Characteristics of the mayor and Khlestakov from the auditor table. Essay on “characteristics of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General”
Option 1:
Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov is the main character of N.V.’s comedy. Gogol "The Inspector General". A thin young dandy of twenty-three years old from St. Petersburg finds himself in a set of circumstances in which his true essence is revealed more than ever.
Returning home to his father in Saratov, Khlestakov loses all his money at cards. By chance, at the same time, in a small county town N, the city authorities receive a letter about an auditor who has come to conduct an inspection. Khlestakov is mistaken for an auditor and they begin to curry favor with him in every possible way and give bribes, and he, in turn, gets used to new role taking things for granted.
“He speaks and acts without any consideration,” the author writes about Khlestakov. The character's remarkableness lies in his obvious love to show off and show off, thanks to which he manages to show off everyone around him. Praising himself to the mayor and the ladies, he himself believes in his own lies. He already imagines himself almost as a director of a department and an outstanding artist.
At the same time, Khlestakov is not a malicious intriguer. At first, he naively believes in the kindness and benevolence of those around him who give him “loans,” remaining polite with them, but still greedy. Ivan Alexandrovich is so flattered by himself and the location of the mayor that he dares to ask for the hand of Marya Antonovna, the mayor’s daughter, and receives consent. Only thanks to his more perceptive servant Osip does he manage to reverse in time and get out of the water unscathed.
No wonder thanks bright character Khlestakov, the concept of “Khlestakovism” appeared, characterizing shameless self-praise and lies, when emptiness and stupidity are hidden under a flashy pompous appearance. Nikolai Vasilyevich himself wrote that every person becomes Khlestakov at least once in his life. These words tell us about the relevance of the character in our time.
Option 2:
One of the main characters of the famous comedy work by N.V. Gogol “The Inspector General” is a slightly stupid, but cunning guy who will not miss any good opportunity - Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov.
When local officials became worried and mistakenly mistook him for a visiting auditor traveling incognito, Khlestakov supported this convenient situation and began to desperately lie and play along. For his own benefit, he either appears to everyone as an absolute loser as a reveler asking for lunch, or adds considerable importance to himself by pretending that he has good connections with dukes and counts, or even a real womanizer and ladies' man. One can only envy Khlestakov’s artistry.
In this comedy work, on the one hand, our hero is a simple-minded guy, a talkative joker who does not have much knowledge, but only superficial ones, and always walks around on his own. He plays what the local environment wants to see in him, any role, as long as no one suspects that he is not an auditor. His speech is quite primitive, in which one can clearly hear literary stamps and the incorrect use of beautiful French words heard.
One can characterize Khlestakov as a home-grown rogue, the kind you just need to look for, a lazy and uneducated person who does not hesitate to brag and skillfully lie. Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov never took the words he said seriously and was not going to answer for them.
Thanks to the main character of N. V. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General,” a new word for everyone has appeared in everyday life - “Khlestakovism,” which is defined as lies, boasting and irresponsibility all rolled into one.
Option 3:
Ivan Andreevich Khlestakov - main character comedy by N.V. Gogol “The Inspector General”. He is presented as a contradictory and ambiguous personality. The young man is constantly dissatisfied with his life and never has money. Khlestakov does absolutely nothing to change his life, but only hopes that the day will come and everything will be decided by itself.
His position is fully consistent with his character. The character is by nature an adventurous person and partly a swindler. If he was an honest man, then I would not turn to practically strangers(Dopchinsky and Bobchinsky) with a request to borrow money, without being able to give it back. Moreover, he would not have shown interest in both his daughter and her mother at the same time.
Khlestakov is an inveterate liar and deceives people very easily and naturally, as little children do when they invent some kind of fable. His stories bring him pleasure. During conversations, the hero behaves irresponsibly and does not talk about anything specifically or seriously. Even Gogol himself emphasizes the spiritual emptiness and lack of morality in him. He, as a narrow-minded person, believes that to achieve success you do not need to make efforts, have certain knowledge and talent. Khlestakov is confident that a simple chance is enough to achieve a goal; everything can be decided, for example, luck at the right time card games which he loves so much.
