Chichikov’s relationship to each of the landowners is shown in the table. Comrades, help!! What are the similarities between Chichikov and the landowners and what are the differences? Gogol "Dead Souls" Confirm with quotes from the text
Show skill N.V. Gogol in the description of the characters of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls”.
Decor:
- Portraits of Chichikov and landowners.
- Text of the poem “Dead Souls”.
- Presentation “Images of landowners in the poem by N.V. Gogol “Dead Souls”. (Annex 1)
- Fragments of the video film “Dead Souls”. (DVD series “Russian Classics”)
DURING THE CLASSES
I. Organizational moment (greeting).
Reporting the topic of the lesson, goal setting.
II. Teacher's opening speech.
The close-up images of landowners, these “masters of life” who are responsible for its economic and cultural condition, for the fate of the people, are drawn in the poem “Dead Souls”.
What are they, the masters of life? A plan is proposed to analyze the images of landowners. Slide 2
III. Analysis of the image of Manilov.
Which landowner does Chichikov visit first? Slide 3
When does Chichikov's first meeting with Manilov take place? View V ideological fragment “Chichikov at Manilov”
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about Manilov. Performance by the 1st group of students.
What detail in the description of the hero is dominant?
What is hidden behind Manilov’s smiling face? How the author himself characterizes the hero ?
A pleasant Manilov smile for everyone is a sign of deep indifference to everything around him; such people are not capable of experiencing anger, sorrow, joy.
With the help of what details does Gogol give a comic coloring to the images of his characters?
An integral part of Gogol's portrait drawing are poses, clothing, movements, gestures, and facial expressions. With their help, the writer enhances the comic coloring of the images and reveals the true essence of the hero. Manilov's gestures indicate mental impotence, an inability to comprehend what goes beyond the boundaries of his wretched little world.
What is the distinctive feature of Manilov?
His main psychological trait is the desire to please everyone and always.
Manilov is a calm observer of everything that happens; bribe takers, thieves, embezzlers - all the most respected people for him. Manilov is an indefinite person; he has no living human desires. This is a dead soul, a person “so-so, neither this nor that.”
Conclusion. Slide 4
Instead of real feeling, Manilov has a “pleasant smile”, cloying courtesy and a sensitive phrase; instead of thought - some kind of incoherent, stupid reflections, instead of activity - either empty dreams, or such results of “labor” as “slides of ash knocked out of a pipe, arranged, not without effort, in very beautiful rows.”
IV. Analysis of the image of the Box.
Briefly describe the contents of Chapter 3.
What can you learn about Korobochka’s main character trait from the author’s direct description?
Gogol does not hide the irony regarding her thinking abilities: she thought, opened her mouth, looked almost with fear. “Well, the woman seems to be strong-minded!”
The essence of Korobochka's character is especially visible through the dialogical speech of the characters. The dialogue between Korobochka and Chichikov is a masterpiece of comedic art. This conversation can be called a dialogue of the deaf.
Watching the video clip “Dialogue between Korobochka and Chichikov”
What character traits of Korobochka were revealed in the bargaining scene?
She was not embarrassed by the trade in dead souls, she is ready to trade in dead souls, but she is afraid of selling herself cheap. She is characterized by tedious slowness and caution. She went to the city to find out how much “dead souls” were being sold these days.
What is the situation of the peasants near Korobochka?
The village is a source of honey, lard, and hemp, which Korobochka sells. She also trades with peasants.
Draw a conclusion about the meaning of the box's thriftiness .
It turns out that landowner thrift can have the same vile, inhuman meaning as mismanagement.
What made Korobochka like this?
Traditions in the conditions of patriarchal life suppressed Korobochka’s personality and stopped her intellectual development at a very low level; all aspects of life not related to hoarding remained inaccessible to her.
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about the Box. Performance of the 2nd group of students
Conclusion : Slide 6
The “club-headed” box is the embodiment of those traditions that have developed among provincial small landowners leading subsistence farming.
She is a representative of a departing, dying Russia, and there is no life in her, since she is turned not to the future, but to the past.
V. Analysis of Nozdryov’s image.
It consists of separate fragments that tell about the hero’s habits, episodes from his life, manners and behavior in society. Each of these sketches is a condensed story that reveals one or another trait of his character: drunken revelry, a passion for changing everything, an addiction to playing cards, empty vulgar talk, complete lies.
How is Nozdryov’s desire to lie exposed?
In Nozdryov's office, Turkish daggers are shown, on one of which was carved: master Savely Sibiryakov.
What is the hero's speech? ?
Swear words: fetish, pig, scoundrel, rubbish. And this reveals not only a personal, but also a social trait. He is sure that he is allowed to insult and deceive with impunity - after all, he is a landowner, a nobleman, the master of life.
What are Nozdryov’s life goals ?
What Nozdrev cares about is profit: this tavern hero is in no way suitable for the role of an acquirer. He is possessed by a thirst for pleasures - those that are available to his dirty soul. And Nozdryov plays dirty tricks on his neighbor with pleasure, without any malicious intentions, even good-naturedly, since his neighbor is only a means or source of pleasure for him. Pleasure was denied or it did not take place: “fetish”, “scoundrel”, “rubbish”
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about Nozdryov. Speech by the 3rd group of students
Conclusion. Slide 8
In general, Nozdryov is an unpleasant person, since he completely lacks the concepts of honor, conscience, and human dignity.
Nozdryov’s energy turned into scandalous vanity, aimless and destructive.
VI. Analysis of the image of Sobakevich.
What details and things does Gogol use when characterizing Sobakevich? ?
Description of the manor house: “... a wooden house with a mezzanine could be seen... “... In a word, everything he looked at was stubborn, without swaying, in some kind of strong and awkward order.
