Roll call Kamen [Philological studies] Ranchin Andrey Mikhailovich

Sobakevich and Plyushkin

Although Sobakevich, like Korobochka, is one of the zealous landlord owners, outside the triad "Korobochka - Sobakevich - Plyushkin" Mikhail Semenovich, unlike Nastasya Petrovna, has very little in common with the unfortunate miser. In addition to the prejudiced unfriendly (however, in the case of Plyushkin, rather wary, suspicious) attitude towards others, one portrait feature is similar.

Portrait

Sobakevich seems to have been hewn out of one large piece of wood, from a block of wood, and, working on his face, "nature" "poked her eyes with a big drill" (V; 119). Plyushkin's face is called "wooden", and this epithet is stable (V; 160).

So, in the image of Plyushkin, features are found that individually characterize the images of all the other landowners. But, indeed, as Yu.V. Mann and V.N. Toporov, Plyushkin is presented in the poem differently from the rest of the landlord characters.

However, Plyushkin's prehistory, testifying to the stages of degradation, mental mortification, is not necessarily intended to testify to the possibilities of rebirth: to no lesser extent, it can be called upon to speak of the depth, the abyss of the fall, to indicate not its upper but its lower point. The intention to bestow a gift on a pleasant visitor is ambiguous, for it has not been fulfilled and, it seems, was not supposed to be fulfilled. There remains a fragment that describes Plyushkin, who remembered his former childhood friend: “And on this wooden face a warm ray suddenly slid, not a feeling was expressed, but some pale reflection of a feeling, a phenomenon similar to the sudden appearance of a drowning man on the surface of the waters, who made a joyful cry in the crowd that surrounded the shore. But the brothers and sisters, overjoyed in vain, throw a rope from the shore and wait to see if their backs or arms weary with struggle will flash again - this was the last appearance. Everything is deaf, and the surface of the unrequited element that has calmed down becomes even more terrible and deserted after that. Likewise, Plyushkin's face, following the feeling that instantly slid on him, became even more insensitive and even more vulgar ”(V; 160).

The interpretation of this fragment depends on the placement of semantic accents. And Yu.V. Mann, and V.N. Axes accentuate the beginning of the passage ("warm ray", "pale reflection of feeling"). However, it ends with a terrible comparison with a drowning man, from which it follows that not only the appearance of a drowning man above the surface of the water, but also the expression of a "slipping feeling" on Plyushkin's face "was the last." The author's emphasis nevertheless falls on the end of the fragment, on a comparison that explains its meaning. The deep non-coincidence, about the special significance of this comparison, is evidenced by its repetition in the note<«Размышления о героях “Мертвых душ”»>: “And as you try to get to the soul, it is no longer there. The hardened piece and the whole [already] transformed person into a terrible Plyushkin, from whom, if sometimes something that looks like a feeling flutters out, it looks like the last effort of a drowning person ”(VI; 686).

The symbolic details surrounding the image of Plyushkin in the poem have a dual, potentially ambivalent meaning: they can testify both to the possible revival of his soul and to the spiritual and mental death that took place.

Here is the interior of the room: Chichikov “entered a dark wide entrance, from which a cold blew, as if from a cellar. From the vestibule he entered a room, also dark, slightly illuminated by the light coming out from under a wide gap at the bottom of the door ”(V; 145). This faint light shining from under the door can be sunset or dawn for the "dark" soul of the hero.

"A green marble press with a testicle at the top" (V; 145) and a cake that the eldest daughter Alexandra Stepanovna once brought to Plyushkin and whom he wants to treat to Chichikov ("bread cake," with his knife<…>"- V; 158) are probably associated with Easter food - with an egg and a cake, with which they break the fast on the feast of Christ's Resurrection. (However, the fact that the cake was brought precisely for Easter is not mentioned.) But the egg, like the whole press, is obviously "green": the green color (apparently, the press is made of bronze, covered with a patina) reminds of mold. And the cake turned into a biscuit. So, the details related to the symbolism of the Resurrection are put in the semantic row ‘rotting, dying’. In this regard, it is essential that the surname of the Gogol character can be understood as a derivative of the lexeme "bun"; accordingly, Plyushkin himself is emphatically presented as a kind of dried Easter cake, as a "biscuit" that has died of soul.

Another symbolic image is Plyushkin's chandelier: “From the middle of the ceiling there was a chandelier in a canvas bag, which, from the dust, looked like a silk cocoon in which a worm sits” (V; 146).

The attribution of the image of the "worm / worm" to Plyushkin can be interpreted as a sign of his possible spiritual resurrection, the transformation of the soul into a beautiful butterfly. The chandelier, which looks like a "worm" in a cocoon, resembles a butterfly. For butterflies, or lepidoptera (order Lepidoptera), as well as for some other insects, the so-called development with complete metamorphosis, or transformation, is characteristic, and only in butterflies, larvae - worm-shaped caterpillars make a cocoon in which they pupate.