Gogol managed to create an image that shows readers a variety of human vices. IN modern world corrupt officials would hardly mistake Khlestakov for an auditor, but, nevertheless, many of us have his features.
Option 4:
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol creates an image young man, which, due to circumstances, becomes the center of attention of a small county town. The heroes of the comedy take him for an auditor, and he, in turn, brilliantly plays his role. His name is Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov.
In notes to actors, the author describes appearance of the hero like this: “a young man of about twenty-three, thin, skinny; somewhat stupid “...” - one of those people who in the offices are called empty-headed. He speaks and acts without any consideration. "..." Dressed in fashion."
The development of the plot introduces the reader even closer to Khlestakov. In addition to the listed characteristics, others will be added to it. Ivan Alexandrovich is a dreamer. He tries to realize his dreams in conversation with the townspeople, especially the ladies. He assures them that he personally knows A.S. Pushkin, what is included in the high society of society, what exactly belongs to him famous works: “Frigate “Nadezhdy”, “Moscow Telegraph”, “Yuri Miloslavsky”.
Despite the stupidity noted by Gogol, Khlestakov is not without resourcefulness and cunning. Understanding his position, he robs frightened officials under the guise of a monetary debt and manages to “get away with it” love triangle. Moreover, he sends a letter to his St. Petersburg friend Tryapichkin about all the adventures that happened to him. In it, Khlestakov mocked deceived people, not skimping on insults: “The mayor is as stupid as gray gelding...”, “The overseer of the charitable establishment Strawberry is a perfect pig in a yarmulke”, etc.
N.V. Gogol depicted " little man”, who is not distinguished by outstanding qualities, but strongly desires to have wealth and fame. Khlestakov laughs not only at the officials and the mayor, but also at himself, because he is no better than them. Unless he’s “dressed in fashion.”
I.A. Khlestakov appears in the town at the moment when everyone there is waiting for the auditor to appear. The officials are frightened, and the mayor sees rats in his dreams out of fear. The degree of “fear and fear” of officials directly depends on the sins they have committed.
Khlestakov, a young man of fragile build, stupid, dressed in fashion. I happened to be passing through the city, returning home from St. Petersburg. He loved to play cards and have fun, which is why he found himself without money. Lived in a small hotel with his servant Osip, for room and board for a long time did not pay and therefore was afraid that the innkeeper would complain to the mayor and he would be taken to prison. He sold his expensive things at the market for next to nothing and played cards again.
Ivan Alexandrovich often lay on his bed and dreamed of a good life. And then one day the mayor appears at the tavern with his “retinue”. Khlestakov expected the worst, but everything turned out just fine. Khlestakov is mistaken for an auditor who arrived incognito to check officials. And since each had great sins behind him, they tried in every possible way to please him.
The mayor invited Ivan Alexandrovich to live in his house. Khlestakov agreed and was soaring. The fear of an audit forces officials to be hypocritical, dodge, lie and please with great ingenuity.
So Khlestakov accepts money from them, without even suspecting that he is taking bribes. However, he realizes that he is being mistaken for a government employee.
At dinner, in the mayor’s house, he begins to lie that he lives in society, has various amenities, is a respected person, writes poetry, “with Pushkin on friendly foot". And the most important thing is that he even had to manage the department. And he presented it all in such a way that all the city officials ran through their bodies, everyone was shaking with fear.
The comedy ends with a real auditor arriving in town. Last scene works - the famous "silent scene", where, according to the author's plan, frozen in different poses the characters stand motionless for almost a minute and a half before the curtain falls.
Khlestakov is one of those people who are called “empty ones” in the offices. Spends all the money sent by his father on carousing, cards and new clothes, because he sees only the external side of metropolitan life.
