A poem is a large poetic work on a historical or sublime lyrical theme. Hero of "Dead Souls" Nozdrev

Box image. Chapter III

1. Tell us how and why Chichikov got to Korobochka, because he was going to Sobakevich, whom he met in the city? (Answer yourself.)

2. What is the meaning of the romantic beginning of the chapter about the Box (night, thunder, rain)? (Here comes Gogol's style of writing, which gravitates towards contrasts - a romantic beginning and a prosaic denouement: Chichikov finds himself in the prosaic existence of Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka. In addition, the chapter on Korobochka is given in contrast with the chapter on Manilov. Such is the peculiarity of the composition of the poem. We add that the following the chapters about Nozdryov and Sobakevich are also constructed in contrast.)

3. What detail in the description of the village indicates the economy of the landowner Korobochka? (The abundance of dogs in the village indicates that Korobochka cares about the safety of his fortune. “Already by one dog barking, composed of such musicians, it could be assumed that the village was decent ...”)

4. How does Gogol emphasize the typicality of Korobochka? (Reading an excerpt from the words: “A minute later the hostess came in ... one of those mothers, small landowners ...”)

5. Read and compare two portraits of Korobochka. (In the portrait of Korobochka, almost the same details of clothing are repeated, but Gogol does not pay attention to the face, eyes, as if they do not exist. This also emphasizes the lack of spirituality of a person. Gogol repeats this principle of describing appearance in the poem repeatedly.)

6. After examining the text of the chapter, tell us about what traits make up the "core" of the character of the Box. Pay attention to the description of the room, the view from the window, the description of the village. (The box is neat and economic. She saves and saves money in motley bags and is well versed in the economy, thrifty, but nevertheless she is also a dead soul.

In terms of his mental development, Korobochka seems to be lower than all the other landowners. Limitation, "club-headedness", according to Chichikov's definition, knows no limits.

If Manilov "floats" above the earth in dreams, then she is absorbed in the prose of everyday earthly existence. Manilov does not know the economy - she went into him with her head. Unlike Manilov, she takes care of her household herself, enters into direct communication with the peasants, which is reflected in her speech, which is close to the peasant dialect.

Korobochka is a hospitable, hospitable hostess: she regrets that it is already late and it is impossible to cook food, but offers to “drink tea”. They prepared a bed for Chichikov “almost to the ceiling”, offered to scratch his heels for the night, in the morning they offered him a “snack” - reading an excerpt from the words: “Chichikov looked around and saw that mushrooms, pies were already on the table ...”

Let's pay attention to the fact that Korobochka treats Chichikov exclusively with flour dishes. This is understandable: meat is expensive, she will not beat cattle.

Find out what Korobochka Chichikova treated. What are “fast-thinkers”, “straight”, “snapshot”, “shanishki”, “flat cakes with all sorts of baking” (see “ Dictionary living Great Russian language” V.I. Dahl)?

How did Korobochka react to Chichikov's proposal to sell dead souls?

Is it only the fear of miscalculation that explains her unwillingness to sell them to Chichikov? (The whole character of Korobochka, her whole nature is reflected in her behavior when selling dead souls. A complete misunderstanding of the meaning of this transaction, the fear of selling cheap and being deceived when selling a “strange, completely unprecedented product”, a desire to “try on” market prices, stupidity, slowness - all the character traits of the “club-headed” landowner, brought up by a long lonely life (“an inexperienced widow”) and the need to independently resolve all issues, came to light in a deal with Chichikov.

The unwillingness to sell Chichikov’s souls is also explained by the fact that she has strived for hoarding all her life, therefore she believes that they “will somehow be needed in the household somehow.”

She is stubborn and suspicious. She is puzzled, however, by the penny profit. And she doesn’t know how to manage a penny, they lie in her pouches like a dead weight.

So she did not go far from Manilov, who also could not understand Chichikov's "negotiations".)

8. What is the meaning of the name Korobochki? (The landowner is indeed enclosed in a “box” of her space and concepts. For example, she says about Sobakevich that there is no such thing in the world, on the grounds that she has not heard of him.)

9. Compare Chichikov's behavior in chapters I and II. What new is revealed to us in the hero? (Chichikov does not stand on ceremony with Korobochka, perhaps because she is a widow, a "collegiate secretary", which equals the 10th grade of the "Table of Ranks".)

Card 48

The image of Nozdrev. Chapter IV

1. How does Chichikov meet with Nozdrev and his son-in-law? What is the role of this character? (Answer yourself.)

2. Read the description of Nozdryov's appearance (“He was of medium height, a very well-built fellow ...”) and the details of his characteristics. (“Nozdryov’s face, it’s true, is already somewhat familiar to the reader ...”)

What in the hero, despite his healthy appearance, betrays the deadness of his soul? (At 35, he is the same as at 18 and 20. Lack of development is a sign of the inanimate.)

3. Why Gogol calls Nozdrev " historical man"? (Gogol ironically calls Nozdryov a "historical man", in the sense that "wherever he was, everywhere he could not do without history."

The most important feature of the poem is that the "background" for such "historical" characters is a real story. That is why heroes and commanders look at them and readers from portraits. They look and seem to reproach.)

4. Name distinctive features character of Nozdrev, which manifest themselves in relation to Chichikov. (First of all, Nozdryov is rude. As soon as he gets to know Chichikov, he calls him “you”, although “there was no reason for that.” Nozdryov calls Chichikov a “svintus” and a “cattle breeder”, his speech is full of curses, words of a gambling lexicon, unceremonious expressions.)

5. Is it possible to compare Nozdrev with Khlestakov? If so, what do they have in common? What is the difference?

(Probably, in some ways he resembles Khlestakov. But the types are different: Khlestakov - small man, "wick", due to circumstances forced to play a role not characteristic of him " significant person". After all, at first it never occurs to him to pretend to be an auditor. And only after he realized that he was mistaken for another, Khlestakov begins to enter "into the role."

Nozdrev is completely different. This is a liar by vocation and conviction. He deliberately piles one nonsense upon another. He behaves defiantly, impudently, aggressively.)