Popular beliefs about butterflies as materialized souls of the dead are widespread, to which numerous mythological parallels can be drawn: the mythological "fantasy" used a "visual comparison": butterflies (moth)". “Both the butterfly and the bird gave their images to personify the human soul. In the Yaroslavl province, the moth is called sweetheart... In the Kherson province, commoners believe that the soul of the deceased comes to his relatives, if they do not give alms, in the form of a moth and winds around a candle; why relatives feed the beggars the next day to calm the soul of the deceased.<…>The Greeks represented death with an extinguished torch and a wreath on which a butterfly was sitting: a torch meant extinct life, and a butterfly meant a soul that had left the body. In ancient times, a butterfly was depicted on tombs as an emblem of resurrection into a new life. "

The word "worm", but in the form of "worm", is found in other places of the poem: this is how Chichikov self-deprecatingly calls himself - "an insignificant worm of this world" (V; 15). In Chichikov's thoughts, not expressed aloud, the lexeme "worm" denotes an extreme degree of fall, the pain of humiliation: "Why do others prosper, and why should I disappear like a worm?" (V; 307). M. Ya. Weisskopf places the image of the "worm lurking in Chichikov" in the context of the religious and philosophical tradition (in particular the Masonic one), interpreting it as an "allegory of the satanic principle." However, if at a deep symbolic level this meaning is apparently present in the image of the poem, the primary semantics of the naming is different - the main character of Dead Souls thus demonstrates humility (essentially hypocritical, ostentatious). At the same time, Pavel Ivanovich focuses on the use of the lexeme "worm" in the Bible. One of its meanings in Holy Scripture is associated precisely with the consciousness of one's own (and, more broadly, human) insignificance and with the self-deprecation of the speaker; it can be accompanied by the semantics of God-forsakenness and humiliation from people, alien to this word in Chichikov's speech (cf. Ps. 21: 7; Job 25: 4-6; Isa. 41: 14). In the Bible there are several cases of the associative connection of the lexeme "worm" with the devil's beginning, with hell (Is. 66: 24; Mk. 9: 44). But Gogol's character clearly does not take them into account. In the author's symbolic space of the poem, Chichikov's self-name, like the image of Plyushkin's chandelier, may indicate the coming resurrection of the protagonist.

However, if in comparison of a chandelier with a worm in a cocoon there may be a hint of the coming spiritual resurrection of Plyushkin, then the object plan of the image is the opposite in meaning. A non-luminous lamp, of course, is associated with a "dead", extinguished soul and contrasts with the Gospel image of a lighted lamp, which signifies readiness to serve the Lord and loyalty to Him.

Finally, in the case of Plyushkin, a fundamentally important characteristic of this character is old age. Not only Plyushkin is called an old man, but the things in his house ("engravings", a book, a toothpick) are old, almost "decrepit". Plyushkin's old age is correlated in the poem with the motive of the aging of the soul, which manifests itself in cooling, "hardening" in relation to life and to the impressions of being. It is not by chance that a lyrical digression about the aging of the soul is included in the “Plyushkin's” chapter. (Korobochka is also represented by the old woman, but this definition of her is given primarily as a purely age-related, physical characteristic, it does not receive spiritual understanding.)

Thus, the idea of the arrangement of "portraits" in the gallery of landowners in the order of increasing mortification is an undoubted oversimplification. Undoubtedly, there is a special correlation between the landowners who open (Manilov) and close (Plyushkin) this series, and there are much more similarities than was noted by D.P. Ivinsky. However, no less important is the correlation between the only woman, the landowner Korobochka, and Plyushkin. The idea of a greater "liveliness", of a lesser deadness of Plyushkin is not fully confirmed by the text. Plyushkin, as a "hole in humanity," is correlated in varying degrees with all other owners of estates. His image is a hole, an abyss, as if absorbing the properties, features of each of them. Distinctive features of other landowners at Plyushkin lose their original character, stick together, fall into this hole - an abyss and bear the terrible stamp of withering avarice. This is the limit of the fall, in which the boundaries are erased not only between "play" and "efficiency", but also between masculine and feminine principles - hence the accentuated resemblance with the feminine Manilov, inclined to "acting", to a sensitive posture, and with the Household Box, which the desire to make a pleasant impression on the guest is completely foreign.

If Gogol really thought about resurrecting Plyushkin, it was probably not because it was easier to do, but because it was more difficult. But if he is also capable of resurrection, then other characters in the first volume could also be spiritually reborn. All the other characters in this somewhat monstrous landowner's gallery would have resurrected in his face.

This text is an introductory fragment. From the book History of Russian Literature of the XIX century. Part 1. 1800-1830s the author Lebedev Yuri Vladimirovich

Sobakevich and Chichikov. Gogol's talent for portraying a person through his everyday environment achieves triumph in the story of Chichikov's meeting with Sobakevich. This landowner does not hang in the clouds, he stands with both feet on the ground, treating everything with callous and sober practicality.