The Greek heroes in the pictures in his living room were strong, with thick loungers, unheard of mustache
Is there a difference in the characterization of Sobakevich in chapters 1 and 5?
In Chapter 1, Sobakevich is characterized as a person “clumsy in appearance.” This quality is emphasized and deepened in Chapter 5: he looks “like a medium-sized bear.” The author persistently plays on the word “bear”: a bear-colored tailcoat, his name was Mikhail Semyonovich.
What is striking about Sobakevich’s portrait?
In the portrait, what is most striking is the complexion: “.. stony, hot, like the one on a copper coin”;
“It is known that there are many such persons in the world, over the finishing of which nature did not hesitate for long, did not use any small tools, such as files, gimlets and other things, but simply chopped with all their might: I took the ax once - the nose came out, it was enough in another - her lips came out, she picked her eyes with a large drill...”
“Chichikov glanced sideways at him again as they walked into the dining room: bear! A perfect bear!”
Why is Chichikov careful in his conversation with Sobakevich: he did not call the souls dead, but only non-existent?
Sobakevich immediately “smelled” that the proposed deal was fraudulent. But he didn’t even blink an eye.
“Do you need dead souls? - Sobakevich asked very simply, without the slightest surprise, as if we were talking about bread.”
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about Sobakevich. Speech by the 4th group of students
Chichikov is right in thinking that Sobakevich would have remained a kulak even in St. Petersburg, although he was raised according to fashion. Yes, it would have turned out even worse: “if he had tasted the top of some science, he would let me know later, having taken a more prominent place. To all those who actually learned some science.
Sobakevich, like Korobochka, is smart and practical in a business way: they do not ruin men, because it is unprofitable for themselves. They know that in this world everything is bought and sold.
VII. Analysis of the image of Plyushkin.
The theme of moral decline, the spiritual death of the “masters of life” ends with a chapter dedicated to Plyushkin.
Plyushkin is the last portrait in the gallery of landowners. Before us is the complete collapse of the human in man.
How and why a hardworking owner turned into “a hole in humanity” ?
Why does the chapter about Plyushkin begin with a lyrical digression about youth?
Why does Gogol recount the life story of Plyushkin in detail? ?
Gogol turns to the hero’s past, since the moral ugliness is the same as that of other landowners: spiritual possession, which gives rise to soullessness, loss of ideas about the meaning of life, about moral duty, about responsibility for everything that happens around. Plyushkin's tragedy is that he lost contact with people. He sees enemies in everyone, even his own children and grandchildren, ready to plunder good.
The image of Plyushkin is the embodiment of extreme dilapidation and moldiness, and in the characteristics of objects associated with him, Gogol reflected these qualities.
Find in the text artistic means with the help of which the author reveals the essence of the image of Plyushkin .
All the buildings were dilapidated, the logs on the huts were dark and old, the roofs were see-through like a sieve, the fence was broken...
Assignment: using the memo plan, tell about Plyushkin. Speech by the 5th group of students
Conclusion. Slide 12
Mold, dust, rot, and death emanate from the Plyushkin estate. Other details also chill the heart: the old man did not give a penny to either his daughter or his son.
So, for what purpose is the image of Plyushkin depicted in the poem? ?
Consistently, from hero to hero, Gogol exposes the worthless life of the landowners.
The images of landowners are given according to their spiritual impoverishment and moral decline.
It is shown how the disintegration of the human personality gradually took place.
Once upon a time, Plyushkin was just a thrifty owner. The thirst for enrichment turned him into a miser and isolated him from society.
His image reveals one of the varieties of spiritual death. Plyushkin's image is typical.
Gogol exclaimed bitterly: “And a person could condescend to such insignificance, pettiness, and disgustingness! Could have changed so much! And does this seem true? Everything seems to be true, anything can happen to a person.”
VIII. Similarities between Chichikov and landowners.
Landowner, his distinctive feature |
How does this trait manifest itself in Chichikov? |
| Manilov – sweetness, cloying, uncertainty | All residents of the city recognized Chichikov as a pleasant man in all respects |
| Box - petty stinginess | Everything in the box is laid out with the same diligent pedantry as in Nastasya Petrovna’s chest of drawers |
| Nozdryov - narcissism | The desire and ability to please everyone |
| Sobakevich – rude tight-fistedness and cynicism | There is “...no straightforwardness, no sincerity! Perfect Sobakevich” |
| Plyushkin - collecting unnecessary things and carefully storing them | While exploring the city, I tore off the poster, read it, folded it and put it in a small box. |
Chichikov's character is multifaceted, the hero turns out to be a mirror of the landowner he meets, because he has the same qualities that form the basis of the landowners' characters.
IX. Crossword . Slides 15 to 24
X. Summing up.
XI. Homework.
1. Fill out the table according to plan:
- brief description of the landowner;
- description of the landowner's estate;
- description of a shared meal;
- how landowners react to Chichikov’s proposal;
- further actions of the landowners.
2. Write a miniature essay “Why did Chichikov visit the landowners in such a sequence?”
Gogol offers a whole gallery of images of Russian landowners. In each character the author finds something typical and special.
In general, the images of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” convey the traits of those who filled Russia and did not allow it to follow the path of development.
