Living souls in the dead souls of gogol. Living souls in the poem "Dead Souls": composition

In the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls" the most topical topics of contemporary society are revealed. One of them is the theme of the living and the dead soul in Russian reality. And the main character of the work becomes a “businessman” of a new type, Chichikov, who can hardly be called just a business person because there is too much unpleasantness in his appearance. Negative character traits predominate, so Chichikov is more of a “dealer” than an entrepreneur, and the “deeds” themselves do not inspire his respect, since they are designed in advance to manipulate the law.

The author shows the main character first in his activities, when he actively acquires dead souls, and much later Gogol tells how this character was formed. Already at the beginning of the work, the hero is depicted as an enterprising, inventive person who calculates and thinks through all his actions in advance. On the very first day of his arrival in the provincial town, Chichikov asked the servants in the tavern about all the "significant officials" and "significant landowners." He was also interested in diseases and epidemics in the region in recent years, and the visitor found out everything very thoroughly, which spoke of certain goals and the efficiency of the gentleman, who did not waste time in vain.

The collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov was a respectable man, but he behaved in accordance with the circumstances: with Manilov he is sweet and helpful, plays along with the owner’s sentimental phrase-mongering, and with Korobochka he is persistent and cunning, as he seeks to outplay the prudent and greedy landowner. Chichikov appears completely different to readers when we see him in communication with city officials: the hero “very skillfully knew how to flatter everyone”, he did it on purpose, trying to enlist support in the future, because he needs help with paperwork for bought souls.

Chichikov did not care at all about the delicacy of the question, the ambiguity of his entrepreneurship; he made his purchases openly, without hiding from the landowners, as if he were doing the most ordinary thing. Chichikov studied well the customs of people with considerable property, and he knew that the thirst for profit prevails over all other feelings and qualities in them. For the slightest profit, they will sell even the air, even the dead peasants. Even suspecting a swindler in Chichikov, they willingly draw up a deal with him, since they are calm about breaking the law: in Russia, according to the same landowners and officials, "a swindler sits on a swindler and drives a scammer." Everyone sees the surrounding rogues, but at the same time maintain friendly relations. And Chichikov, at the governor's ball, joins the group of "fat" officials, because, in his opinion, "fat people know how to do their business better in this world."

Chichikov is greedy and stingy, like all those with whom he deals (except Manilov), but if necessary, he gives bribes and pays for non-existent peasants, since the benefits are ahead. Everyone willingly takes money, which allows us to speak about the low level of spirituality of the landlord-bureaucratic tribe, which values ​​wealth above all else.

The situation with transactions around the acquisition of the souls of dead peasants allowed Gogol to raise the topic of a living and dead soul. It turned out that the peasants have a good disposition, their work and deeds have great life-affirming power, and in this they differ from their masters, surpassing the landowners in many qualities. So, the men who once belonged to Sobakevich were all with positive characteristics: “a good carpenter”, “he understands business and does not take drunkenness”, “good disposition and not a thief”. The carpenter Cork Stepan, of a heroic physique, greatly struck the imagination of Chichikov, who became the “owner” of the deceased peasant, and he imagined how this hardworking worker “came with an ax” all the surrounding estates, earning the necessary funds for his family. And the carriage maker Mikheev was famous for his skillful work, his carriages were of special quality. These people in the poem are not involved in the action, since they have died, but they are remembered and spoken of as living. So, they left a good memory of themselves with good deeds.

Chichikov himself also does not look like those with whom he enters into transactions. In comparison with the dead souls of landlords and officials, his spiritual qualities are different: this hero has special energy and vitality, because even after being exposed, when the true price of his “wealth” becomes known, he does not get lost, does not consider himself a loser, but continues his climbing up to the dream of owning an estate. Why is he like this? And in the eleventh chapter, the author tells how such a nature was formed.

Chichikov's inclinations of a business nature were laid down from childhood, when his father gave his son orders to “save and save a penny”, create conditions for yourself to move towards well-being: “... please teachers and bosses most of all ..., hang out with those who are richer. .., do not treat or regale anyone. And Pavlusha, while still at school, began to “make money” by selling food to hungry children. Speculation in childhood, then quickness, helpfulness, resourcefulness and even special zeal in the service began to bear fruit. The author reports on some of the properties of this personality: “Chichikov was the most decent person that ever existed in the world. Although at first he had to wipe himself in a dirty society, he always kept clean in his soul, he liked to have lacquered wood tables in the offices, and everything would be noble. Gogol sarcastically emphasized the “preservation of the purity of the soul” of the hero, saying that what is really meant is love for some comfort.