Khlestakov’s character is shown very clearly in the episode where he begins to brag to the mayor. His dreams go no further than the desire to get more high rank in order to be admired.
Khlestakov believes that happiness is the opportunity to be higher than others, and this, according to his concepts, is not related to a person’s personal qualities. And he attributes his literary merits to himself solely in order to please the mayor’s wife and daughter.
Boasting and arrogance combined with stupidity provincial officials help him remain undetected.
He is agile, as seen in the love confession episode. He instantly “switches” from his daughter to his wife, and none of them has time to suspect anything.
It seems to me that the development of the plot was also influenced by Khlestakov’s inability to reason logically and consistently. He is used to “going with the flow” and not thinking about the future. An indicator of this is the absence of his “to the side” remarks. Often he is unable to stop (as during lunch with the mayor). Having started to talk about something, he “lies”, trying to present himself in the most favorable light.
Khlestakov has pride (he is afraid of the moral teachings of Osip, his servant), but does not disdain to cheat and talk. His character contains many negative aspects of the society of that time - veneration, sycophancy, ignorance...
“The image of Khlestakov is a type of many things scattered in different Russian characters,” Gogol himself writes about him. He ridicules such people, calls for the extermination of “Khlestakovism” - self-affirmation through one’s arrogance and resourcefulness. That is why St. Petersburg society, which relies on precisely such people, was indignant.
No one had ever before him (Gogol) read such a complete pathological course about a Russian official. With laughter on his lips, he without pity penetrates into the innermost folds of the unclean, evil bureaucratic soul. Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General", his poem " Dead Souls"represent a terrible confession of modern Russia.
A.I. Herzen
"Inspector" - everyone famous comedy, related to Peru N.V. Gogol, is considered one of the brightest dramatic works Russian prose 19th century.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol continued the traditions of Russian drama in the genre of satire. His comedy “The Inspector General” succinctly fit into the thematic line laid down by the famous comedies of D.I. Fonvizin “Nedorosl” and A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit".
But despite comedy genre, the work “The Inspector General” is deeply realistic, as it penetrates into the life structure of the small and middle bureaucratic class of provincial cities of Russia in the second quarter of the 19th century. Penetrating into the very soul, Gogol exposes the world that these people are building, revealing their hidden intentions and characters.
As soon as we open the comedy “The Inspector General,” we understand that in addition to the meaning and problems inherent in the work itself, we will be dealing with characters, character, life priorities which have already been revealed in their surnames. Speaking surnames Each hero of the work has. For example, the surname of a private bailiff: Ukhovertov, and the name of a county doctor: Gibner.
Thanks to the surnames, from the first acquaintance with the characters, we understand with whom we will deal in the future. For example, by the name of the district doctor Kh.I. Gibner can be judged that almost everyone he treated died. So it looks more like a nickname rather than a surname.
Gogol wrote critical remarks characterizing each of the main acting characters. These remarks help to better understand the character of each character, their soul and thoughts. For example, what do Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov and Anton Antonovich Skvoznyak-Dmukhanovsky, the mayor, represent? What are they?
Mayor: “Even though he is a bribe-taker, he behaves very respectably.”
Khlestakov: “Without a king in my head. He speaks and acts without any consideration.”
It seems that they are people of the same type, both are drawn to power, they love it when everyone crawls at their feet. At the end of the comedy, Anton Antonovich becomes a braggart of the highest order, a dreamer (as does Anna Andreevna, his wife).
“We now intend to live in St. Petersburg. And here, I admit, the air is so... too rustic!.. I admit, it’s a big nuisance... Here’s my husband: he will receive the rank of general there.”
This is the limit of their dreams they have reached: Give them Petersburg, he (the mayor) really wants to be a general.
And in act II, scene VIII, look how he tries to pass himself off as a virtue, apparently wanting to suck up to the “auditor”.