Manilov
The first landowner does not have a name, only a surname - Manilov. The landowner tried to create a semblance of a foreign country in the Russian outback, but his desires remained a hint of the architecture of the sophistication and thoughtfulness of real masters. The essence of character is empty idleness. Manilov is immersed in dreams, building impossible projects. He creates underground passages, high towers, beautiful bridges. At this time, everything around is decaying and collapsing. The peasants are poor, the rooms in the manor house are empty, the furniture is falling into disrepair. The landowner lives without worries and labor. Outwardly, everything on the estate goes on as usual, nothing changes due to inaction, but everything is not eternal and nothing can appear from laziness. Manilov is not alone. Such landowners can be found in any city. The first impression is that he is a pleasant person, but almost immediately it becomes boring and unbearable to be with him. The concept of “Manilovism” began to exist after the publication of the poem. This word was used to explain an idle, meaningless way of life, without purpose or real action. Such landowners lived by dreams. They absorbed what they inherited and spent the labors of the peasants who came to them. The gentlemen were not interested in farming. They believed that they lived by the rich inner power of the mind, but laziness consumed their minds, and they gradually moved away from real work, their souls became dead. This can probably explain why the classic chose Manilov first. The “dead” soul of a living person is worth less than those who lived their lives in work, even after death it is useful to those like Manilov. They can “flatter” with their help the scoundrels Chichikovs.
Box
The next classic chosen is a female character. Landowner Korobochka. This is a club-headed woman who sells everything she has. The landowner's name is Nastasya Petrovna. One feels some similarity with Russian fairy tales, but it is in the name that the character is typical for the Russian hinterland. The “speaking” surname is again played up by Gogol. Everything on the estate is hidden in a box and accumulated. The landowner puts money into bags. How many are there? Can not imagine. But what are they for, what is the purpose of accumulation, for whom? Nobody will give an answer. Accumulation for the purpose of accumulation. The scary thing is that for Nastasya Petrovna it doesn’t matter what to trade: living souls (serf girls), dead people, hemp or honey. The woman, who was created by God to continue the human race, found her purpose in selling, became hardened and became indifferent and indifferent to everything except money. For her, the main thing is not to sell things short. The author compares the image to a swarm of flies that flock to the dirt to profit. Another dangerous thing is that they multiply quickly. How many of these Boxes are there in the country? More and more.
Nozdryov
The drunkard, gambler and fighter Nozdryov is the next character. The essence of his character is meanness. He is ready to “muck” anyone, indiscriminately, with meaning. Nozdryov does not set specific goals for himself. He is disorderly, uncollected and cheekily arrogant. Everything around the landowner is the same: in the stable there are horses and a goat, in the house there is a wolf cub. He is ready to play checkers for the dead, sells and exchanges. There is no honor or honesty in the character, only lies and deceit. Communication with Nozdryov more often ends in a fight, but this is if the person is weaker. The strong, on the contrary, beat the landowner. The landowner was not changed by love. She probably didn't exist. I feel sorry for the troublemaker's wife. She died quickly, leaving two children in whom she had no interest. The children have a nanny, according to her description, she is “cute”; Nozdryov brings her gifts from the fair. The author hints at the relationship between the landowner and the nanny, since one can hardly count on selflessness and respect from him. The brawler takes more care of dogs than of his loved ones. Gogol warns the reader that the Nozdrevs will not leave Rus' for a long time. The only good thing is that the cunning Chichikov could not buy dead souls from Nozdryov.
Sobakevich
Landowner - fist, bear, stone. The name of the landowner cannot be different - Mikhailo Semenych. Everyone in the Sobakevich breed is strong: the father was a real hero. He went after the bear alone. It is interesting that the classic gives a description of his wife, Feodulia Ivanovna, but says nothing about the children. As if there is nothing to discuss here. There are children, they are as strong as anyone in the landowner's breed. They probably live independently somewhere separate from their father. It becomes clear that everything is similar on their estates. Another interesting detail is that the master was never sick. At first perception, Sobakevich is somewhat different than the previous characters. But gradually you realize that he also has no soul. She became callous and died. What remained was clumsiness and a stranglehold. He raises the price of the product without even thinking about the essence of the item being sold. A rude owner rules the estate. He doesn’t see the good in anyone, everyone is a swindler and deceiver. Irony shines through the words of the classic when Sobakevich finds one decent man in the city and calls him a pig. In fact, Sobakevich himself is exactly the way he imagines people. He gains a trot when trade begins, and calms down when the goods are sold profitably.
Plyushkin
The image of this landowner can be considered a masterpiece of a brilliant author. What will Manilov’s mismanagement lead to? What will happen to Korobochka, who is passionate about hoarding? How will the drunken brawler Nozdryov live? All characters are reflected in Plyushkin. Even outwardly completely incomparable with him, Sobakevich lives in the hero. One can imagine where the devastation of Plyushkin’s soul began - with frugality. One landowner is more vulgar and “more terrible” than another, but Plyushkin is the result. His life is a series of meaningless days; even the fabulous Koschey, languishing over gold, does not evoke such disgust as a still living person. Plyushkin does not understand why he needs all the rubbish that he collects, but he can no longer refuse such an activity. Particular feelings are evoked by the pages where they describe the meetings of the landowner with his daughter and her children. The grandfather allows his grandchildren to sit on his lap and play with a button. The spiritual death of the hero is obvious. The father does not feel affection for his loved ones. He is stingy and greedy so much that he even starves himself. A stale cake, a dirty drink, a heap of rubbish against the backdrop of huge piles of rotting grain, bins full of flour, damaged rolls of cloth. The absurdity of reality and the disintegration of personality is the tragedy of Russian life.
Serfdom leads to a loss of humanity in Russian landowners. It's scary to realize how dead their souls are. Dead peasants look more alive. Images of landowners appear before the readers one after another. Their vulgarity and promiscuity are frightening. There is a degeneration of the nobility and a flourishing of vices.