From the book Roll Call Kamen [Philological Studies] the author Ranchin Andrey Mikhailovich

Plyushkin and Chichikov. In the gallery of landowners presented by Gogol to the general shame and ridicule, there is one remarkable feature: in the replacement of one hero with another, a feeling of vulgarity grows, into the terrible mud of which modern Russian people plunge. But as far as

From the book Gogol the author Sokolov Boris Vadimovich

Manilov and Plyushkin One of the elements of correlation is the landscape. The first volume of Dead Souls describes the gardens of only two landowners - Manilov and Plyushkin. So between the images of Manilov, who opens their gallery and Plyushkin, who closes them in a row, is established

From the author's book

Box and Plyushkin Things. Like Plyushkin, the collector of all sorts of "rubbish", the owner of the famous "heap" Nastasya Petrovna collects all kinds of old things, things that seem unnecessary. She "had either a letter, or an old deck of cards, or a stocking behind every mirror."

From the author's book

Korobochka, Sobakevich and Plyushkin Gates and a fence Korobochka's manor house is surrounded by a gate and a fence; Plyushkin also has them, and he has a very solid lock. The fence also surrounds the house of Sobakevich - the same economic and practical landowner as Korobochka.

From the author's book

Nozdrev and Plyushkin At first glance, there is nothing in common between these two characters - the "historical man" Nozdrev, a shirtless guy who suffers only from an excess of "enthusiasm", and the maniacally stingy Plyushkin, who has withdrawn into himself like a mouse in a hole, and has nothing in common. Nostril more

From the author's book

Manilov and Plyushkin While visiting Manilov, Chichikov dines, but the gastronomic theme has been eliminated, the protagonist does not describe the eating of food. Plyushkin, on the other hand, disdained Chichikov. The similarity of situations is significant: if Korobochka, Nozdryov (he, however, in a special manner) and

From the author's book

Korobochka and Sobakevich Unlike the previous pair, these are true and even excessive gourmets (especially Sobakevich). Accordingly, if the vices of the first two are more of a spiritual nature, then in the second they are more "carnal."

A landowner with a massive figure, similar to a bear, appears fourth in the character gallery. The image and characterization of Sobakevich in the poem "Dead Souls" (with quotes) makes it possible to more vividly represent a gentleman from the Russian hinterland, strong in figure, but spiritually devastated.

Landowner of the city N

Sobakevich is an older man. He is well over 40. Taking care of his estate, he is satisfied with the conditions of the "boondocks", abandoned inland from even the unknown city of N. In the outback, he belongs. But bears like him, in human form, are easy to meet in Moscow. The master is in good health. He "never got sick." Moreover, Sobakevich is afraid of such a situation. It seems to him that some terrible severe illness awaits him ahead. He says about himself:

"... even if the throat hurts, a vered or a boil popped out ...".

But good health protects a man from ailments.

Hero's appearance

From the first to the last feature of appearance, Sobakevich resembles a bear: the figure, the position of the eyes, the chopped lines of the face, the gait. Character traits:

"... a round, wide, like Moldavian pumpkins" face;

"... wide, like those of Vyatka squat horses ..." back;

"... his legs, which resembled cast-iron curbstones, which are placed on the sidewalks ...";

"... did not use any small instruments."

The master did not need files, gimbals. A not very sharp ax was enough:

“I took it with an ax once - my nose came out, I took it in another - my lips came out, I picked my eyes with a big drill and, without scraping it, let me into the light…”.

The classic tries to put or sit the character upright, but he does not succeed:

"... did not move his neck at all ...".

A landowner was sitting, looking sullenly not at the interlocutor, but at where the eye was.

Mikhailo Semenovich does not see those walking nearby. More often they avoid him,

“… Knowing the habit… to step on your feet…”.

Sobakevich is a small, "medium-sized" bear. His father was much larger. There is a breed, heredity, Russian heroism in a person. But if you look into history, how strong in spirit the Russian giants were. They loved Russia and its people with all their hearts. What is left of them? Only outward resemblance. The landowner has a bearish taste. How the master is dressed:

"Tailcoat ... bearish color";

"The sleeves (camisole, shirt or jacket) are long";

"Pantaloons (pants or trousers) are long."

The author interestingly describes the complexion of Sobakevich: "... red-hot, which happens on a copper penny." A tall, healthy man with a crimson face, how not to recoil, frightened by such a thing! In addition, there are no movements, emotions in the face. It is stone and frozen in one position.

The character of the landowner

Sobakevich is very different in character. He then curls up into a ball, like a fist, ready to strike, then becomes eloquent and agile. It all depends on the situation around him.

He shows a "doglike disposition" when he speaks of the inhabitants of the city. All of him are deceivers:

"... the swindler sits on the swindler and drives the swindler."