“I wish you good health! Sorry. My duty, as the mayor of this city, is to ensure that those passing by and everyone noble people no harassment..."
But what did the “auditor” look like at that time? He thought that they were going to put him in prison for not paying for the hotel and food. And the mayor...
How could he mistake some ragamuffin impostor for such a high-ranking person as the Inspector General? This can be forgiven for Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, who are positioned in the district town as local fools and gossips. They communicate with them in accordance with these personal qualities: with contempt or patronage. But unlike them, the mayor is a smart enough person, which does not prevent him from being a first-class rogue, and, perhaps, even contributes to his prosperity in roguery. Well, Khlestakov in Anton Antonovich’s house behaved like a real official (a magnificent actor).
“The words fly out of him with inspiration: ending the last word phrase, he doesn’t remember its first word,” wrote V.G. Belinsky.
Well, who, tell me, won’t talk nonsense out of fear of something. Khlestakov thought that he would be sent to prison, but on the contrary, he was invited to the house of an important and significant person in the city. Khlestakov gained money, honor, treats, which is why even without wine you can come to some kind of half-drunk relaxation.
Gogol, in an article about the theater, wrote that in his comedy he reflected only one private person, whose name was “Laughter.” Laughter, and not at all an auditor who arrived by the highest order.
The most, in my opinion, comical and even a little stupid hero of Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” is Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov.
The author says that Khlestakov looks twenty-three years old, he is thin and “without a king in his head,” as the reader will be convinced of throughout the comedy. On the way from St. Petersburg to his native Saratov, Khlestakov loses all his money, so he stops in the province of N, where all the events of the comedy unfold.
Local officials and merchants perceive Khlestakov as a strict inspector; they formed an opinion about him even before their personal communication; this is one of the main moments of the comedy, because if people themselves have invented the ruler of their destinies, then it will be very difficult to convince them, even if they behave so stupid and tactless as Khlestakov behaved.
Due to the fact that everyone perceives Ivan Aleksandrovich as the judge of their future, people simply do not notice that his habits, speech and the stories that he tells about himself are at odds with reality. And even if they do notice, it’s not a beam in their eye, but a small speck of dust. An example of this is the conversation of the Governor, who, after Khlestakov’s boasting about his position in St. Petersburg and his short communication with the emperor himself, says that even if half of what Khlestakov said is true, then this is already a collapse, because such a respected person saw everything the shortcomings of the city governed by the Mayor.
Khlestakov, being a man of not the most honest breed, takes advantage of the moment and gets the maximum benefit from the current situation. Although he has no idea that he is perceived as an auditor who can put everyone in prison, he understands that his position among these stupid residents seems very high to them, his connections in St. Petersburg are extremely powerful, so he uses the power that he has : allegedly borrows money from all officials, which he will never return, although he promises; eats plenty wherever possible; accepts payment for himself at a hotel, where he has debts for two weeks of accommodation and food.
He listens to all the merchants’ complaints about his Governor, promises to look into it and, of course, punish the culprit. He takes money from the workers for this, listens to the problems of two women, but in the end he simply forgets everything he heard, because it doesn’t matter to him.
He is greedy for women and tries to achieve success with both the Mayor’s daughter and his wife. Even at this already absurd moment, no one realizes what Khlestakov is, and when they understand, it’s too late.
Essay about Khlestakov
Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" was written a long time ago, but it is still relevant today. And there are many reasons for this. The magnificent syllable that distinguishes every work of Nikolai Vasilyevich, the subtle, almost jewel-like irony that few people will not make smile, relevant social problems, which have made more than one generation of readers think, and, of course, the heroes: bright, original, very recognizable. One of these characters is the main character immortal comedy Gogol "The Inspector General", a swindler and rogue named Khlestakov. This is an arrogant and self-confident young man who knows human psychology well and knows how to use human weaknesses, achieve success in your plans.