"Dead Souls" is one of the brightest works of Russian and world literature, the pinnacle of art. Gogol's mastery. One of the main themes in Gogol's TV is Yavl. The theme is about the Russian landowner class, about the Russian nobility as the ruling class, about its fate and role in public life. It is characteristic that the main way of depicting landowners in Ggol is yavl. satire. The images of landowners reflect the process of gradual gradation of the landowner class, revealing all its faults and shortcomings. Gogol's satire is colored with irony and “hits right in the forehead.” Gogol’s laughter seems good-natured, but he spares no one, every phrase has a deep, hidden meaning, subtext. The poem is structured as the story of the adventures of Chichikov, an official who buys up “dead souls.” The composition of the poem allowed the author to talk about different landowners and their villages. Gogol creates five characters, five portraits that are so different from each other, and at the same time, in each of them the typical features of a Russian landowner appear. Our acquaintance begins with Manilov and ends with Plyushkin. This sequence has its own logic: from one landowner to another, the process of impoverishment of the human personality deepens, an ever more terrible picture of the decomposition of serf society unfolds
Manilov (I chapter) opens a portrait gallery of landowners. His character is already evident in his surname itself. The description begins with a picture of the village of Manilovka, which “could lure few with its location.” The author ironically describes the manor's courtyard, with the pretense of an "English garden with an overgrown pond", sparse with bushes and with a pale inscription "Temple of Solitary Reflection." Speaking about Manilov, the author exclaims: “God alone could say what Manilov’s character was.” He is kind by nature, polite, courteous, but all this took on ugly forms in him. Manilov is beautiful-hearted and sentimental to the point of cloying. Relations between people seem to him idyllic and festive. Manilov did not know life at all; reality was replaced by empty fantasy. He loved to think and dream, sometimes even about things useful for the peasants. But his spotlight was far from the demands of life. He did not know and never thought about the real needs of the peasants. (or M. lives in an illusory world, and the process of fantasy itself gives him great pleasure, he is a sentimental dreamer, incapable of practical action)
Manilov considers himself a bearer of spiritual culture. Once in the army he was considered the most educated man. The author speaks ironically about the situation in Manilov’s house, in which “something was always missing,” and about his sugary relationship with his wife. At the time of the conversation about dead souls, Manilov was compared to an overly smart minister. In comparison with other landowners, Manilov indeed seems to be an enlightened person, but this is only one appearance
The third chapter of the poem is devoted to the image of Korobochka, which Gogol classifies as one of those “small landowners who complain about crop failures, losses and keep their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile little by little collect money in colorful bags placed in the drawers of the chest of drawers!” (or M. and Korobochka are in a way antipodes: Manilov’s vulgarity is hidden behind high phases, behind discussions about the good of the Motherland, and in Korobochka spiritual poverty appears in its natural form. Korobochka does not pretend to be a high culture: in its entire appearance a very unpretentious simplicity. This is emphasized by Gogol in the appearance of the heroine: he points out her shabby and unattractive appearance. This simplicity reveals itself in relationships with people. The main goal of her life is to consolidate her wealth, incessant accumulation. It is no coincidence that Chichikov sees traces of skillful management in her estate. This household reveals her inner insignificance. She has no feelings other than the desire to acquire and benefit. The situation with “dead souls” confirms this. Korobochka trades with peasants with the same efficiency with which she sells other items of her household. For her, no the difference between an animate and an inanimate being. In Chichikov’s proposal, only one thing frightens her: the prospect of missing something, not taking what can be obtained for “dead souls.” Korobochka is not going to give them up to Chichikov on the cheap. Gogol awarded her the epithet “club-headed.”) This money comes from the sale of a wide variety of nat products. households Korobochka understood the benefits of trade and, after much persuasion, agrees to sell such an unusual product as dead souls
Heroes of the poem
Images of landowners
| landowner | Economic decline | Moral decay |
| Manilov (chapter 2) | mismanaged landowner | an idle dreamer living in the world of his dreams - a “knight of the void” |
| Box (chapter 3) | petty hoarder | "club-headed" |
| Nozdryov (Chapter 4) | careless playmaker | reckless liar, spendthrift and cheater |
| Sobakevich (chapter 5) | tight-fisted and stubborn owner | a bruised fist. |
| Plyushkin (Chapter 6) | a miser who brought his estate and peasants to complete ruin | "a hole in humanity" |
| Common features of all landowners | low cultural level, lack of intellectual demands, desire for enrichment, cruelty in treatment of serfs, moral uncleanliness, and, finally, lack of a basic concept of patriotism |
Manilov
| Portrait | “He was a distinguished man: his facial features were not devoid of pleasantness, but this pleasantness seemed to have too much sugar in it; in his techniques and turns there was something ingratiating favor and acquaintance. He smiled enticingly, was blond, with blue eyes.” |
| Characteristic | Enthusiastic naivety and daydreaming, the carelessness of a “disinterested philosopher,” sophistication, stupidity, lack of independence and timidity. Gogol gives his hero’s surname “speaking” - from the words “to lure, lure, deceive.” The author especially highlights two traits in Manilov’s character: worthlessness and sugary, meaningless daydreaming. Manilov has no living interests. He is not involved in farming; he cannot even say whether his peasants have died since the last audit. |
| Manor | Manilov’s mismanagement and impracticality is clearly evidenced by the furnishings of the rooms of his house, where next to beautiful furniture there were two armchairs, “upholstered in simple matting,” “a smart candlestick, made of dark bronze with three antique graces” stood on the table, and next to them was placed “ just some kind of copper invalid, lame, curled up to one side and covered in fat.” |
| It’s no wonder that such an owner has “a rather empty pantry,” the clerk and housekeeper are thieves, the servants are “unclean and drunkards,” and “all the servants sleep mercilessly and hang out the rest of the time.” | |