Rude in comparisons of people. According to the landowner,

“… There is a decent person: a prosecutor; and that one ... a pig. "

Mikhail Semenovich is straightforward, he does not try to conduct unnecessary arguments with Chichikov about a strange request - the purchase of dead souls. Immediately, without a preface and surprise, he proceeds to the auction. The landowner says little, sternly and ingeniously:

"You needed souls, and I am selling you ...".

When bargaining, the master shows his thoroughness, he slowly yields rubles and kopecks, appreciating the smallest penny. It is impossible not to notice that there is cunning and resourcefulness in the character, for this he receives the epithet from Chichikov - "beast". The rogue and the rogue will not miss the benefit.

Landowner in communication with his wife

The figure of Feodulia Ivanovna's wife is opposite in shape. This is a thin, tall woman. The author compares it to a palm tree. It is impossible to imagine an image without a smile: a palm tree in a cap with ribbons. The hostess is like a "flowing goose", like

"... to actresses representing queens."

Gogol claims that Sobakevich's wife is a good housewife. She surrounded her husband with care, the main task is to feed. If you count how much time is allotted during the day for food, then there is almost no time left for other things. Lunch, which Chichikov attended, is a usual meal for a family. It is impossible to list everything that the master ate.

"Everything was lumpy in the stomach ...".

The beginning of a meal - "half of a side of lamb", it would seem, will go further with cheesecakes and drinks, but no. Eaten

"... a turkey the size of a calf, stuffed with all sorts of good ...".

Sobakevich only recognizes Russian cuisine. He does not accept French, and it is difficult to imagine how a "bear" is trying to stuff a frog's leg or an oyster into his mouth. Sobakevich is consistent in his food, as in the auction, eats up to the end. At lunch with city officials:

"Having outlined from a distance a sturgeon lying aside on a large platter ... in a quarter of an hour with a little he drove it all, so ... from the product of nature there was only one tail ...".

This attitude towards food is the essence of a character's character. A well-fed gentleman does not become kinder, a smile or other feelings do not appear on his face.

Attitude towards peasants

The landowner strives to create conditions of strength for the peasants. He participates in the life of the household, understands that the better the peasants work, the stronger his estate. Sobakevich knows every living and deceased person. In the words of the owner, pride sounds:

“What a people! Just gold ... ".

The landlord's list is detailed and accurate. There is all the data about the sold soul:

"... craft, title, years and family status ...".

Sobakevich remembers how the peasant treated wine, the peasant's behavior.

Sobakevich is a landowner who differs from other residents of the district of town N. met by Chichikov. But this is only an external difference. Vice, avarice and indifference are firmly embedded in the character. The soul hardens and dies, it is not known whether anyone will buy his soul in the future.