Chichikov's subsequent plans went much further than what he had. Having served in the office as an ordinary official, he managed to achieve something. At the same time, he dreamed of moving "to the customs service", where there are more opportunities for enrichment. And when he moved, he pulled off several frauds there. Then there were plans to acquire dead souls, in order to later buy (or rent) land plots, to become a landowner. Chichikov's dream is not far from reality, because, as far as he knew, the lands are "given away" on condition that serf souls are owned. Who would check whether they are alive or dead? Audit lists were not always kept in an exemplary manner, and Chichikov managed to make friends among officials.

To which group should the main character be attributed, to the living or dead souls of the poem? The author does not give an answer, but there are wonderful reflections in the work about the people, about the “wonderful beauty” of the Russian soul, about the “untold wealth of the Russian spirit”: “And they will seem dead ... all virtuous people of other tribes (apparently, the landlord and bureaucratic family tribe), as the book is dead before the living word.

Further, N.V. Gogol notes that he did not have a goal to show a virtuous person, but he wanted to “hide up the scoundrel”, whose origin is “dark and modest”. The result was such a multifaceted image of an entrepreneur, merchant, official, future landowner Chichikov. And the satirist writer left the conclusions about the soul of the protagonist to the readers.

N.V. Gogol, taking the opportunity to travel with his hero around Rus', draws interesting conclusions. At the end of the first volume, he expresses hope for the prosperity of the Russian state and communicates his dream of a prosperous life for the people, whose special spirituality aroused sincere admiration from the writer, since it was the soul of the Russian peasant who, according to Gogol, was truly alive.

Reviews

Wonderfully written... And the movie "Dead Souls" is great...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ZiEXe5IsE&t=2701s

But still, in the novel "Dead Souls" - it is strange that literary critics call it a poem - how boring, how monotonous, how ponderously gray almost all the characters are, as in so many works by other authors of the 19th century, and by no means only Russian ones, and only one single character makes a pleasant impression - meaning the barefoot girl Pelageya, the serf of the landowner Korobochka, who showed Chichikov the way. Even though Pelageya, at Gogol's whim, does not know "where is right and where is left"...

Nikolai Vasilyevich himself called it a poem, and we respect his opinion and cannot call it anything else. The fact is that Gogol has many lyrical digressions in this work, and they are wonderful. These reflections and statements of the writer are poetic, emotional, as if the song is pouring from the soul of the author. Especially those descriptions that relate to Rus' and its future (troika bird). And all this is in contrast to the prose, which deals with the degrading landowners, their way of life and customs.
However, I do not agree with you that these faces are "heavy-gray"... No, each portrait there is a special and striking type, although it does not cause a pleasant impression. On the other hand, we understand how those social relations disfigure a person, where there is injustice, greed, exploitation and the desire for PROFIT at the expense of the labor of forced people.
Thanks for reading and responding! I liked your thoughts, although they somewhat contradict my understanding.
All the best!
Sincerely

- the main work of N.V. Gogol. He worked on it from 1836 to 1852 but was never able to finish it. More precisely, the writer's original intention was to show Rus' "from one side." He showed it - in the first volume. And then I realized that black paint alone was not enough. He remembered how Dante's "Divine Comedy" is built, where "Hell" is followed by "Purgatory" and then "Paradise". So our classic wanted to "brighten" his poem in the second volume. But it failed to do so. Gogol was not satisfied with what he had written and burned the second volume. Drafts have been preserved from which it is difficult to judge the entire volume.

That is why only the first volume is studied at school, as a completely finished work. It's probably right. To talk about the intentions and plans of the writer that were not realized means to regret the missed opportunities. It is better to write and talk about what is written and implemented.

Gogol was a deeply religious person - this is well known from the memoirs of his contemporaries. And it was necessary to decide to give the work such a “blasphemous” name - “Dead Souls”. Not without reason, the censor who read the book was immediately indignant and protested - they say, the souls are immortal - this is what the Christian religion teaches, in no case should such a work be printed. Gogol had to make concessions and make a "double" title - "The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls." It turned out the name for some kind of adventure-adventure novel.

The content of the first volume is not difficult to retell - the "scoundrel" and "purchaser" Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov goes to visit the landowners and offers them to buy the souls of dead peasants. The reaction is different: someone is surprised (), someone even tries to bargain (Korobochka), someone offers to “play for souls” (Nozdrev), someone praises their dead peasants, as if they did not die at all (Sobakevich).

By the way, it is Sobakevich's praise that convinces us readers that Gogol saw living souls behind the dead souls. No one ever dies if he leaves a good memory behind him, if the living use the products of his hands. Mikheev, a coach-builder, Stepan Cork, a shoemaker, and others rise from the pages of the poem as if they were alive. And although Chichikov imagines them alive, and we know his nature, all the same - the dead, at least for a short while, seem to change places with the living.