| Lifestyle | Manilov spends his life in complete idleness. He has retired from all work, does not even read anything: for two years a book has been lying in his office, pawned on the same page 14. Manilov brightens up his idleness with groundless dreams and meaningless “projects”, such as the construction of an underground passage from the house, a stone bridge across a pond . |
| Instead of real feeling, Manilov has a “pleasant smile”, cloying courtesy and a sensitive phrase; instead of thoughts - some incoherent, stupid reflections, instead of activity - either empty dreams, or such results of his “work” as “slides of ash knocked out of a pipe, arranged, not without effort, in very beautiful rows.” |
Box
| Portrait | “...The hostess, an elderly woman, came in, wearing some kind of sleeping cap, put on hastily, with a flannel around her neck...” |
| Characteristic | “...One of those mothers, small landowners who cry about crop failures, losses and keep their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile they collect a little money in colorful bags placed in the drawers of the chest of drawers. All the rubles are taken into one bag, fifty dollars into another, quarters into the third, although in appearance it seems as if there is nothing in the chest of drawers except underwear and night blouses... a thrifty old lady...” A typical small landowner is the owner of 80 serfs. Korobochka is a housewife. |
| Manor | She has a “nice village”, the yard is full of all kinds of birds, there are “spacious vegetable gardens with cabbage, onions, potatoes, beets and other household vegetables”, there are “apple trees and other fruit trees”. |
| Attitude to housekeeping | The author depicts Korobochka’s thriftiness as almost absurd: among the many useful and necessary items, each of which lies in its place, there are strings that “are no longer needed anywhere.” |
| Lifestyle | Korobochka's mental horizons are extremely limited. Gogol emphasizes her stupidity, ignorance, superstition, and points out that her behavior is guided by self-interest, a passion for profit. She is very afraid of being “cheap” when selling. Everything “new and unprecedented” scares her. |
| The “club-headed” box is the embodiment of those traditions that have developed among provincial small landowners leading subsistence farming. She is a representative of a departing, dying Russia, and there is no life in her, since she is turned not to the future, but to the past. |
Nozdryov
| Portrait | “He was of average height, a very well-built fellow, with full rosy cheeks, teeth as white as snow and jet-black sideburns. It was as fresh as blood and milk; health seemed to be dripping from his face..." |
| Characteristic | He is a fidget, a hero of fairs, balls, drinking parties, and the card table. He has “a restless nimbleness and liveliness of character.” He is a brawler, a carouser, a liar, a “knight of revelry.” He is no stranger to Khlestakovism - the desire to appear more significant and richer. |
| Manor | “There was no preparation in the house to receive them. In the middle of the dining room there were wooden goats, and two men, standing on them, whitewashed the walls... First of all, they went to inspect the stables, where they saw two mares... Then Nozdryov showed empty stalls, where there were also good horses before... Nozdryov led them to his office, in which, however, there were no visible traces of what happens in offices, that is, books or paper; only a saber and two guns were hanging.” |
| Attitude to housekeeping | He completely neglected his farm. He has only one kennel in excellent condition. |
| Lifestyle | He plays cards dishonestly, is always ready to go “anywhere, even to the ends of the world, enter whatever enterprise you want, exchange whatever you have for whatever you want.” It is natural that all this does not lead Nozdryov to enrichment, but, on the contrary, ruins him. |
| In general, Nozdryov is an unpleasant person, since he completely lacks the concepts of honor, conscience, and human dignity. Nozdryov's energy turned into scandalous vanity, aimless and destructive. |
Sobakevich
| Portrait | “A healthy and strong man,” whom nature “cut from all sides”; very similar “to a medium-sized bear”; “... it seemed that this body had no soul at all, or it had one, but not at all where it should be, but, like the immortal Koshchei, somewhere behind the mountains, and was covered with such a thick shell that everything whatever was stirring at the bottom of it did not produce absolutely any shock on the surface.” |
| Characteristic | “The devil’s fist,” as Chichikov puts it, is the embodiment of lasting strength; one cannot help but note the agility of his attacks on everyone who seems to be his enemy, his persistence in realizing his desires. |
| Manor | “Chichikov looked around the room again, and everything that was in it was solid, clumsy to the highest degree and bore some strange resemblance to the owner of the house himself; in the corner of the living room stood a pot-bellied walnut bureau on the most absurd four legs, a perfect bear. The table, armchairs, chairs - everything was of the heaviest and most restless quality - in a word, every object, every chair seemed to say: “And I, too, Sobakevich!” or “And I also look very much like Sobakevich.” |
| Attitude to housekeeping | In Sobakevich, a gravitation towards old, feudal forms of farming, hostility towards the city and education are combined with a passion for profit and predatory accumulation. |
| Lifestyle | The passion for enrichment pushes him to cheat, forces him to seek various means of profit. He even tries to sell his dead peasants as expensively as possible, in every possible way advertising to Chichikov the best qualities of people who no longer exist. |
| The author emphasizes the greed, narrowness of interests, and inertia of the landowner. Sobakevich's strength and durability lead to stiffness, clumsiness, and immobility. |
Plyushkin
| Portrait | “For a long time he [Chichikov] could not recognize what gender the figure was: a woman or a man. The dress she was wearing was completely indefinite, very similar to a woman’s bonnet, on her head was a cap, like that worn by village courtyard women, only one voice seemed to him somewhat hoarse for a woman...” “... her small eyes had not yet gone out and were running from under eyebrows raised high, like mice, when, sticking out their sharp muzzles from dark holes, pricking their ears and blinking their whiskers, they look out to see if a cat or a naughty boy is hiding somewhere, and sniff the very air suspiciously...” |
| Characteristics | There are no human feelings in Plyushkin, not even paternal ones. Things are more valuable to him than people, in whom he sees only swindlers and thieves. The senseless stinginess that reigns in Plyushkin’s soul gives rise to distrust and hostility towards everything around him, cruelty and injustice towards the serfs. |