Landlord	Appearance	Manor	Characteristic	Attitude to Chichikov's request
Manilov	The man is not yet old, his eyes are sweet as sugar. But this sugar was too much. In the first minute of a conversation with him you will say what a nice person, after a minute you will not say anything, and in the third minute you will think: "The devil knows what this is!"	The master's house stands on a dais, open to all winds. The farm is in complete decline. The housekeeper steals, something is constantly missing in the house. In the kitchen, cooking is stupid. Servants are drunkards. Against the background of all this decline, the gazebo with the name "Temple of Solitary Meditation" looks strange. The Manilovs love to kiss, give each other cute trinkets (a toothpick in a case), but at the same time they absolutely do not care about home improvement.	About people like Manilov, Gogol says: "The man is so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan." The man is empty and vulgar. For two years in the office there is a book with a bookmark on page 14, which he constantly reads. Dreams are fruitless. The speech is cloying and sugary (name day of the heart)	I was surprised. He understands that this request is illegal, but he cannot refuse such a pleasant person. Agrees to give the peasants free. Doesn't even know how many souls he has died.
Box	An elderly woman, wearing a cap, with a flannel around her neck.	A small house, the wallpaper in the house is old, the mirrors are old. Nothing is lost on the farm, this is evidenced by a net on fruit trees and a cap on a scarecrow. She taught everyone to be in order. The yard is full of poultry, the garden is well-groomed. The peasant huts, although they were scattered, show the contentment of the inhabitants, they are properly maintained. Korobochka knows everything about his peasants, does not keep any notes and remembers the names of the dead by heart.	Economic and practical, knows the price of a penny. Club-headed, stupid, stingy. This is the image of the landowner-accumulator.	She wonders why Chichikov is doing this. Afraid of cheapening. Knows exactly how many peasants died (18 souls). He looks at dead souls in the same way as at lard or hemp: suddenly they will come in handy on the farm.
Nozdryov	Fresh, "like blood and milk", is full of health. Medium height, not badly complex. At thirty-five, it looks the same as at eighteen.	A stable with two horses. The kennel is in excellent condition, where Nozdryov feels like the father of a family. There are no usual things in the office: books, papers. And hanging a saber, two guns, a barrel organ, pipes, daggers. The land is unkempt. The economy went on by itself, since the main concern of the hero was hunting and fairs - not up to the economy. The renovation in the house is not finished, the stalls are empty, the organ is out of order, the chaise is lost. The position of the serfs, from whom he draws everything he can, is deplorable.	Gogol calls Nozdrev a "historical" person, because not a single meeting at which Nozdrev appeared was without "history." Reputed for a good friend, but always ready to play a dirty trick on his friend. "Broken guy", reckless carousel, card player, loves to lie, mindlessly spends money. Rudeness, impudent lies, recklessness are reflected in his fragmentary speech. As he speaks, he constantly jumps from one subject to another, uses abusive expressions: "you piggy for this", "such rubbish."	From him, a reckless reveler, it seemed the easiest way to get dead souls, and meanwhile he is the only one who left Chichikov with nothing.
Sobakevich	Looks like a bear. Tailcoat in bearskin color. The complexion is red-hot, hot.	Big village, awkward house. The stable, barn, kitchen are built of massive logs. The portraits that hang in the rooms depict heroes with "thick thighs and unheard of mustaches." The four-legged walnut bureau looks ridiculous. Sobakevich's economy developed according to the principle of "wrongly cut, but tightly sewn", sound, strong. And he does not ruin his peasants: his peasants live in huts that have been cut down for a miracle, where everything was fitted tightly and properly. He knows very well the business and human qualities of his peasants.	A fist, rude, clumsy, uncouth, incapable of expressing emotional experiences. An evil, tough serf owner, will never miss his profit.	Of all the landowners with whom Chichikov dealt, Sobakevich was the most quick-witted. He immediately understood what dead souls were needed for, quickly saw through the guest's intentions and made a deal with his own benefit.
Plyushkin	It was difficult to determine whether it was a man or a woman. Looks like an old housekeeper. Gray eyes darted quickly from under the fused eyebrows. There is a cap on the head. The face is wrinkled like an old man's. The chin protrudes far forward, there were no teeth. On the neck there is either a scarf or a stocking. The men call Plyushkin "Patched".	Dilapidated buildings, old dark logs on the peasants' huts, holes on the roofs, windows without glass. He walked the streets, and everything that came across, he picked up and dragged into the house. The house is a pile of furniture and rubbish. The once prosperous economy became unprofitable due to pathological stinginess, brought to waste (hay and bread rotted, flour in the basement turned to stone).	Once Plyushkin was just a thrifty owner, he had a family and children. The hero also met with neighbors. The turning point in the transformation of a cultured landowner into a curmudgeon was the death of the hostess. Plyushkin, like all widowers, became suspicious and stingy. And it turns, as Gogol says, into "a hole in humanity."	The offer amazed and delighted, because there will be income. Agreed to sell 78 souls for 30 kopecks.

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Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is one of the greatest and at the same time mysterious works of the 19th century. The genre definition of "poem", which was then unambiguously understood as a lyric-epic work written in poetic form and predominantly romantic, was perceived by Gogol's contemporaries in different ways. Some found it mocking, while others saw hidden irony in this definition. Shevyrev wrote that “the meaning of the word“ poem ”seems to us twofold ... because of the word“ poem ”a deep, significant [...]
At the literature lesson, we got acquainted with the work of N.V. Gogol's Dead Souls. This poem became very popular. The work has been repeatedly filmed both in the Soviet Union and in modern Russia. Also, the names of the main characters became symbolic: Plyushkin is a symbol of stinginess and storage of unnecessary things, Sobakevich is an uncouth person, manilovism is an immersion in dreams that have no connection with reality. Some phrases have become catchwords. The main character of the poem is Chichikov. […]
What is the image of a literary hero? Chichikov is the hero of a great, classic work created by a genius, a hero who embodied the result of the author's observations and reflections on life, people, and their actions. An image that has absorbed typical features, and therefore has long gone beyond the framework of the work itself. His name has become a household name for people - sneaky careerists, sycophants, money-grubbing, outwardly "pleasant", "decent and worthy." Moreover, among other readers, Chichikov's assessment is not so unambiguous. Comprehension [...]
Gogol was always attracted by everything eternal and unshakable. By analogy with Dante's Divine Comedy, he decides to create a work in three volumes, which could show the past, present and future of Russia. Even the genre of the work the author denotes in an unusual way - a poem, since different fragments of life are collected in one artistic whole. The composition of the poem, which is based on the principle of concentric circles, allows Gogol to trace the movement of Chichikov through the provincial town of N, the estates of landowners and all of Russia. Already with […]
“A rather beautiful spring chaise drove into the gates of the hotel in the provincial town of NN ... In the chaise sat a gentleman, not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but not so that he is too young. His entry did not make any noise in the city and was not accompanied by anything special. " This is how our hero appears in the city - Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. Let us, following the author, get to know the city. Everything tells us that this is a typical provincial [...]
Plyushkin is an image of a moldy rusk left over from a cake. Only he has a life story; Gogol portrays all the other landowners statically. These heroes, as it were, do not have a past that would be in any way different from their present and would explain something in it. Plyushkin's character is much more complex than the characters of other landowners represented in Dead Souls. In Plyushkin, traits of manic avarice are combined with morbid suspicion and distrust of people. Preserving the old sole, clay shard, [...]
The poem "Dead Souls" reflects the social phenomena and conflicts that characterized Russian life in the 1930s and early 1940s. XIX century. It very correctly noted and described the way of life and customs of that time. Drawing images of landowners: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin, the author recreated a generalized picture of the life of serf Russia, where tyranny reigned, the economy was in decline, and the person underwent moral degradation, regardless of whether she was the person of the slave owner or [... ]