6. Read the description of Nozdryov's office from the words "Nozdryov took them to his office, in which, however, there were no traces of what happens in the offices ..." What details of the description especially brightly set off the "core" of the image? (Nozdrev is a crook and a liar, and this is emphasized by the inscriptions on the "Turkish daggers" - "Master Savely Sibiryakov" - "was cut by mistake.")

7. What are the features of the "core" of Nozdrev's character, which the reader learns about not only from Chapter IV. (Nozdrev - player, reveler, regular hot places, a dissolute person, but he is charming. There is some kind of subtle catch in this charm, but even the shrewd Chichikov did not immediately notice it and made a mistake.

It was Nozdryov who informed everyone that Chichikov was trading "dead souls" with him, immediately swore that Chichikov was dearer to him than his own father, did not hesitate to confirm that Chichikov was going to steal the governor's daughter, then assured that Chichikov was a spy, and with he visited him and confessed his love and friendship.

8. From what motives does he act? (There is no calculation in his actions. And he acts out of purely “aesthetic” pleasure. The thirst to get everything instantly, without any mental costs, has become the main engine of life, suppressed all the properties of his human nature. The main refrain of his stories is “Oh, brother! How have a bite!")

9. How does Nozdryov behave when talking about dead souls? (Read this episode by role.)

10. What is the meaning of the appearance of the police captain at Nozdryov? (This appearance, perhaps, saves Chichikov's life. This visit can be correlated with the arrival of a real auditor in the comedy "The Government Inspector", that is, this is the beginning of Nozdryov's retribution.)

11. What is the attitude towards Nozdrev in society? (Nozdryov’s behavior does not shock anyone. Although his card frauds end in a scandal, and sometimes he returns home with only one sideburn. At the same time, he does not lose friendship with his friends, everyone takes his behavior for granted.

There is no one among the provincial authorities who would not have heard about Nozdryov's "weaknesses", but nevertheless, when ominous rumors spread that Chichikov was either Captain Kopeikin or Napoleon, rumors from which the officials almost went crazy , they again turned to Nozdryov. We decided to ask again carefully: what kind of person is Chichikov?

And again the author’s voice intrudes into the narrative: “These gentlemen are strange officials, and after them all other titles: after all, they knew very well that Nozdryov was a liar, that he could not be trusted in a single word, not in the trifle itself, but meanwhile they resorted to to him".

They cannot live without people like Nozdryov, just as he cannot live without them.)

Card 49

Image of Sobakevich. Chapter V

1. How does Gogol prepare the reader's meeting with Sobakevich? (The character of the hero begins to unfold before meeting him. Approaching the estate, Chichikov drew attention to a large wooden house with a mezzanine, a red roof and dark gray walls, “like those we build for military settlements and German colonists.” The courtyard is surrounded strong and thick wooden lattice. The master's buildings went "full-weight and thick logs, determined to stand for centuries." Even the well was built from such strong oak, "which goes only to mills and ships." The owner "took a lot of trouble about strength.")

2. How is he different from other landlords? (This is a prudent owner, a cunning tradesman, a tightfisted fist. He does not dream, like Manilov, does not go crazy like Nozdryov. Everything around him is solid, everything is in abundance (everything is ruined with Nozdryov). Korobochka’s stupidity is also not characteristic of him.

Everything in his village is sound, reliable, he knows the peasants perfectly, appreciates their labor qualities, skillfully advertises in order to sell the dead more profitably.

In the city, too, he will not be at a loss, he will not miss his profit anywhere. Gogol emphasizes in the hero strength, health, sedateness.

On this basis, some critics believed that this character was almost positive compared to others. Gogol saw it differently.)

3. What alerts readers to the description of Sobakevich's strong economy? (Comparison with barracks, prison, military settlement.)

4. What details of appearance emphasize the deadness of Sobakevich? (His appearance “nature”, that is, life, “chopped from the whole shoulder” - you can chop like a girl! This emphasizes the “wooden” (non-living) essence of the hero’s face. But the soul of a person is most of all reflected in the face!)

What did the “soul” of Sobakevich demand? (The requirements are only gastronomic, and, moreover, colossal - the whole pig, the whole ram, the whole goose. Gogol writes: there was no soul in this body at all.)

5. What is the role of describing the details of everyday life in revealing the image of Sobakevich? (The thing bears the imprint of the character of the person to whom it belongs, so the person and the inanimate object approach each other. One helps to better understand the other.

Students give examples: portraits of Greek generals and heroes attract attention, and among them is the “thin” Bagration, “extremely attentive” looking at the deal between Chichikov and Sobakevich. This emphasizes the distance between the real exploits, deeds and "deeds" of the heroes of the poem.)

6. Prepare an annotated reading of the bargaining scene. (Pay attention to the combination of the inner speech of the characters with their statements, on internal monologue Chichikov.)

Card 50

Plushkin image. Chapter VI

1. What is the meaning of the name of this Gogol hero? (She emphasizes the “flattenedness”, the distortion of the hero and his soul. He has one concern - he collects all good and rots him, and even makes sure that no one steals. There is a lot of everything and everything disappears, decays, everything is in desolation.)

2. Let's read the description of Plyushkin's house and garden from the words: "The master's house began to show itself in parts ..." to the words: "... for a giant castle hung in an iron loop."

Let's pay attention to the details accompanying this description. Why is Plushkin's house compared to a castle? (This shows the irony of the author - knightly times have passed. There is nothing that would enliven this picture - everything seems to have died out here. The giant castle is a symbol of the owner's suspicion, which locks everything.)

3. Read and comment on the description of the portrait with the words: “His face did not represent anything special ...” (Plyushkin’s appearance is such that Chichikov, having seen him at the church, would not have resisted and filed a copper penny.

Plyushkin's first name is "figure". Chichikov does not understand who is in front of him - "a woman or a man", in any case, not a landowner. Chichikov thought it was the housekeeper. And one more important detail: Plyushkin's characterization is accompanied by the word "hole", for the author he turns into "a hole in humanity".)

4. What detail in Plyushkin's portrait is especially significant and why? (These are the eyes: “the little eyes have not yet gone out ... like mice ...” But this detail emphasizes not human liveliness, but animal life, the lively briskness and suspicion of a small animal is conveyed here.)