One of the main character traits of Khlestakov is that this impudent young man believes that for some reason everyone should please him in every possible way and help him. That is why he willingly accepts bribes and gifts from others and happily begins to play the role imaginary auditor. Khlestakov loves when people pay attention to him great attention when they bow before him, they curry favor. He likes to feel omnipotent, although in reality he is absolutely nothing.
Khlestakov is one of those people who are used to taking everything from life. When he is mistaken for an auditor, he revels in his power and impunity, without thinking at all about the future, about where this one-man show will lead him. This person has no moral and ethical principles; he is used to living by the principle “after me, no grass will grow.” Khlestakov considers himself the king of life, and the rest - pathetic, absolutely worthless people. But then life puts everything in its place, at the end of the performance, when the real auditor arrives.
In his comedy, Gogol meant that Khlestakov’s traits live in many people contemporary to him, and it is no coincidence that he chose Russian as the epigraph to the work folk saying“There’s no point in blaming the mirror if your face is crooked.” By this he wanted to tell readers not to be offended if they inadvertently find their own traits in the image of Khlestakov.
Khlestakov is just a minor official, but, nevertheless, he is sure that all the best in life should go to him. He simply does not notice other people, is indifferent to their needs and desires. Other people for him are just pawns with the help of which he carries out his plans. Gogol also portrays Khlestakov as a good psychologist: He easily gains trust in a variety of people, finds relationships with people mutual language, uses people's weaknesses in order to profit from them. Gogol portrays him as completely unprincipled and callous, deaf to the feelings and experiences of other people.
Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" is still relevant due to the fact that in it Gogol draws very bright types of human characters, in particular, vivid images the arrogant swindler Khlestakov and cowardly people who are afraid of the auditor and in every possible way curry favor with him, losing their own dignity. But the image of Khlestakov is painted most clearly. Khlestakov is an arrogant, self-confident swindler who is confident that his fraud will go unpunished, and does not care about the people around him. Such people have existed at all times, they existed in the time of Gogol, and they still exist now. And they will.
Characteristics of Khlestakov in Gogol's comedy The Inspector General
One of the main characters in Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General" - Khlestakov. Gogol specifically chose this surname for him. The root of the word is to whip, to whip after someone. Inconspicuous, thin man, twenty three years from birth. A petty official, a gambler, lost all his money along the way and is now sitting in a hotel in a provincial town, hungry. That's why he looks into everyone's plates. He wants to eat, but the mayor takes him for an auditor.
Likes to dream and likes to lie a little about himself. And he enjoys it. It’s as if everyone was paying attention to him and even mistook him for an important general.
His lies are like the lies of a child, he himself believes in them. Wishful thinking. Residents of the city unwittingly help him in this - they believe all his stories. No one, including the mayor, bothered to check him and look at his documents. Everyone was waiting for the auditor, afraid of his inspection, but here the newcomer does not pay money and sticks his nose everywhere. Why not an auditor? Therefore, no one paid attention to some inconsistency of facts in his speeches. Where has it been seen that ambassadors of foreign powers play cards with the first person they meet? And a person who did not have any military rank was promised to be awarded the highest military rank of field marshal.
Khlestakov managed to deceive even the mayor, who boasts that during the thirty years of his service he has been deceiving people. He still didn’t understand who he was confused with. If I had been a little smarter, I would have benefited from the current situation. As it was, he just wanted to eat and borrow some money to move on. After all, he did not plan to stay in this city for a long time. He never plans anything at all, does not live by reason, but takes advantage of the current situation.
Khlestakov - a man without moral principles, stupid, lazy. He prefers not to work, but to spend time at the card table. He borrows money from people, knowing in advance that he will not pay it back. He deceives two women at once - the mayor's wife and daughter. The daughter is attracted by the prospect of marrying a man from the capital. He doesn’t feel sorry for anyone and doesn’t see anyone except himself, he’s a cynic and an egoist.