When Chichikov looks through the “revision tales” (as the lists of dead peasants are called), he accidentally discovers that he was deceived - along with the names of the dead peasants, the names of the runaway peasants were entered. It is clear that no one will run away from a good life. This means that the conditions in which the peasants were then were incredibly difficult. After all, our serfdom is the same slavery, only called differently. And the fugitives cannot be considered dead. They died to the old life in an attempt to find a new, free life.

It would seem that none of the landlords can be classified as living souls. The author himself admitted that he placed the heroes on the principle of degradation, an ever deeper moral and spiritual fall. And in fact, there is a huge gap between Manilov and Plyushkin. The first is refined, courteous, although he has no character, and Plyushkin even lost his human appearance. Recall that at first Chichikov even takes him for a housekeeper. Plyushkin's own peasants are not worth a penny. If his daughter, Alexandra Stepanovna, had not been mentioned in the poem, we would probably not have known his name.

And yet it cannot be said that Plyushkin is deader than all the other characters. Let us ask ourselves: what is known about the past of each of the landowners? Almost nothing, just a few expressive details. And Plyushkin's past is told in great detail. He did not change out of the blue, everything happened gradually. Plyushkin slipped from reasonable economic avarice to pettiness and greed. Thus, this landowner is shown in a change for the worse. But the main thing is change! After all, Manilov, for example, has not changed at all for many years, just like Nozdryov. And if no changes happen to a person, then you can give up on this person and give up - no benefit or harm from him.

Gogol probably reasoned as follows: if a person has changed for the worse, then why shouldn't he be reborn again, for a new, honest and eventful life? In the third volume of Dead Souls, the writer planned to lead Plyushkin to a spiritual rebirth. It's hard to believe this, to be honest. But we do not know the whole idea, therefore we have no right to judge Gogol.

Finally, in the last lyrical digression of the first volume, a grandiose image of Rus' appears, similar to a “troika bird”. And again, it does not matter that Chichikov's chaise is carried away into this unknown distance, and we know who he is. Lyrical pressure, mood distracts us from both Chichikov and his "dark" deeds. The living soul of Russia is what occupies Gogol's imagination.

What happens? Can the question in the title of this essay be answered in the affirmative? Can! After the first reading of the poem, such an affirmative answer is difficult to give. This is because the first reading is always rough, approximate, incomplete. As the writer Vladimir Nabokov, who wrote a long essay about Gogol, once put it, “A real book cannot be read at all – it can only be reread.” And it is true!

Living souls among dead souls are a rarity in Gogol. But they are! And do not take the expression "dead souls" too literally. There are those who are spiritually dead, but who are still alive in the physical sense. There are many of them then and now. And there are those who left us and went to another world, but their light comes to us for many more years. It doesn't matter what a person did in life. He was useful, was necessary, gave others goodness and light. And that's why he deserves the grateful memory of his descendants.

From the collection of P.N. Malofeeva

Love a book, it will make your life easier, it will help you sort out the colorful and stormy confusion of thoughts, feelings, events, it will teach you to respect a person and yourself, it inspires the mind and heart with a feeling of love for the world, for a person.

Maxim Gorky

The living and the dead in the poem "Dead Souls"

"" is a true story about Russia, about its past, present and future. The author puts the problem of improving the nation in direct connection with the transformation of each person.
Therefore, a conversation about the present and future of Russia turns out to be a reflection on the possibility of a moral rebirth of the soul.

In the novel "Dead Souls" it is conditionally possible to distinguish two groups of heroes: dead souls (souls that are not capable of rebirth) and living souls (capable of rebirth or live a spiritual life). All the dead heroes of the poem are united by lack of spirituality, pettiness of interests, isolation on one kind of passion. Dead souls - landlords shown in close-up (Manilov, Sobakovich, Nozdrev, Korobochka).

In each of these heroes, N.V. highlights some typical features. Manilov is too sugary, sentimental, groundlessly dreamy and incapable of decisive action. Sobakevich is the embodiment of lack of spirituality, the carnal principle, stinginess ("man-fist"). The box is accused of squandering, recklessness, extravagance, lies, lies, stupidity, baseness of interests.

The world of dead souls is opposed by the living souls of serfs. They appear in lyrical digressions and in Chichikov's thoughts, and they even have names (skillful people who love to work, artisans, Maxim Teletnyakov, Stepan Probka, Pimenov).

Depicting living souls in his work, the author does not idealize the people: there are people who love to drink, there are also sloths, like the footman Petrushka, there are stupid ones, like Uncle Mitya. But in general, the people, although they are deprived of rights and crushed, stand above dead souls, and it is no coincidence that the parts of the book dedicated to them are fanned with light lyricism. The paradox is that dead souls live a long time, and the living almost all died.

In the work "Dead Souls" the narration is conducted on behalf of a certain author. He acts as if as a lyrical hero. To some extent, the author expresses the thoughts of N.V. Gogol. The author's speech is closely intertwined with the images of the characters, so it is sometimes difficult to understand where the words of the author himself are.