5. Reading the fragment from the words: “He stepped into the dark wide porch ...” What detail in the description of the interior indicates that life has died in this house? (It’s dark and dusty in Plyushkin’s house, it blew cold on Chichikov, like from a cellar. Everything is a mess, and in the corner of the room there is a pile of rubbish, from which sticks out a piece of a wooden shovel and an old boot sole.

A notable detail is the stopped clock: time has died in Plyushkin's house, life has stopped.)

6. Why did Gogol give a biography only to this hero, spoke about his past, about how the process of his degradation went? (The author had the hope that this hero was capable of moral change. Apparently, it is not by chance that he was given last in the gallery of landowners.

There is another point of view: among all the landowners.

It is important for Gogol to show how a person has turned into a “hole in humanity”, so he reveals the character of the hero in development.)

7. Find details in the story about Plyushkin's past that alarm the reader, forcing him to foresee the terrible present of the hero. (The comparison with the "industrious spider" suggests that Gogol does not seek to turn Plyushkin into a tragic face. The writer ends his story about Plyushkin's past with the words: "... such a phenomenon rarely comes across in Rus' ..." Spider, a phenomenon - these comparisons they talk about the deadness of Plyushkin's nature. Gogol directly calls Plyushkin's face "wooden", although he once glides on it " warm beam- a pale reflection of feeling.")

8. What reception was given to Chichikov at Plyushkin's? “I haven’t seen guests for a long time ...” and “Put the samovar, you hear, but take the key and give it to Mavra to go to the pantry ...”)

9. What is Plyushkin's reaction to Chichikov's proposal to "pay taxes for all the peasants"? Reading from the words: “The proposal seemed to completely astonish Plyushkin. He widened his eyes and looked at him for a long time ... "

10. Why, after such a reception, was Chichikov "in the most cheerful mood"? (A real gift for him was not only the dead, but also the fugitives "only two hundred and a half people", bought at a price of 30 kopecks.)

11. Why, in your opinion, does the image of a landowner appear on the pages dedicated to Plyushkin, reveling, as they say, “through life”? What does this landowner and Plyushkin have in common, despite the difference in their characters and way of life? (Gogol interrupted the story of the miser with a description of the opposite type - a nobleman who plundered the labor of the people in a different way. The writer knew many such cases, and his words about “wild and threatening violent lighting in this world” and “terrible sky” express a premonition of an impending catastrophe for the noble class .)

Card 51

Why is Sobakevich praising dead peasants? 1

In Chapter V, Chichikov ends up with the landowner Sobakevich, a cunning, economic and tight-fisted man. Chichikov asks him to set a price for dead souls, that is, for peasants who have died, but are still on the revision lists, And he hears in response a fantastic figure: "one hundred rubles apiece!"

Chichikov cautiously reminds that these are not people, they died long ago and “one sound that is not tangible by the senses” remains. But Sobakevich ignores these considerations.

“Milishkin, a bricklayer, could put a stove in any house. Maxim Telyatnikov, shoemaker: whatever pricks with an awl, then boots, that boots, then thank you, and even if it’s drunk in your mouth! And Eremey Sorokoplekhin! yes, this peasant alone will stand for everyone, he traded in Moscow, he brought one quitrent for five hundred rubles. After all, what a people! This is not something that some Plyushkin will sell you, ”he praises his product.

Sobakevich's rantings at one time baffled the critic of Shevyrev: “... It seems unnatural to us that Sobakevich, a positive and respectable person, should begin to praise his dead souls and embark on such a fantasy. Rather, Nozdryov could have been carried away by her, if such a thing had worked out with him. Indeed, why should Sobakevich praise the dead peasants?

The practical mind of Sobakevich, his fraudulent cunning and savvy are beyond doubt. One can also assume his conscious intention to mock Chichikov - but still this is nothing more than an assumption. Gogol deliberately does not disclose inner world his hero, his true experiences and thoughts.

There was no need for Sobakevich to deceive the chairman. It wasn't even safe to say that. And yet Sobakevich cannot resist again indulging in his "fantasies" about the peasants sold to Chichikov.

It is natural to assume that Sobakevich to some extent really believes in what he says. Approximately as Khlestakov believed that he once managed the department and that he himself was afraid of the State Council, And it is easy to believe in the dignity of the peasants: they were really talented and hardworking, they ensured the life and life of the masters. Shevyrev called Sobakevich's behavior unnatural. But in fact, the whole inimitable comedy of Sobakevich's speeches lies in their complete naturalness, in the fact that he, with complete naivety and innocence, tells things that are obviously absurd. And that is why Sobakevich is "not afraid" of the chairman; that is why he was not embarrassed by the reminder of the interlocutor that Mikheev had died. A notorious deceiver, perhaps, this exposure would have baffled. But Sobakevich got out of a difficult situation with the same ease with which Khlestakov “rejected” the objection that Zagoskin wrote “Yuri Miloslavsky”: “... This is true, this is exactly Zagoskin; but there is another Yuri Miloslavsky, so that one is mine. Compare the logic of Sobakevich's answer: it is certain that Mikheev died, but his brother is alive and has become healthier than before...

And is Sobakevich the only one in Gogol's poem who believes in the obviously improbable and absurd?

For example, Korobochka, a prudent and practical landowner. Soon after the departure of Chichikov, who bought dead souls from her, she “felt such anxiety about what might happen on the part of his deceit that, without sleeping for three nights in a row, she decided to go to the city ...”.

Why did she worry, what kind of “deception” did she suspect? another, sane person would think with alarm about Chichikov: was it not some kind of madman who came, obsessed with a crazy idea?

But Box's anxiety is of a different kind. She is tormented by the thought of whether she sold cheap, whether the visitor deceived her, and Korobochka goes to the city "to find out for sure how much dead souls go." And this means that the very unusualness of the goods does not bother her, that she is ready to believe even in "dead souls", if they are in demand on the market.

LESSONS 73-74

GALLERY OF IMAGES OF LANDSHOPS IN GOGOL'S POEM

"DEAD SOULS"
Dead Souls is a gallery for

aging, aging, losing

vital juices of souls.

Yu.M. Lotman
DURING THE CLASSES
I. The word of the teacher.

We begin our acquaintance with the heroes of the poem by comparing the various points of view of our famous writers, literary critics, author.