The idea of "Dead Souls" arose and took shape in the creative mind of Gogol under the direct influence of Pushkin. Pushkin, having read the manuscript, said in a voice full of longing: "God, how sad is our Russia?" In 1842, the poem was published, despite the censorship ban, Belinsky helped to print it. Her appearance turned out to be a great event in the Russian public and. literary life. Herzen noted that Dead Souls shook the whole of Russia. " The release of the poem caused an even greater storm than the appearance of the comedy "The Inspector General". The feudal nobles, who recognized themselves in different faces of Gogol's new work, the reactionary criticism angrily condemned the author to the poem, accusing Gogol of not loving Russia, that it was a mockery of Russian society. The progressive camp, and among them Belinsky, believed that Gogol's satire was a satire of an ardent patriot who passionately loved his people. Gogol was firmly convinced of the country's great future; he understood that the people had tremendous opportunities and strengths to change the face of Russia.

It was the deep love for Russia, the feeling of anxiety for the fate of their people that fed Gogol's merciless satire in his portrayal of the noble-serf world. Gogol wrote in his diary: "There are times when you cannot urge society to go even an entire generation to the beautiful, until you show the full depth of its real abomination." The portrait gallery of Dead Souls was opened by Manilov. By nature, Manilov is courteous, kind, polite, but all this took on him funny, ugly forms. He did not benefit anyone and in any way, because his life is busy with trifles. The word "manilovism" has become a household word. Lovely spirit is Manilov's most distinctive feature. Relations between people always seemed to him festive, without collisions and contradictions. He did not know life at all, his reality was replaced by an empty fantasy, and therefore he looks at everything through "rose-colored glasses". This is the only landowner who presented "dead souls" to Chichikov.

Following Manilov, Gogol shows Korobochka, one of "those mothers, small landowners who cry for crop failures and losses, and meanwhile collect a little money in the bags placed in the drawers of the dressers." Korobochka has no claims to high culture, like Manilov, she does not indulge in empty fantasy, all her thoughts and desires revolve around the economy. Serfs are a commodity for her, as for all landowners. Therefore, Korobochka does not see the difference between living and dead souls. Korobochka says to Chichikov: "Truly, my father, it has never happened to me to sell the dead." Chichikov calls Box a clubhead. This apt definition fully illuminates the psychology of the landowner, a typical representative of the noble serf society.

The image of Nozdryov is typical. This is a man of all trades. He is carried away by drunken revelry, exuberant fun, 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 of Nozdryov. According to Chichikov, Nozdrev is a "trash man." He behaves cheekily, impudently and has a "passion to shit on his neighbor." Sobakevich, unlike Manilov and Nozdrev, is associated with economic activities. Sobakevich a fist and a cunning rascal. Gogol mercilessly exposes the greedy accumulator who was "meddled" by the system of serfdom. Sobakevich's interests are limited. His purpose in life is material enrichment and delicious food. The furniture in Sobakevich's house: a table, armchairs, chairs resembled the owner himself. Through appearance, through comparison with household items, Gogol achieves tremendous brightness and expressiveness in describing the characteristic features of the hero. The gallery of "dead souls" is completed by Plyushkin, in which pettiness, insignificance and vulgarity reach their utmost expression.

Avarice and a passion for hoarding deprived Plyushkin of human feelings and led him to a monstrous ugliness. In people he saw only the plunders of his property. Plyushkin himself abandoned society, did not go anywhere and did not invite anyone to visit him. He kicked out his daughter and cursed his son. His people died like flies, many of his serfs were on the run. Plyushkin considered all his peasants to be parasites and thieves. The chapter on Plyushkin broader than the others deals with the peasant question. Already the appearance of the village speaks of the heavy and hopeless share of the serfs, of their complete ruin. The deep decline of the entire serf system of life in Russia was most realistically reflected in the image of Plyushkin.

Gogol's images are deeply typified and are a true generalization of social order. The writer himself deeply and splendidly felt the universal breadth of the types he created. Gogol wrote: “Nozdryov will not leave the world for a long time. He is everywhere between us and, perhaps, only wears a different caftan. " Gogol painted in his poem a gloomy and terrible picture of a serf society, which is incapable of leading the national life, a society devoid of an elementary understanding of honesty and social duty, devastated and spiritually dead. All progressive, thinking Russia, reading the poem, understood its name as Herzen understood: "Dead souls" are the horror and shame of Russia. " Gogol was highly appreciated by his contemporaries.