| Manor | Everywhere in the house there was chaos: “. ..it seemed as if the floors were being washed in the house and all the furniture had been piled up here for a while...” The description of the village of Plyushkin is expressive, with its log pavement falling into complete disrepair, with the “special dilapidation” of the village huts, with huge treasures of rotten bread, with a manor house that looked like some kind of “decrepit invalid”. Everything has fallen into complete disrepair, peasants are “dying like flies,” dozens are on the run. |
| Lifestyle | The author confronts two eras of Plyushkin’s life: when “everything flowed alive” and when he turned into “a hole in humanity.” Following the changes in Plyushkin’s life, one cannot help but notice that the “death” of the soul begins with the poverty of feelings. It seems that humanity is inaccessible to Plyushkin. If we didn’t know that Plyushkin was once a kind family man, a reasonable owner and even a friendly person, the image created by Gogol could have caused a smile. The told story of Plyushkin's life makes this image more tragic than comic. Using the technique of contrast, Gogol forces the reader to compare the human and the ugly within the same life. |
| The author exclaims: “And to what insignificance, pettiness, and disgust a person could condescend! Could have changed so much! And does this seem true? Everything seems to be true, anything can happen to a person. Today’s fiery young man would recoil in horror if they showed him his portrait in old age.” |
Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov
History of Chichikov (see chapter 11)
| Stages of life | |
| Childhood | He did not have a noble origin, there was no material wealth in the family, everything was gray, dull, painful - “this is the poor picture of his initial childhood, of which he barely retained a pale memory.” |
| Education a) father’s order b) gaining one’s own experience | He received his education in the classes of the city school, where his father took him and gave him the following instructions: “Look, Pavlusha, study, don’t be stupid and don’t hang around, but most of all please your teachers and bosses. If you please your boss, then, even though you won’t succeed in science and God hasn’t given you talent, you’ll get ahead of everyone else. Don’t hang out with your comrades, they won’t teach you any good; and if it comes to that, then hang out with those who are richer, so that on occasion they can be useful to you. Do not treat or treat anyone, but rather behave in such a way that you will be treated, and most of all, take care and save a penny: 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, you will ruin everything in the world with a penny.” He managed to build relationships with his classmates in such a way that they treated him; managed to collect money, adding it to the half ruble left by his father. I used every opportunity to accumulate money: – I made a bullfinch out of wax, painted it and sold it; – I bought some food at the market and offered it to my hungry classmates who were richer; – trained a mouse, taught it to stand on its hind legs and sold it; - was the most diligent and disciplined student, able to prevent any desire of the teacher. |
| Service a) beginning of service b) continuation of career | “He got an insignificant place, a salary of thirty or forty rubles a year...” Thanks to his iron will and ability to deny himself everything, while maintaining neatness and pleasant appearance, he managed to stand out among the same “nondescript” employees: “...Chichikov represented the complete opposite in everything, both by his somberness of face, and the friendliness of his voice, and his complete non-drinking of any strong drinks.” To advance in his career, he used an already tried and tested method - pleasing his boss, finding his “weak spot” - his daughter, whom he “fell in love” with himself. From that moment on, he became a “noticeable person.” Service in the commission “for the construction of some state-owned capital structure.” He began to allow himself “some excesses”: a good cook, good shirts, expensive fabric for suits, purchasing a couple of horses... Soon he lost his “warm” place again. I had to change two or three places. “I got to customs.” He pulled off a risky operation, in which he first got rich, and then got burned and lost almost everything. |
| Acquisition of “dead souls” How the idea of acquisition appeared. | After Chichikov was kicked out of his service at customs, he tries to find a new service. “And in anticipation of the best, I was even forced to take up the title of attorney.” |
| The appearance of Chichikov in the provincial town | Using practical intelligence, courtesy and resourcefulness, Chichikov managed to charm both the provincial city and the estates. Having quickly figured out a person, he knows how to find an approach to everyone. One can only be amazed at the inexhaustible variety of all the “shades and subtleties of his appeal.” |
| Chichikov uses “irresistible strength of character,” “quickness, insight and perspicacity,” and all his ability to charm a person to achieve the desired enrichment. |
Similarities between Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov and other landowners
| The landowner and his distinctive feature | How does this trait manifest itself in Chichikov’s character? |
| Manilov - “sweetness”, cloying, uncertainty | All residents of the provincial town recognized Chichikov as a pleasant man in all respects. “In a word, no matter where you turn, he was a very decent person. All officials were pleased with the arrival of a new person. The governor explained about him that he was a well-intentioned person; the prosecutor - that he is a sensible person; the gendarme colonel said that he was a learned man, the chairman of the chamber - that he was a knowledgeable and respectable person; the police chief - that he is a respectable and kind person; the police chief's wife - that he is the most kind and courteous person. Even Sobakevich himself, who rarely spoke well of anyone... told her [his wife]; “I, my dear, was at the governor’s party, and had dinner with the police chief, and met the collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov: a pleasant person!” |
| Box - petty stinginess | The famous Chichikov box, in which everything is laid out with the same diligent pedantry as in Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka’s chest of drawers. |
| Nozdryov - narcissism | The desire and ability to please everyone; to experience favor from everyone - this is the need and necessity for Chichikov: “Our hero responded to everyone and everyone and felt some kind of extraordinary dexterity: he bowed to the right and left, as usual, somewhat to one side; but completely freely, so that he charmed everyone...” |
| Sobakevich – rude tight-fistedness and cynicism | Even Nozdryov notes that in Chichikov there is “... no straightforwardness or sincerity! Perfect Sobakevich." |