For Vasily Vasilyevich Rozanov (writer, philosopher, publicist of the late 19th - early 20th centuries), all the heroes of the poem are dead, "puppets, miserable and funny", the fruit of "great, but empty and meaningless skill", the author seemed to him "the bishop of the dead", an evil genius, almost the Antichrist.

V.V. Nabokov saw in the characters of the foreground, grouped around Chichikov, subhuman, a product of the otherworldly, diabolical world. In Chichikov himself, he agrees to see in part a man, although a fool. He explains this by the fact that "it was stupidity to trade dead souls with an old woman who was afraid of ghosts, unforgivable recklessness - to offer such a dubious deal to a braggart and boor Nozdryov." Nabokov goes on to call Chichikov "a low-paid agent of the devil" because the vulgarity that the hero personifies is the property of the devil.

Nevertheless, the writer did not want to create caricatures and monsters, he created people who were by no means vile.

Recall that when Gogol read excerpts from the poem to Pushkin, the poet said: “God, how sad our Russia is!” And this amazed Gogol: “From that time on, I began to think only about how to soften the painful impression that “Dead Souls” could make.

Gogol created in " dead souls ah" "typical models" different options coarsening, vulgarity human soul.

Whose point of view is closest to you? To resolve this issue, we continue to work in groups.

Irony is always present in Gogol's satire. On the one hand, he used this method in censored conditions, on the other hand, satirical irony helped to expose the objective contradictions of reality. Gogol believed that irony is generally characteristic of Russian thinking. At the same time, I think this method helped the writer to show the complexity of a person and the ambiguity of the author's attitude towards him. A comparison of Manilov with a minister suggests that the minister is not so different from him, and Manilovism is a typical phenomenon in society. At the same time, we do not forget Gogol's words about heroes: "My heroes are not villains..."

Manilov, although he does not follow the economy, but "thinks and thinks", creates projects for human well-being, theoretically making sure that Russia does not suffer any damage, but flourishes.
III. Conversation with students on the card 47 Image of the Box.
teacher's word

And in this chapter of the poem, the author's voice sounded again: "... a different and respectable, and even statesman man, but in reality the perfect Box comes out." As in the case of Manilov, Gogol directs the edge of his satire to the very top of the social pyramid of landowner-bureaucratic society.

Moreover, Gogol compares Korobochka with Petersburg ladies, owners of ruined estates, and concludes that the “chasm” between them is small, which is real dead souls"are representatives of high society, cut off from the people.
IV. Conversation with students on the card 48. The image of Nozdrev.
V. Conversation with students on the card 49. The image of Sobakevich.
teacher's word

(After discussing the fourth question.)

IN creative world Gogol things begin to play an active role, helping to more clearly identify the character traits of the characters. Things seem to become doubles of their owners and an instrument of their satirical denunciation.

The details of the real world characterize Gogol's landowners: (Manilova - the famous gazebo, "The Temple of Solitary Reflection", Nozdryova - the immortal hurdy-gurdy, the game of which is suddenly interrupted and the waltz begins to sound, or the song "Malbrug went on a campaign", And now the hurdy-gurdy has already stopped sounding , and one brisk pipe in it does not want to calm down in any way and continues to whistle for a long time.It is here that the whole character of Nozdryov is captured - he himself is like a spoiled hurdy-gurdy: restless, mischievous, violent, absurd, ready at any moment for no reason to do something unforeseen and inexplicable.

Conclusion: spiritual world Gogol's heroes are so petty and insignificant that a thing can fully express their inner essence.

The most closely fused things with their owner in the house of Sobakevich.

Reading Chapter VI, one cannot but pay attention to its lyrical tone. It starts digression about youth main feature which curiosity; maturity and old age bring indifference to a person. The author’s voice also breaks through in the story about Plyushkin, for example: “And a person could descend to such insignificance, pettiness, disgust! ..”, and this exclamation ends with a fiery appeal to young people: “Take with you on the road ... all movement, do not leave them on the road, do not raise them later ... "

1. What unites the heroes of the chapters about landlords? (Each of the heroes is individual, each has some kind of “devilish” energy, because everything around them acquires their features: around Nozdryov it smells like a tavern, a scandal, in Sobakevich every thing says: “... and I, too, Sobakevich!” Around Manilov even the landscape and the weather have a kind of greyish uncertainty.The same can be said about Korobochka and Plyushkin.

Leads the story Chichikov. It ties together all the events and human fates. Each chapter expands our understanding of Chichikov.)

2. Why does Gogol build chapters II-VI according to approximately the same plan (the surroundings of the estate and the estate itself, the interior of the house, a description of the hero’s appearance, a meeting between the host and the guest, a conversation about acquaintances, dinner, a scene of buying and selling dead souls)? What do you see as the meaning of such a construction of chapters? (The repetitive plan of the chapters creates a sense of the uniformity of the phenomena depicted. In addition, the description is structured in such a way that it makes it possible to characterize the personalities of the landowners.)

1. Reading chapters I, VII, VIII, IX, X.

2. Individual tasks - prepare messages on the topics: “What does the story of Captain Kopeikin have to do with the action of the poem?” and “What suggested the plot to Gogol, The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”? (on cards 52, 53).

Card 52

What suggested to Gogol the plot of The Tale of Captain Kopeikin? 1

It is possible that the idea to write "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" was suggested to Gogol by folk songs about the robber Kopeikin, who is dying in a foreign country. Here is an abbreviation of one of the songs recorded in the city of Syzran, the former Simbirsk province:

On the glorious at the mouth of Karastan.

In the evening he went to bed the thief Kopeikin,

By midnight the thief Kopeikin was getting up...

Get up, brothers and sisters!

Not good for me, brothers, I had a dream:

Like I good fellow I walk along the edge of the sea,

I grabbed onto a strong tree...

But the fierce snake hissed here,

The lead bullet flew by.

In a brief preface to the cycle, the publisher wrote: “... The proposed samples are extremely curious in the sense that, together with the legends surrounding them, they gave birth under the pen of Gogol famous story about the tricks of the extraordinary Kopeikin in Dead Souls, the hero appears there without a leg precisely because, according to the songs, he stumbled with his foot (either left or right) and damaged it; after failures in St. Petersburg, he appeared as an ataman in the Ryazan forests ... "

Maybe, folk songs Gogol was prompted both by the name of the character and the very fact of his “robbery”. That is why Gogol was afraid that censorship would find fault with the name "Kopeikin": apparently, this folk image was quite famous.