In the person of Khlestakov, Gogol shows how one can be deceived by a person who only wants to appear to be what he really is not.
Essay 4
Gogol’s work “The Inspector General” is an excellent example of Russian phantasmagoria and humor within the framework literary prose and works. This work differs from the rest of his creations in that it has its own unique atmosphere and identity, again, within the framework of his creativity, and his vision of problems and their solutions. The work is also unique in its special style of narration and style, although these are more technical aspects of the work. One way or another, the work is a wonderful example of Gogol’s literary genius. This work is “The Inspector General”.
The work tells the story of a very cunning and talented swindler Khlestakov, who, thanks to his knowledge of human psychology and his assertiveness, and partly, self-confidence, gets everything he needs. The work also contains many various aspects, which I would like to discuss, but for now we will discuss only the image and character of the swindler Khlestakov.
Khlestakov is essentially a person who does not care about the state of his surroundings, because he can always find benefit for himself from any situation. He doesn't care about anything except his safety and his well-being, which is why the reader sometimes has conflicting feelings about this image. He is a hidden person who does not have, or at least does not show them, real friends. He only pretends that his supposed friends are important to him, but in reality he is thinking through how he can squeeze benefits out of them for his loved one. That's just the way he is and there's nothing he can do about it. He also tries to deceive as many people as possible, most likely to improve his skills.
It was Gogol’s image of Khlestakov that turned out to be the most vivid and powerful, which, undoubtedly, should be remembered by the reader, at least for his bitingness and self-confidence. I believe that this is exactly what the author tried to focus on when he wrote the work, because this is what helps the reader remember the image, and keep it in his head, comprehending and, scrolling through everything, and accordingly, return to this work. This is my subjective opinion, and therefore, it cannot be regarded as objective.
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What do Khlestakov and the mayor have in common in N.V.’s comedy? Gogol "The Inspector General"
In the comedy “The Inspector General” N.V. Gogol presented a whole gallery of officials - swindlers, thieves in uniform, but special attention deserve Khlestakov and the mayor, written very vividly and convincingly.
What makes Khlestakov and the mayor in common - these, it would seem, are completely different people- different in age, social status and mental development? What do the tall, well-fed, important Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky and the small, frail Khlestakov have in common? From the “very intelligent in his own way” mayor and the “stupid” Khlestakov?
What they have in common is that both of them, and this is the main thing, are representatives bureaucratic world endowed with everything characteristic of this world negative qualities. They are vain and ambitious, selfish and unscrupulous, notorious liars, swindlers and bribe-takers, unwilling to work conscientiously, accustomed to living by deception. Both lackeys by nature,They know how to adapt to the situation and please if necessary.
So, Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, and Khlestakov - unscrupulous peoplescammers, bribe takers.
The mayor in the city entrusted to him behaves like a district king. He not only shamelessly robs merchants and townspeople, but also calmly pockets the money allocated by the state for the construction of the church. He is a swindler, a deceiver, “who has deceived three governors in his time.” By embezzling government money, he cares not about performing his service, but about concealing his crimes.
We learn that the mayor takes bribes from city residents and his subordinates at the very beginning of the comedy from a letter from his godfather: “... you, like everyone else, have sins, because you are a smart person and don’t like to miss what floats into your hands..."
Khlestakov, as soon as he felt the favorable attention of officials towards him, also behaved like a king. Just like the mayor, he began to shamelessly take money, supposedly for a loan, becoming more and more impudent, he begged a large amount money, knowing that he will not return it.He takes money from the mayor, and even after promising to marry his daughter.
Another one common feature- arrogance.
The mayor looks down on both city residents and officials.With both of them he is often rude and unfair: “Shh! such club-footed bears - their boots are knocking! It just falls down, as if someone were throwing forty pounds off a cart! Where the hell is taking you? Feeling his power and impunity, he engages in arbitrariness and spares no one.