| Plyushkin - collecting unnecessary things and carefully storing them | While exploring the city, N “... tore off a poster nailed to a post so that when he got home, he could read it thoroughly,” and then the hero “... folded it up neatly and put it in his little chest, where he used to put everything that was came across." |
| Chichikov's character is multifaceted, the hero turns out to be a mirror of the landowner he meets, because he has the same qualities that form the basis of the landowners' characters. |
Provincial Society
| Ivan Antonovich “jug snout” | It is about him in Chapter 3 that we read the discussion about “shades and subtleties of treatment.” Gogol writes about him: “I ask you to look at him when he sits among his subordinates, but you simply cannot utter a word out of fear! Pride, nobility, and what does his face not express? Just take a brush and paint: Prometheus, determined Prometheus! Looks out like an eagle, acts smoothly, measuredly. The same eagle, as soon as he left the room and approaches the boss’s office, scurries like a partridge with papers under his arm that there is no urine. In society and at a party, even if everyone is of low rank, Prometheus will remain Prometheus, and a little higher than him, Prometheus will undergo such a transformation that even Ovid would not invent: a fly, less than even a fly...” |
| Police chief "miracle worker" | “The police chief, for sure, was a miracle worker... at that very moment he called the policeman, and, it seems, he whispered only two words in his ear and only added: “You understand!”... and then there, in the other room, a woman appeared on the table were beluga, sturgeon, salmon, pressed caviar, freshly salted caviar, herrings, stellate sturgeon, cheeses, smoked tongues and balyks - this was all from the fish row. Then there were additions from the owner's side... The police chief was in some way a father and benefactor in the city. He was among the citizens just like in his own family, and he visited the shops and the guest courtyard as if he were visiting his own pantry. In general, he sat in his place and understood his position to perfection. It was even difficult to decide whether he was created for the place, or the place for him.” |
The role of officials in “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”
and in the history of the acquisition of dead souls by Chichikov
| Captain Kopeikin | Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov |
| participant in the heroic war of 1812 | acquirer, scoundrel |
| simple and honest, naive and damaged | hypocrite, sycophant and adventurer |
| seeks justice from officials in St. Petersburg | tries to find acquaintances with officials in the provincial city |
| not received the attention of officials of public places in St. Petersburg | accepted and treated kindly by officials at all levels of the provincial city |
| indifference, bureaucratic rigmarole, contempt for the crippled poor man | attention to the handsome adventurer |
| did not evoke for himself, his fate, no compassion, no understanding | managed to achieve recognition in the city as a significant person |
| Captain Kopeyka is not on trial | Chichikov is praised |
| at first they didn’t want to notice him, but he made him not only notice, but also be afraid of himself | first made happy, and then brought the provincial city into confusion |
| Bribes, theft, veneration, mutual responsibility - all these are not random phenomena among officials both in the provincial city of N and in St. Petersburg. |
Lyrical digressions
| Gpava | Lyrical digressions and inserted episodes |
| First | Discussion about thick and thin. |
| Second | Reasoning about two types of characters. |
| Third | Discussion about “shades and subtleties of treatment.” |
| Fourth | Thought about the survivability of the Nozdrevs. |
| Fifth | Chichikov's reflection on the “glorious grandmother.” The author’s thoughts about the apt Russian word and the “glib Russian mind.” |
| Sixth | The author's memories of his youth. Reflection on a person (“And a person could condescend to such insignificance, pettiness, disgusting ...”). |
| Seventh | About two writers. About the peasants bought by Chichikov. |
| Eighth | About the power of the police officer. |
| Ninth | About the revolt of the peasants of the village of Lousy Arrogance. |
| Tenth | The Tale of Captain Kopeikin. |
| Eleventh | "Rus! Rus'!...” The road. A story about Kif Mokeevich and his son. Discussion about the virtuous hero and the scoundrel hero. Troika. |
The theme of Russia and the Russian people occupies one of the main places in N. V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”. Let's see how he portrays the peasantry. The author is not at all inclined to idealize him; he talks about the merits of the Russian people and their shortcomings. At the beginning of the poem, when Chichikov entered the city, two men, examining his chaise, determined that one wheel was not in order and that Chichikov would not go far. N.V. Gogol noted that the men were standing near the tavern.
Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minyai, Manilov’s serf, are also shown as clueless in the poem, asking to earn money, while he himself goes to drink. The girl Pelageya does not know where the right is and where the left is. Proshka and Mavra are downtrodden and intimidated. The author does not accuse them of ignorance, it is not their fault, he just laughs at them good-naturedly.
But when talking about the coachman Selifan and the footman Petrushka - Chichikov’s courtyard servants, the writer shows kindness and understanding towards them. Because Petrushka is overwhelmed by a passion for reading, although he is more attracted not by what is written in the book, but by the process of reading itself, as if from the letters “some word always comes out, which sometimes the devil knows what it means.”
And by revealing the image of Selifan, Gogol shows the soul of the Russian peasant and tries to understand it. Let us remember what he says about the meaning of scratching the back of the head among the Russian people: “What did this scratching mean? And what does it even mean? Is it annoyance that the meeting planned for tomorrow with my brother didn’t work out... or some kind of sweetheart has already started in a new place... Or it’s just a pity to leave a heated place in a people’s kitchen under a sheepskin coat, so that I can drag myself under rain and slush and all kinds of road adversity? »
The true image of the people is seen, first of all, in the description of the dead peasants. Both the author and the landowners admire them. In their memory they acquire a certain epic image; they are endowed with fabulous, heroic features. The dead peasants seem to be contrasted with the living serfs with their poor inner world. Although this people consists of “dead souls,” they have a lively and lively mind; they are a people “full of the creative abilities of the soul...”.