The name of the hero is important to Gogol also because, in accordance with its hidden meaning, with etymology, it suggested associations with reckless prowess and audacity: remember the current expression: "life is a penny." By the way, in the draft edition of the “tale”, this expression was played up: “... All this is used, you know, to dissolute life, everyone’s life is a penny, life is hammered everywhere, even though the grass does not grow ...”

But anyone who, on this basis, would exaggerate the similarity of The Tale of Captain Kopeikin with a cycle of folk songs would make a big mistake. The publisher of this cycle put it very unsuccessfully, saying that Gogol's Kopeikin "appears ... without a leg precisely because he stumbled on his foot in the songs ...". If it is meant that the folklore image suggested such a detail to Gogol, this is possible. If we are talking about the reason, about the artistic motivation of the event, then between folk song yu and Gogol's "tale" have nothing in common. Captain Kopeikin did not “stumble.” His lameness has a very real motivation that does not carry any symbolic connotation: “whether under Krasny or near Leipzig ... his arm and leg were torn off.”

In addition, in the folk song there is no mention of the cruelty and callousness of those in power, the theme of a dead soul is not raised, there is no tone of ingenuous praise-mocking, in a word, there is nothing that makes Gogol's "story" an original work, but also organically, indissolubly fastens it with the rest of the text of Dead Souls.

Card 53

What does the story of Captain Kopeikin have to do with the action of the poem? 1

At first glance, none. The action of the poem takes place in the provincial town and the nearest landowners' estates (volume 1). The action of "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin" - in St. Petersburg. The story does not talk about Chichikov's scam, none of the characters in it act.

The story about the captain is told by the postmaster (Chapter 10), with a clear desire to convince the officials that Chichikov is none other than Captain Kopeikin. But his story did not convince anyone, and the postmaster's version was rejected.

At first glance, this is the only thread connecting the "story" and the action of the poem. It seems that if this thread breaks, nothing will change in the development of the action of the work. However, the story continues the theme of the necrosis of the human soul, begun in the poem, and thus forms an inseparable unity with the text of the poem.

Captain Kopeikin, a participant in the war of 1812, crippled and disfigured, extends his hand to the nobleman for help and does not receive it. The answer is icy coldness, indifference, contempt.

Thus, Gogol's thought about people who are dead in spirit passes from the chapters of the poem into The Tale of Captain Kopeikin. One has only to take a closer look at the three-time appearance on the stage of the “nobleman” (the narrator also calls him “general”, “general-in-chief”), to his manner of treating the petitioner, indifferent and contemptuously cold, to be convinced of this.

And what a porter standing at the general's house! “One porter already looks like a generalissimo: a gilded mace, a count's physiognomy, like some fat pug of some kind...” The reducing function of comparison, which equates a person to a pug, is clearly visible in this description. And we already know that such comparisons reflect one of the facets of the image " dead soul"- mortification, lack of spirituality.

Gogol gave one and only explanation why The Tale of Captain Kopeikin is necessary in the poem. In a letter to Nikitenko dated April 10, 1842, known to us, he said that “this piece is necessary not to connect events, but in order to distract the reader for a moment, to replace one impression with another, and whoever is an artist in his soul will understand that without it there is a strong gap.

"Connection of events", the history of the sale and purchase of "dead souls" is broken. But one of the cross-cutting themes of the poem - a dead, frozen soul - continues. It continues with a complete change in material, setting, time of action - and this is the special artistic effect of the "story".

Among these changes, the most important was the change in the situation, the stage: not the province, not the province, but the capital, the very heart of Russian Empire. And not provincial landowners and provincial officials of various calibers and suits, but the highest state administration!

True, under the pressure of censorship, Gogol was forced, as they say, to demote his characters. The nobleman, the general became just a "boss." Generals are not mentioned among his petitioners. All events unfold in another, lower sphere: “Wait for the arrival of Mr. Minister,” the head says to Kopeikin. And in the pre-censored edition, the “nobleman” advised him to wait for the arrival of the sovereign. Even the name "Palace Embankment", where the nobleman's house is located, Gogol removes, since it was known that the royal residence was also located here - Winter Palace, and the palaces of the most prominent dignitaries.

And still: the most important thing remains. After all, Petersburg remained, some very important metropolitan authority and its ministers remained. And this is what Gogol needed.

Among the features of the "story" that helped "one impression to replace another" and gave rise to a sense of change, we note the following. With state power, with stupid indifference, with deadness, none other than a man who suffered in the war, immensely patient, unpretentious, honest, faced. Among the main characters of the poem there was no such hero and, consequently, no such conflict.

True, under the influence of censorship, Gogol was forced to soften the novelty of the conflict of the “tale”. On the one hand, he added dark paint» into the portrait of the main character. It turns out that Kopeikin is finicky and impatient (“he also visited guardhouses under arrest ...”). It turns out that he does not achieve the most necessary, not daily bread: “I need, he says, to eat a cutlet, a bottle of French wine, to entertain myself too, to the theater, you understand.” On the other hand, under the pressure of censorship, the boss became softer, more pliable. He enters into the position of Kopeikin, gives him modest "assistance".

And all the same: much remains in the censored edition. After all, the very fact remains that a war invalid walks the threshold of a high commission, seeking a pension, and never receives it.

One of the critics of the last century well said that in Gogol "somehow the words are put in a special way"; it seems that nothing of the kind is said, nothing is specially denounced or ridiculed, but the impression is amazing. Gogol's "words" mercilessly hit the "monuments", the shrines of the Russian Empire.

The awkwardly comical manner of narration (let's not forget that the "story" is told by the postmaster) casts a glimpse on what is being said - on the subject of narration. Not a high commission, but "a kind of high commission". Not board, but "government, you know, such." The difference between the nobleman and captain Kopeikin was transferred to the money account: “90 rubles and zero!”