Throughout the poem, the author taunts everything that happens, the characters and even the readers. He seems to be on the sidelines and watching everything. The author, like a shadow, follows Chichikov and does not miss the opportunity to make a couple of jokes about him. He is ironic about the lives of all the characters and knows how to subtly hint at their insignificance.

The author, like Gogol himself, is a free wanderer. He acts as an ideal person who has the right to judge other people. On the one hand, he seriously talks about the shortcomings of this or that character, and on the other hand, his irony is felt.

He looks down on everyone and expresses his point of view in any situation. Sometimes his philosophical reflections occupy a sufficient place in the poem. He analyzes and seems to have a conversation with the reader. Such a technique, in my opinion, is successful, since the author disposes to himself, he wants to believe.

In the poem, the author is a separate holistic character. He has his own destiny, biography, his own system of values ​​and principles. He skillfully notices the shortcomings of others and at the same time treats everything with humor. With the help of the image of the author, the writer expresses his attitude to what is happening in the country at that time.

The title of the poem "Dead Souls" is based on an artistic device-oxymoron, this combination of incongruous, indeed, how can a soul be dead? But this combination remains not only in the name. If everything is clear with the lists of dead peasants, dead and dead, then with the landlords everything is much more complicated. Outwardly, they seem to be alive, but in fact each of them is static, they do not change anything in this life (only Chichikov and Plyushkin are given a biography and only they show some changes, and from here a different view of the system of landowners appears, but more on that later).

The composition of this work is circular, and this is no coincidence, the wheel and the road in general are one of the central images of the poem. (N——Manilov——Korobochka—— -Nozdrev——Sobakevich——Plyushk in——N——leaves the city).

“All the heroes are dead…,” said one of the critics. Let us look at the changes in these landlords. This is the way of personality degradation. "Heroes become more and more "dead" in order to get closer to Plushkin."

According to Dahl's dictionary, the word dead means unregenerate, which means it has the ability to be reborn. Everyone who heard Gogol read volume 2 (and the idea was to write a work with a composition like Dante's, hell, rebirth), said that it was sparkling humor, the first volume in this light was perceived in a completely different light.

Manilov is taken as the front facade of landlord Russia. People are first drawn to it. It's good at first, but then it gets worse. You won’t expect an easy word from him, he’s not interested in anything at all. There is nothing interesting in the estate, except for two women. Manilov is external beauty, behind which there is nothing. This is solid lace, some refined manners, but only manners and nothing more. He even read one book all his life, but only reached page 14, apparently the book is being read for the sake of appearance. Manilovism is the absence of a life principle, covered with lace.

Korobochka turns out to be the next on his way. This is the complete opposite of Manilov. Everything is neat, everything is in place, no external decorations, she delves into every little thing. But she is not far off, aloof from the world .. even she needed windows only to observe the household.

Then we see Nozdryov. This is a public person, but in his speeches he does not touch on his personal topics in any way. He loves to eat, the face corresponding to this occupation is round. There are no conventions for him, unlike the previous two landowners. Nozdryov loves to lie, embellish, brag, he sincerely believes that he is right. Its main feature is the cover of inaction by action. All good qualities are reborn into bad ones.

Nozdrev and Sobakevich are opposite, but very similar in their immutability in time (they are definitely dead). With Sobakevich everything is powerful, everything is strong, but again it is inactive.

And the last in our cycle is Plyushkin. This is a very mean, petty person. He even has a warehouse of all sorts of unnecessary things, he is afraid to throw them away ... Everything in his house is overgrown with dust.

We can say that this is precisely the path of degradation, that the qualities are getting worse and worse ... but there are some facts that confirm the opposite:

1) A biography of Plyushkin is given, which means he had a past, developed, in his life there was this passion, which is described in the biography. Maybe he is not so “dead”, he is more likely to “die” when all the previous ones are more likely to be “dead”.

2) A description is given of a garden in which nature begins to blossom. Nature is capable of self-regeneration. And it is no coincidence that this Plushkin garden. Maybe Plushkin is capable of revival?

3) Plyushkin's face lit up when he remembered his school friend. There was a ray in his heart. It was a sincere feeling, there was still something in his soul, like that living leaf in the garden.

Perhaps Gogol wanted to say that a revival can happen, probably Gogol does not show us the path of degradation, which is evident from a superficial view. After all, Manilov is a completely “dead” soul. There was nothing human left in her, only lace and mannerisms.

But what point of view Gogol had in mind, we cannot find out now, because the second volume was burned in parts, and the third was not written ... Although the author could not write the path of this revival, this does not mean that it is not possible, just the point is the imperfection of the soul of Gogol himself ... But I think that now we are just at a turning point, where this revival will or will not happen.