Later, Chernyshevsky wrote:

"For a long time there was no writer in the world who was as important to his people as Gogol is to Russia."

Now there are no landowners, but the character traits that Gogol captured so vividly in the poem "Dead Souls" remained, scattered in countless numbers of vices of a huge part of society. Zhirinovsky resembles Nozdrev, so he can be called a "historical figure". Boxes are found almost at every step, the Plyushkins who survived from the mind are rare, but still you can find them, Manilov alone in our cruel century has nothing to do. It’s too much to dream, it’s a great luxury. Gogol is immortal, and this is clear to anyone who has studied well Russian literature of the nineteenth century. The main property of Gogol's gift was especially clearly manifested in the outlining of the characters of the landowners. Chekhov later used the ability to outline the "vulgarity of a vulgar" person in two or three lines.

The social soil on which the Chichikovs, Manilovs, Sobakevichs, Nozdrevs flourished has long been destroyed. And the evil of bureaucracy, hoarding, hypocrisy is still ineradicable in humanity. Gogol's smashing satire is also necessary for our time. Perhaps something else is also important. The work has a frightening picture of the disunity of people, their alienation from the true meaning of life. The man has lost his human face. And this is no longer funny, but scary. The "dead souls" of the landowners have finally lost the ability to truly see, hear, and think.

Their behavior is mechanical, given once and for all, subordinated to the sole purpose of acquiring, in order to "sleep" in reality. This is spiritual death! Gogol's passionate desire to awaken a sleepy human consciousness is consonant with any era of stagnation. "Dead Souls" is an innovative work that boldly develops the traditions of Russian literature. The writer gave all his thoughts to the people, he saw the revival of Russia in the destruction of the idle caste of parasites, whose name is the noble serfs. This is the greatness of Gogol's literary feat.

Comparative characteristics of Plyushkin, Korobochka and Sobakevich and Nozdrev in the poem "Dead Souls"

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Comparative characteristics of Manilov and Sobakevich, Manilov and Korobochka

There is a kind of people known by the name: people are so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan nor in the village of Selifan, according to the proverb.

N.V. Gogol.

Wealth does not diminish greed.

Sallust.

Dead Souls is one of the brightest works of Russian and world literature, the pinnacle of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's artistic skill. One of the main themes in the writer's work is the theme of the Russian landlord class, of the Russian nobility as the ruling class, of its fate and role in public life. It is characteristic that the main method of depicting landowners in Gogol is satire. Their images reflect the process of gradual degradation of the landlord class, revealing all its vices and shortcomings. Gogol's satire is tinged with irony. The writer's laugh seems good-natured, but he spares no one, each phrase has a deep, hidden meaning. The poem is constructed as the story of the adventure of Chichikov, an official who buys up "dead souls". The composition of the poem allowed the author to tell about different landowners and their villages. Gogol creates five characters, five portraits, which are so unlike each other, and at the same time, typical features of a Russian landowner appear in each of them. Our acquaintance begins with Manilov and ends with Plyushkin. This sequence has its own logic: from one landowner to another, the process of impoverishment of the human personality deepens, an increasingly terrible picture of the disintegration of serf society unfolds.

Opens portrait gallery of landowners Manilov. To create his image, Gogol uses various artistic means, including the landscape of the hero's estate, the interior of his home. The things that surround him characterize Manilov no less than the portrait and behavior. Gogol writes: "Everyone has their own enthusiasm, but Manilov had nothing." The description begins with a picture of the village of Manilovka, which "could have lured few with its location." With irony the author describes the manor's courtyard, with "an Aglitsky garden with an overgrown pond", thin bushes and a pale inscription "Temple of solitary meditation". Manilov's main feature is uncertainty. Speaking about him, the author exclaims: "God alone could have said what Manilov's character was." He is kind by nature, polite, courteous, but all this took on ugly forms. Manilov is beautiful-hearted and sentimental to the point of cloying. Relationships between people seem to him idyllic and festive. Manilov does not know life at all, reality is replaced with empty fantasy. He loves to reflect and dream, while sometimes even about things that are useful to the peasants. But his projecting is far from the demands of life. He does not know and never think about the real needs of the peasants. Manilov lives in a world full of illusions, and the very process of fantasizing gives him great pleasure. He is a sentimental dreamer, incapable of practical action. Manilov spends his life in idleness. He has retired from all work, does not even read anything: for two years a book has been in his office, all laid on the same fourteenth page. Manilov brightens up his idleness with groundless dreams and meaningless projects, such as the construction of an underground passage, a stone bridge over a pond. Instead of a real feeling - Manilov has a "pleasant smile", instead of a thought - some kind of incoherent, stupid reasoning, instead of activity - empty dreams. While this landowner is prospering and dreaming, his estate is destroyed, the peasants have forgotten how to work. Manilov considers himself to be a bearer of spiritual culture. Once in the army, he was considered the most educated officer. Ironically, the author speaks about the atmosphere of the hero's house, in which "something was always lacking," about his sugary relationship with his wife. In comparison with other landowners, Manilov really seems to be an enlightened person, but this is only one appearance.