Sometimes critics express the idea that Gogol needed such "tricks" to deceive censorship (like the way a fabulist needs wolves and bears). There is nothing more naive than such a thought, This is not a disguise, not camouflage, but an integral part of Gogol's artistic world. Through such and such a dense network of words: “in some way”, “such”, “can you imagine”, etc. - the royal capital is seen, And some motley, oscillating ripple falls on its monumental, majestic face (and on everything that happens in the Tale ...).

Herzen wrote: “... If the lower ones are allowed to laugh in front of the higher ones, or if they cannot help laughing, then goodbye to servility. To make the god Apis smile at him means to cut him from the priesthood into simple bulls.

By making the reader laugh, Gogol defrocked royal institutions and institutions. The question arises: could something like this be in the thoughts of the postmaster, the narrator of the story? But that's the point: his tongue-tied manner of narration is so naive, so sincere, that admiration in it is indistinguishable from malicious mockery. And if so, then this manner is capable of conveying the caustic mockery of the author of Dead Souls himself.

The narrator, for example, admires the doorknob in the nobleman’s house: “... so, you know, you need to run ahead to a petty shop, and buy soap for a penny, and rub your hands with it for about two hours, and then decide to grab onto it.” Who knows: maybe the postmaster really thinks so. Is servility, reverence and awe before the highest - not in his character? But all this is expressed so clumsily - naively and tongue-tied that we have the right to suspect a mockery in these words.

“Nozdryov was, - according to Gogol, - in some respects a historical person. Not a single meeting he attended was without a story. Some kind of story was bound to happen: either the gendarmes would take him by the arms out of the gendarme hall, or they would be forced to push out their own friends. If Manilov's egoism is covered by his complacency, then Nozdryov does not even hide his desire to profit at someone else's expense, to cheat, slander, and do disgusting things. In terms of lies, Nozdryov is not inferior to Khlestakov. He leads his guests to a pond in which, according to him, there is a fish of such size that two people could hardly pull out one fish. Showing the border of his possessions, Nozdryov immediately forgets that he has just marked it on "this side" of the moat. He "corrects" himself: "... all this is mine, and even on the other side, all this forest that is turning blue over there, everything beyond the forest is all mine." Convicted of lying, he is not at all embarrassed and begins to lie and cheat three times more. But if Khlestakov lies aimlessly, “inspiredly,” then Nozdryov in his lies most often also acts as a deliberate slanderer. At any moment he is ready to slander everyone, to spread an absurd, but nevertheless malicious rumor. Having informed Chichikov that everyone in the city thinks that he is making fake papers - by the way, a rumor was immediately invented by Nozdrev himself - he immediately offers Chichikov his help in kidnapping the governor's daughter: “So be it: I will hold your crown, a carriage and variable horses will be mine, only with an agreement: you must lend me three thousand. Need, brother, at least slaughter!

Gogol, as already mentioned, clearly conveys the character of his characters through the peculiarities of their speech. So Belinsky noted this role of verbal characteristics given by Gogol to his characters. Responding to the reproaches of reactionary critics, who accused the writer of the “rudeness” of his language, Belinsky wrote: “... the author of Dead Souls never speaks himself, he only makes his characters speak in accordance with their characters. The sensitive Manilov is expressed in the language of a person educated in the bourgeois taste; and Nozdrev - the language of a historical person, a hero of fairs, taverns, drinking parties, fights and gambling tricks. It was impossible to force them to speak the language of people of high society! In this regard, Nozdrev's speech is extremely indicative, saturated with slang words, professional expressions and terms. Here are the gambling terms that characterize him as a gambler and cheater: “If I didn’t bend the duck after the password on the damned seven, I could break the whole bank.” Here is the ugly Frenchized jargon of an army-restaurant style: “Bordeaux is simply called a bottle”, “matradura clicot”, “a bottle of French called bonbon”, “handles ... the most subdient superflu”. (Gogol adds here: “The word, which probably meant for him highest point perfection.”) Hunting and dog breeding terms characterize Nozdryov as a passionate dog lover: “fortress of black meats”, “shield”. Nozdryov’s speech is deliberately rude, incoherent and abrupt: “Well, her wife, k! ”, “Get out to her, piggy”, “a kind of cattle breeder”, “... I would have hung you on the first tree”, “hooked me up”.

Saltykov-Shchedrin subsequently remarkably showed Nozdrev's typicality as a representative of the frenzied government reaction. Gogolevsky Nozdryov in "Letters to Auntie" becomes not only the editor of the dirty and impudent reactionary newspaper "Slop", but also an influential public figure: “this is far from being that brawler Nozdrev, whom we knew in the blossoming mountain of youth (forgive me! how he sat on the floor at the ball and caught the ladies by the skirts!), But a solid, albeit burnt-out conservative. The thing is that he was lucky enough to make some surprisingly successful denunciation, which first drew the attention of the protective Russian press to him, and then further and higher - and suddenly a saving coup took place in him! Now he only drinks orange juice, he visits taverns solely for the sake of domestic policy and both sideburns contain the same length and the same fluffiness. In a word, he stands at the height of the situation and is not at all burdened by this. Shchedrin's turn to Gogol's images in the early 1980s testifies to the breadth and strength of their typism, to how deeply and far-sightedly Gogol captured the reactionary essence of Nozdrevism.

Dictionary:

• A poem is a large poetic work on a historical or sublime lyrical theme.

• The system of images is a certain order in the arrangement and connection of actions.

• The exposition is the introductory part of the work.

• Negotiation - commerce

"Dead Souls". N.V. Gogol

• The construction of the poem. Image system

• Chapter 1 - introduction to the poem, the arrival of Chichikov P.I. to the provincial city N, meeting with officials, preparing the ground for adventure

• 2-6 chapters ----- depiction of the life of Russian landowners.

• 7-10 - the image of the provincial city and the world of officials.

• Chapter 10 - "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin."

• Chapter 11 - a story about the life fate of the hero of the poem Chichikov

Image of Nozdrev

This man of all trades He is carried away by drunken revelry, wild fun, card game. In the presence, not a single society could do without scandalous stories, so the author ironically calls Nozdryov a “historical” person. Unrestrained chatter, boasting, outright lies accompany this person. According to Chichikov, Nozdrev is “a man is rubbish.” He keeps himself cheeky and has a "passion to spoil his neighbor." But Nozdryov's activities are as aimless as Manilov's dreams. His revelry and aimlessness lead to spiritual mortification.

