the government itself. “With the Tale of Captain Kopeikin” Gogol touched upon this very dangerous topic.
The hero and invalid of the Patriotic War of 1812, Captain Kopeikin, goes to the capital to ask for help. He is struck by the luxury of St. Petersburg, the splendor of the chambers and the cold indifference of the dignitary to the estate of a disabled person. The captain's persistent, legitimate requests for help were unsuccessful. The angry nobleman expelled him from St. Petersburg.
With the image of a soulless dignitary depicted in The Tale of Captain Kopeikin, Gogol completes his characterization of the world of officials. All of them, starting from Ivan Antonovich “jug snout”, a minor official of a provincial town, and ending with a nobleman, reveal the same pattern: swindlers, soulless people are guarding the rule of law.
The ending of "The Tale..." Captain Kopeikin did not accept cruelty and insult is significant. “A gang of robbers appeared in the Ryazan forests, and the ataman of this gang, my sir, was none other...”, like Captain Kopeikin.
With “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” Gogol reminded dignitaries of the anger of the oppressed people, of the possibility of open action against the authorities.
“Oh,” you say, after reading about the life of the city of NN, “don’t we ourselves know that there is a lot of despicable and stupid things in life! Why is the author showing us this again?” However, I think Gogol wanted to show this “despicable and stupid” not with the aim of irritating the reader. He wanted to correct a person, make life better. And he believed that only by reflecting, as in a mirror, all social and human vices can one fight them. I believe that the brilliant poem “Dead Souls” is the best confirmation of this.

Collection of essays: Officials of the city of NN in N. V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”

The theme of bureaucracy, bureaucratic arbitrariness and lawlessness runs through the entire work of N.V. Gogol. Images of officials are found in the romantic stories “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, in the realistic works of “Mirgorod” and stories about St. Petersburg. The comedy "The Inspector General" is dedicated to bureaucracy.

In “Dead Souls” this theme is intertwined with the theme of serfdom. The guardians of order are in many ways related to the landowners. Gogol draws the attention of readers to this already in the first chapter of the work. Talking about thin and fat gentlemen, the author of the poem comes to the conclusion: “Finally the fat one, having served God and to the sovereign, having earned universal respect, he leaves his service... and becomes a landowner, a glorious Russian gentleman, a hospitable man, and lives and lives well...” The work gives an evil satire on robber officials and on the “hospitable” Russian bar.

So, the officials in the poem are shown satirically. For the author, they, like the landowners, are “dead souls.” The symbolic meaning of the title of the work also applies to officials. Talking about them, Gogol skillfully reflects the individual qualities of the governor, prosecutor, postmaster and others and at the same time creates a collective image of the bureaucracy.

While still in the city, before his trip to the noble estates, Chichikov pays visits to city officials. This allows the author to introduce officials to the reader and draw their expressive portraits. Here is one of them - a portrait of the governor: like Chichikov, he “was neither fat nor thin, had Anna on his neck, and it was even rumored that he had been introduced to a star; however, he was a great good-natured man and even sometimes embroidered on tulle himself...” Gogol combines “high” and “low” in his characterization: “star” and embroidery. It turns out that the governor was nominated for an award not for services to the Fatherland, but for his ability to embroider. With the help of subtle irony, the author exposes the idleness of one of the most important persons in the city.

Gogol uses the same technique of inconsistency when describing the postmaster, “a short man, but a wit and a philosopher.” The author deliberately violates logic: he combines the incompatible in the characterization of the hero. After all, “short” is a distinctive feature of a person’s appearance, and “philosopher” is an assessment of his mental abilities The adversative conjunction “but” in this phrase enhances the alogism: despite his short stature, the hero is a philosopher. Words in strange proximity take on a different meaning. The word “low” no longer denotes an external appearance, but refers to the inner life of a person. It is in this way that Gogol exposes the low demands of an official. The postmaster, it turns out, has only one strong passion in life. This is not service, but playing cards. Only at the playing table, a “grandiose” mental principle in the character is manifested: “... having taken the cards in his hands, he immediately expressed a thinking physiognomy on his face, covered his upper lip with his lower lip and maintained this position throughout the entire game.”

By visiting important persons of the city with Chichikov, the reader is convinced that they do not burden themselves with concerns about state affairs. Officials live idly, devoting all their time to dinner parties and playing cards. For example, Chichikov went “...to lunch with the police chief, where from three o’clock in the afternoon they sat down to whist and played until two o’clock in the morning.” When registering the purchase of serfs, witnesses were required. “Send now to the prosecutor,” says Sobakevich, “he is a man he’s idle and probably sits at home: the solicitor does everything for him.”

With irony, bordering on sarcasm, the author shows the level of culture and education of provincial officials. They were “... more or less enlightened people: some read Karamzin, some Moskovskie Vedomosti, some even read nothing at all.” The topic of conversation at social events is a clear indication of the spiritual poverty and narrow outlook of civil servants. They talk about horses, dogs, talk about playing billiards and “making hot wine.” Often at parties they gossip about the tricks of judges and “customs overseers and officials.”

In the society of officials, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. Ladies quarrel, and their husbands quarrel. “There was no duel, of course, between them, because they were all civil officials, but on the other hand, each tried to harm the other wherever possible, which, as we know, is sometimes more difficult than any duel.”

Gogol shows the immorality of officials even through the description of the public places where they serve. “On the square there is a large three-story stone house, all white as chalk...” The author ironically explains: “... white as chalk, probably to depict the purity of the souls of the positions housed in it.” These “pure souls” want only one thing: to live widely at the expense of “the sums of their dearly beloved fatherland.”

Officials rob both the state and the petitioners. Embezzlement, bribery, robbery of the population are everyday and completely natural phenomena. The police chief “only has to blink when passing a fish row or a cellar,” as balyks and excellent wines appear on his table. Not a single request is considered without a bribe. The chairman of the chamber warns Chichikov: “... you don’t give anything to the officials... My friends should not to pay". Monstrous immorality is revealed in these words of a high-ranking official. He calls everything by its proper name, without even trying to hide his general corruption. All officials use their official position for personal interests. In bureaucratic Russia this has become an unwritten law.

There is no significant difference in the actions and views of officials, in their way of life. Gogol creates a group portrait of people connected by mutual responsibility. When Chichikov’s scam was revealed, the officials were confused and everyone “suddenly found ... sins in themselves.” Hence their indecision: is Chichikov the kind of person “who needs to be detained and captured as ill-intentioned, or is he the kind of person who can seize and detain them all himself?” as ill-intentioned." The tragicomic situation in which the “owners of the city” found themselves was created as a result of their criminal activities.

Gogol angrily and mercilessly ridicules officials. He cannot tolerate arbitrariness and lawlessness. By showing people in power as crooks, the author makes the reader horrified and think about true human destiny.