Korobochka has a completely different attitude to farming. She has a "pretty village", the yard is full of all kinds of birds. But Nastasya Petrovna sees nothing further than her nose, everything "new and unprecedented" frightens her. Her behavior is guided by a passion for profit, self-interest. In this way, she reminds Sobakevich. Gogol considers Korobochka to be one of those "small landowners who complain about crop failures, losses and keep their heads a little to one side, and meanwhile collect a little bit of money in variegated bags placed on the drawers of the dresser." Manilov and Korobochka are in some way antipodes: Manilov's vulgarity is hidden behind lofty phrases, behind arguments about the good of the Motherland, and in Nastasya Petrovna, spiritual scarcity appears in its natural form. The box does not pretend to be of high culture: in all its appearance, a very unpretentious simplicity is noticeable. This is emphasized by Gogol in the appearance of the heroine: he points to her shabby and unattractive appearance. This simplicity reveals itself in relationships with people. The main goal of her life is to consolidate her wealth, constant hoarding. It is no coincidence that Chichikov sees traces of skillful management on the entire estate, which Nastasya Petrovna's inner insignificance reveals. She, besides the desire to acquire and benefit, has no feelings. Confirmation is the situation with "dead souls". Korobochka trades in peasants as efficiently as he sells other items of his household. For her, there is no difference between an animate and an inanimate being. In Chichikov's proposal, she is afraid of only one thing: the possibility of missing something, not taking what can be bailed out for “dead souls”. Korobochka is not going to yield them to Chichikov for a small price. Only after long persuasion does Nastasya Petrovna understand the benefits of the deal and agrees to sell such an unusual product as “dead souls”.

Sobakevich is very different from Korobochka. He is, in the words of Gogol, "a devil's fist." The passion for enrichment pushes him to cunning, makes him seek various means of profit. Therefore, unlike other landowners, he uses an innovation - a monetary quitrent. He is not at all surprised by the sale and purchase of dead souls, but only cares how much he gets for them. Unlike Nozdrev, Sobakevich cannot be counted as people in the clouds. This hero stands firmly on the ground, does not indulge himself with illusions, soberly evaluates people and life, knows how to act and achieve what he wants. When characterizing his life, Gogol notes thoroughness and fundamentalness in everything. These are natural features of Sobakevich's life. On him and on the furnishings of his house there is a stamp of awkwardness and ugliness. Physical strength and clumsiness appears in the guise of the hero himself. “He looked like a medium-sized bear,” Gogol writes about him. Animal nature predominates in Sobakevich. He is devoid of any spiritual requests, far from dreaminess, philosophizing and noble impulses of the soul. The meaning of his life is to nourish the stomach. Sobakevich has a negative attitude towards everything connected with culture and education: "Enlightenment is a harmful invention." Unlike Korobochka, he understands well the environment and the time in which he lives, knows people. He differs from the rest of the landowners in that he immediately understood the essence of Chichikov. Sobakevich is a cunning rascal, an arrogant businessman who is difficult to deceive. He evaluates everything around him only from the point of view of his own benefit. In his conversation with Chichikov, the psychology of the kulak is revealed, who knows how to make the peasants work for themselves and derive the maximum benefit from it. Sobakevich is straightforward, rather rude. Unlike Manilov, in his perception all people are robbers and scoundrels. Everything in Sobakevich's house was surprisingly reminiscent of him. Each thing seemed to say: "And I, too, Sobakevich."

Gogol in his poem "Dead Souls" created a whole gallery of characters and types, they are all diverse, but they are united by one thing - none of them has a soul. Comparing the three landowners, I concluded that only Sobakevich has a future. Manilov and Korobochka live off the inherited estate. They themselves do not contribute in any way to the development of the economy. Manilov handed over his estate to the manager, and at Korobochka we see a backward corvée type of management. Sobakevich is the owner of a large estate who is engaged in farming. I think that after the abolition of serfdom, this landowner would have switched to wage labor, and his estate would continue to generate income. The same cannot be said about Korobochka and Manilov, who, most likely, would have pawned their estates in a pawnshop, and after a while went bankrupt. The poem "Dead Souls" is a brilliant denunciation of serfdom, the class that is the arbiter of the fate of the state. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is seriously worried that most of the landowners of that time led an idle life, did not care about their economy. The peasants suffered from this, and the entire state as a whole. Having depicted the life of the landowners in a satirical form, showing their shortcomings, Gogol wants to help people get rid of their vices.