• Why does the author call him a "historical man"?

provincial society

• In this poem, the theme of serfdom is intertwined with the theme of bureaucracy, bureaucratic arbitrariness and lawlessness. Gogol draws attention to this in Chapter 1, talking about thick and thin.

• Provincial officials are at the lowest level of culture and education.

• The landowners and officials do not burden themselves with cares about state affairs. Both of them live idle.

• In the society of officials, "meanness, pure meanness" reigns.

• The rulers of the city strive to live at the expense of “the sums of the state they dearly love. Officials rob the state and petitioners. Embezzlement, bribery, robbery of the population are everyday phenomena.

• The police keep the people in fear

• People exposed by the authorities help the swindler in his dirty, criminal machinations and are afraid of him.

The Tale of Captain Kopeikin

• The hero and invalid of the Patriotic War of 1812 goes to St. Petersburg to ask for help.

• But legitimate requests were not successful.

• Fraudsters and soulless people stand guard over the law

• What is the ending of this story...

Now there are no landowners, but the features of Gogol's heroes have remained to this day. They are scattered in countless vices of a huge part of society. This work shows a picture of the disunity of the human team, where a person has lost his face. It's not funny, it's scary. Gogol's passionate desire to awaken the sleepy consciousness of people is in tune with any era.

• Meaning: The output of the poem caused a large number of opinions.

• The feudal nobles, who recognized themselves in the poem, hastened to condemn the author. They accused him of not loving Russia, that he was a mockery of Russian society. But progressive writers understood that this was a satire on the system that had long since become obsolete in Russia.

• Gogol had no doubts about the great future of Russia, he understood that enormous opportunities and forces were hidden in the people that could change the face of the country.

• Gogol wrote: "There is a time when it is impossible to direct society or even the whole generation towards the beautiful until you show the full depth of its real abomination."

WHY HEROES N.V. GOGOL'S SEEMS TO US "FAMILIAR STRANGERS"?
My God, how sad is our Russia! A. S. Pushkin.
There is no doubt that Gogol's laughter originated long before Gogol: in Fonvizin's comedy, in Krylov's fables, in Pushkin's epigrams, in representatives Famus Society at Griboyedov. What was Gogol laughing at? He laughed not at the monarchy, not at the church, and not even at serfdom. Gogol laughed at human lack of spirituality, at spiritual deadness, at the absurdity and stupidity of people who have deprived themselves of spiritual interests, values ​​and ideals. We know that in Gogol's works there is no goodies. The writer sincerely sought to create such characters, but he did not succeed. For Gogol, the most important thing was the merciless denunciation of the vulgarity of Russian life. “Had I depicted picture monsters, they would have forgiven me, but they didn’t forgive me for vulgarity. The Russian man was frightened by his insignificance ..,” _ wrote Gogol .. Many years have passed since Gogol’s death, but everyone remembers and knows the name of this wonderful writer. Why? Yes, because the heroes of his works exist in our time. The Chichikovs, Manilovs, Korobochki, Nozdrevs, Khlestakovs did not hatch to the end. But still they became less.
The heroes of the poem "Dead Souls", created under the direct influence of Pushkin, truly seem to us "familiar strangers." portrait gallery of this work opens Manilov. He is by nature courteous, kind, polite, but all this has taken on him ridiculous, ugly forms. He did nothing for anyone or anything. Neither great nor small deeds can be expected from Manilov and others like him. Gogol exposed the phenomenon of Manilovism, which characterizes the bureaucracy of Russia. The word "Manilovism" has become a household word. Manilov is terrifying to Gogol. While this landowner prospers and dreams, his estate is destroyed, the peasants have forgotten how to work - they get drunk, slovenly. The duty of the landowner is to organize the life of his serfs, to give them the opportunity to live and work for their own benefit. "Manilovshchina" is bigger than Manilov himself. "Manilovism", if it is considered not only as a universal phenomenon, but as a phenomenon of a certain era and a certain environment, was highly characteristic of the highest bureaucratic and bureaucratic system in Russia. The provincial landowner Manilov imitated the "first landowner of Russia" _ Nicholas 1 and his entourage. Gogol portrayed the "Manilovism" of the upper classes through its reflection in the provincial environment. "Manilovshchina" of Nicholas 1 and his entourage appeared before the reader caricatured not so much by Gogol as by herself provincial life", _ Likhachev wrote. And how often in our life we ​​meet people like Manilov, which is why, when reading Dead Souls, this hero seems to us to be a "familiar stranger."
Following Manilov, Gogol shows Korobochka, one of "those mothers, small landowners who cry for crop failures and losses, and meanwhile they collect a little money in bags placed in chests of drawers." The box has no claim to high culture Like Manilov, she does not indulge in empty fantasies, all her thoughts and desires revolve around the economy. Chichikov calls Korobochka "cudgel-headed". This apt definition fully illuminates the psychology of the landowner. Agree that in our life such boxes are very common. Only in our time have these people turned into hard-hearted and greedy, striving for hoarding and regretting donating a few pennies to a beggar. The image of Nozdrev is also typical in our time. He is fascinated by drunken revelry, violent fun, a card game. In the presence of Nozdryov, not a single society could do without scandalous stories, therefore the author ironically calls Nozdryov a "historical person." Chatter, boasting, lies are the most typical features Nozdryova. According to Chichikov, Nozdrev is a "rubbish man." He behaves cheekily, impudently and has a "passion to spoil his neighbor."
Sobakevich, unlike Manilov and Nozdrev, is associated with economic activity. He is a cunning rogue. Gogol ruthlessly exposes the greedy hoarder, who was "medved" by the system of serfdom. Sobakevich's interests are limited. The purpose of his life is material enrichment and tasty food. And how many people living by the same principle are found in our reality?
Another hero of "Dead Souls" is Plyushkin, as if crowning the gallery of provincial landowners. "A hole in humanity," as Gogol calls it. It is in this person that pettiness, insignificance and vulgarity reach their ultimate expression. Avarice and passion for hoarding deprived Plyushkin human feelings and brought him to monstrous ugliness. In people, he saw only plunderers of his property. Plyushkin himself did not go anywhere and did not invite anyone to visit him. He kicked out his daughter and cursed his son. His people were dying like flies, many of his serfs were on the run. In Plyushkin himself and in his house, movement is felt - but this is a movement of decay, decay. How terrible is this man! And how terrible it is that in modern reality there are such people, only, no doubt, appearing before us in a slightly different guise. Thus, Plyushkin also seems to us a "familiar stranger."
"Dead souls" shocked the whole of Russia, _ Herzen noted. The feudal nobles, who recognized themselves in different faces of Gogol's new work, reactionary criticism viciously condemned both the author and the poem, accusing Gogol of not loving Russia, that this was a mockery over Russian society. Gogol knew how representatives of the ruling classes would react to his work, but he considered it his duty to Russia and the people "to show, at least from one side, all of Russia." He wrote: "There is a time when it is impossible to aspire society or even the whole generation to the beautiful, until you show the full depth of its real abomination. "This thought did not leave the writer-citizen during his entire work on the poem" Dead Souls ".
The central hero of the poem is Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov.
First of all, Chichikov stands out against the general background with activity, activity. This figure of an entrepreneur is new in Russian literature. Gogol shows how Chichikov's ability to adapt to any situation, to navigate in any situation has developed. The father gave advice to young Chichikov: "You will do everything and break everything in the world with a penny." Chichikov's whole life has become a chain of fraudulent machinations and crimes. Pavel Ivanovich shows tremendous efforts and inexhaustible ingenuity, embarks on any scams, if they promise success, they promise a treasured penny. Chichikov quickly orients himself in any situation, enchants everywhere, and even arouses admiration for some. In my opinion, Chichikov, more than others, seems to us a "familiar stranger", because even now the slogan has become the life philosophy of many of our "entrepreneurs": "Hooked _ dragged, broke _ do not ask." Many people think that if "you can't take the straight road", then "the oblique road is more straight." And in general, Gogol's work appears to us as a gallery of "familiar strangers." Recall Khlestakov from the comedy "The Government Inspector". Can't we argue that his features are inherent in every person to one degree or another? “Let everyone find a particle of himself in this role and at the same time look around, without fear and fear, so that someone does not point a finger at him and call him by name. is being done by Khlestakov, but, naturally, he just doesn’t want to admit it,” wrote Gogol himself.
So all heroes Gogol's works seem like "familiar strangers" to us. This is because in our real life we often meet people in whom we notice the vices of certain Gogol characters. That is why his works are alive, they are loved, they are brought up on them. Now our country is undergoing great changes, rethinking human values, but the ideas of Gogol the prophet are modern even now. Gogol is dear to us, because he, like no other of his predecessors, portrayed the moral essence and moral qualities of people, which, undoubtedly, are inherent in all of us to this day.