This is how Sobakevich boasts about his dead peasants: “Milushkin, a brickmaker, could install a stove in any house. Maxim Telyatnikov, shoemaker: whatever pricks with an awl, then the boots, whatever the boots, then thank you and even if you put a drunken mouth in your mouth! And Eremey Sorokoplekhin! Yes, that guy alone will stand for everyone, he traded in Moscow, brought one rent for five hundred rubles. After all, this is what people are like! And the coachman Mikheev! After all, I never made any other carriages other than spring ones.” And when Chichikov answers him that they have died a long time ago and cannot be worth much, that this is only a “dream,” Sobakevich objects to him: “Well, no, not a dream! I’ll tell you what Mikheev was like, you won’t find such people: such a machine that he wouldn’t fit into this room... And he had such strength in his shoulders that a horse doesn’t have...” And Chichikov himself, looking at the lists of purchased peasants, sees them as if in reality, each man in his eyes acquires “his own character”: “My fathers, how many of you are crammed here! What have you, my dear ones, done in your lifetime? How did you get by?” The image of the carpenter Stepan Probka, endowed with heroic strength, who probably set out throughout the province with an ax in his belt, attracts attention: “Stepan Cork, carpenter, exemplary sobriety... Ah! Here he is... here is the hero who would be fit for the guard!”
On Plyushkin’s estate, the peasants, reduced to extreme poverty, are “dying like flies” and fleeing from the landowner. Looking at the list of fugitives, Chichikov concludes: “Even though you’re still alive, what’s the use of you! The same as the dead... are you sitting in prisons or are you stuck with other masters and plowing the land? Plyushkin's yard servant Popov prefers to live in prison than to return to his master's estate. Over the course of many pages of his work, the author introduces us to the diverse destinies of ordinary people.
In the episodes of the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin, the author talks about cases of mass indignation of peasants against their oppressors.
At the same time, N.V. Gogol also sees the mighty power of the people, suppressed, but not killed by serfdom. It is manifested in the hard work of the Russian people, in their ability not to lose heart under any circumstances. He portrays the people as cheerful, lively, talented and full of energy.
Discussing the resettlement of peasants bought by Chichikov to the Kherson province, officials reason: “Russian people are capable of everything 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.”
The image of the people in the poem “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol gradually develops into the image of Russia. Here you can also see the contrast between the real Russia and the future, ideal Russia. In lyrical digressions, the author refers to the “immense space”, “mighty space” of the Russian land. Russia stands before us in all its greatness. “Aren’t you, Rus, like a brisk, unstoppable troika, rushing along?”
The writer sees a great country, showing the way to others; it seems to him how Rus' is overtaking other countries and peoples, who, “looking askance, step aside and give her the way.” The image of the bird-troika becomes the image of the future Russia, which will play a major role in world development.
Chichikov meets the landowners of the provincial town; the purpose of appearance is to buy dead souls. The great classic managed to show through five characters the entire landowner Rus', which had lost its morality. Chichikov’s similarity with the landowners is amazing: Pavel Ivanovich combined the bright character qualities of all provincial representatives.
Manilovsky "sweetness"
Pettiness and “stubbornness” of Korobochka
Two items show Chichikov's resemblance to Korobochka. In Nastasya Petrovna’s chest of drawers, everything is laid out in its place: boxes, bags full of money of a certain denomination: rubles, fifty rubles, quarters. Among the wealth, the reader sees strings that are unlikely to be useful to anyone. Chichikov has everything in his box with the pedantry of an old landowner. As in the chest of drawers, some of the things cause a grin; they show the pettiness of the owner’s soul.
The box is afraid to sell it cheap and tries to deceive. The woman pisses off the customer. But that’s why they are similar: both are thrifty, homely, and greedy. Behavior reveals selfishness, a passion for profit, but also the ability to adapt to others.
Nozdrevskaya narcissism
Chichikov and Nozdryov strive to please everyone. Extraordinary dexterity is visible in Pavel Ivanovich’s movements: he bows to the right and left, slightly to the side. A man is afraid to lose sight of someone and leave someone uncharmed by him. Nozdryov and Chichikov strive to show themselves richer than things are in reality. They are ready to sell whatever they want to buy. Everything is for sale: for them there is no value or significance of either things, animals, or people.
Sobakevich's cynicism
The scandalous landowner Nozdryov says about Chichikov: “...Perfect Sobakevich!” What did the drunkard Nozdryov notice about the similarities between the two men? There is no sincerity in both characters. They lead to terrible cynicism. Sobakevich sells dead souls, increasing the price for the human qualities of deceased people. Both landowners are selfish and greedy. They are looking for profit, like predators scouring the area in search of food. It doesn’t matter to them who they eat as long as they give themselves pleasure.
Plyushkin's greed
The two landowners seem to be opposites, but a close comparison changes this situation. The author managed to show ugly souls that have become hardened and turned into terribly cruel individuals. It all started with Plyushkin with Chichikov’s harmless hoarding. Pavel Ivanovich, walking around the provincial town, tears a poster from a pole. He examines it and carefully hides it in a small chest. Why does an enterprising landowner need an old advertisement? This is the beginning of the path along which Plyushkin walked his life. Collecting unnecessary items ended in greed and stinginess even towards oneself.
The information will help you understand what Chichikov has in common with the landowners. The character is many-sided and multifaceted. He, as a mirror image, highlights those qualities that are basic in landowners, sellers of dead peasants. It is not the souls of those who are written down on paper that become dead, but those with whom they communicate. The essay “Chichikov’s similarities with landowners” will be more meaningful and interesting thanks to the information gleaned in this article.
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