And Khlestakov disdainfully treats people of the lower class.He speaks rudely to the tavern servant: “Well, master, master... I don’t care about your master! What is there?",with the townspeople who came to complain about the mayor, unceremoniously sending them out: “Who else is there?.. Tired of it, damn it! Don’t let me in, Osip!” In the role of director of the department, he despises the petty official for writing - “a kind of rat.”
With higher officials, both of them are very polite and attentive. Khlestakov is polite to the mayor: “On the contrary, if you please, it’s my pleasure. I feel much more comfortable in a private house..."
And the mayor, mistaking Khlestakov for the expected auditor,very polite to him, obsequious. He tries to predict his slightest desire, just so that he is satisfied. So, when the opportunity arises, skillfully“screws” him four hundred rubles instead of two hundred.
Both are deceitful.
We see the most colorful manifestation of lies in Khlestakov in the scene of justification before the mayor, when he tries to shift all the blame onto the innkeeper and the owner of the establishment, accusing them of various crimes: “He is more to blame: they serve me beef as hard as a log... He starved me all day long..."
And the mayor is not inferior to Khlestakov, telling how he cares about the affairs in the city: “When everything is in order in the city, the streets are swept, the prisoners are well maintained, there are few drunkards... what more do I need? ... and I don’t want any honors.”
Both are vain and ambitious.Therefore, they have secret dreams associated with a high position in society, their own greatness and power.
Khlestakov dreams of being a “high-flying bird”, very significant person deserving of universal respect, veneration and reverence: “They even write to me on the packages: “Your Excellency”... And it’s curious to look at me in the hallway when I haven’t woken up yet: counts and princes are milling around and buzzing there like bumblebees...”
We learn about the mayor's dreams when Khlestakov asks for his daughter's hand in marriage. He immediately begins to make plans about how he will live in St. Petersburg, how over time, having such a son-in-law, he will be able to “get into” the generals, hin order to have all the privileges of a general, to enjoy respect and glory: “Why do you want to be a general? Because if you go somewhere, couriers and adjutants will gallop ahead everywhere: “Horses!” And there, at the stations, they won’t give it to anyone, everyone is waiting: all these titular officers, captains, mayors, but you don’t even give a damn...”
Everything that Khlestakov tells about the highest society of St. Petersburg, all the pictures of a brilliant life that he unfolds, correspond to the most cherished dreams and the aspirations of the mayor, since their ideas about a luxurious life coincide.
And they dream because they are not satisfied with their own role in life, because in society the position is cultivated that it is not a person who paints a place, but a person’s place. “You’re having lunch somewhere with the governor, and then: stop, mayor! Heh, heh, heh, that’s what, the channel is tempting!” we hear from the mayor.
And, of course, they are united by fear ofpunishment for dishonest acts. Both of them are bold in happiness and cowards in trouble.
Let's remember how the heroes behave when they first meet: they tremble with fear of each other. What causes Khlestakov’s fear? As you know, on the way home he lost completely at cards and by the time he met the mayor he had been living in a hotel on credit for the second week. Naturally, he was afraid of the arrival VIP, because he decided that he would be arrested and sent to prison.
And what causes the mayor’s fear? The mayor’s reason for fear is much more serious. Already from the first act of the comedy it is clear that a high position for Anton Antonovich is a means of enrichment, so he is veryafraid of losing this sweet spot.
Thus, both of these heroes - Khlestakov and Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky - are close in spirit: vain and ambitious people, liars and bribe-takers, selfish and unscrupulous. They are both representatives of Nikolaev Russia, thatimmoral, anti-spiritualsystem that has crippledpeople, turned them into nonentities, capable of any baseness. This system killed the soul in people, making them lackeys by nature.
I would like to add that in our time, unfortunately, there are many deceitful, arrogant and vain people. This typical character convinces us that the Khlestakovs and mayors are still alive and that the work of N.V. Gogol's "The Inspector General" is rightfully considered immortal.