The poem "Dead Souls" embodies the image of Russia of the past and future. Satirical grotesque reality with a hint of patriotism allows you to create a plot, the relevance of which is not lost over the years.

Nozdryov is an empty and absurd person, prone to deception and often lies, while considering his nature broad. Thanks to such a temperament, the hero quite often becomes a participant in ridiculous situations, and his behavior suggests that he is shameless and combines arrogance with weak will.

Characteristics of the hero

("Nozdrev", artist Alexander Agin, 1846-47)

Nozdryov becomes the third to be offered to sell dead souls, he is a valiant landowner of 35 years old. A scorcher, a reveler, a talker - all this is about Nozdryov, he is ready to bully everyone and everyone indiscriminately, constantly lies, and is also prone to excitement. This person can make a trick, even to his close friends, and at the same time no personal goals are pursued.

All the features of such a strategy of behavior are explained by the personality of the character: he combines briskness, briskness, one can say that his unrestraint is adjacent to unconsciousness. Nozdryov is not worth plans and strategies, therefore all his actions are improvisation, and Nozdryov has no sense of proportion at all.

The author portrayed Nozdrev as a broken guy, and this is precisely what his behavior indicates. Life for Nozdryov goes on today, but he does not think about the next days. This is clearly seen in the example of his game: he often exchanged everything he won for things that did not matter, and he could immediately lose what he had acquired. It was his energy that made him what he was and drove his behavior. You can learn a little about Nozdryov in the work, he was a card cheat, and first appeared to the reader in paragraph NN. In general, the hero can be called ridiculous, he is simply ridiculous, not attentive to statements and does not give a damn about their consequences.

Nozdryov is a bad owner, we do not learn about the life of his peasants, since the main interests of the hero are dogs and smoking pipes. It can be played one hundred percent, and in case of a win, it lowers everything to entertainment and revelry. Ego energy pushes to exploits, and leads to illogical purchases, in contrast to this behavior is the consistency during the agreements with Chichikov, who was able to see the trickery. The image of Nozdryov is formed and constant, he has an emotional speech, speaks loudly. The author did not tell the background of the character and left it unchanged for the entire duration of the poem.

The image of the hero in the work

Nozdryov intercepts Chichikov in a tavern and quarrels with him on the estate: Chichikov does not agree to play with dead souls and buy a stallion with souls as a bonus. By morning, Nozdryov already forgets about the disagreements, and offers a game for souls, this time in checkers, but gets caught cheating. The heated N. can only be appeased thanks to the appearance of the police captain, since Nozdryov gave the order to beat Chichikov.

The role of Nozdrev is important for the plot, since he almost killed Chichikov when he loudly shouted "he trades in dead souls." This caused a lot of incredible rumors, and after calling the authorities, Nozdrev confirmed all the rumors. The hero himself goes to Chichikov, talks about rumors, and makes an offer about transporting the governor's daughter.

The confusion of the character is also reflected in his home environment, there are no books and papers in his office, and goats are located in the middle part of the dining room. The author showed his boundless lies as the other side of prowess young man. This is not to say that the hero is completely empty, his enormous energy is simply not directed in the right direction.

What should the image of Nozdryov show?

Nozdryov always participates in wild fun, drunken revelry and playing cards. He brings entertainment to society and creates scandals. The author called him a historical person, because boasting, fiction and idle chatter are his favorite things and an integral part of his personality. Chichikov considers Nozdryov to be a mean person, because he is arrogant, cheeky and does nasty things to his neighbors. The character shows that a person with a noble appearance and a "star in the chest" can do nasty things as a "simple collegiate registrar".