An essay on the topic “Chichikov’s acquaintance with the city of NN. Retelling of the poem "Dead Souls" by N.V. Gogol Chichikov comes to the provincial town

Poem by N.V. Gogol’s “Dead Souls” is the author’s attempt to show the whole life of Russia, to comprehend the character of the Russian people, and to determine the further paths of their development. N.V. himself Gogol said that the plot of “Dead Souls” is good because it “gives complete freedom to travel all over Russia with the hero and bring out many different characters.” Therefore, the motif of the road and travel plays such an important role in the poem. For the same reason, every literary image created by a writer is not a random, but a generalized, typical phenomenon.
Chichikov's arrival in the city of NN is actually an exposition of the poem. It is here that Chichikov makes acquaintances with city officials, who then invite him to visit them. It also gives a brief description of the hero himself and a group portrait of the NN city officials.
The author describes Chichikov's arrival in the city deliberately slowly, unhurriedly, with a lot of details. Men lazily discussing whether such a wheel will reach Moscow or Kazan, a young man turning to look at the carriage, a helpful innkeeper - all these images emphasize how boring, sleepy, leisurely life is in this city. The author characterizes Chichikov himself rather vaguely: “Mr., not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; I can’t say that I’m old, but I can’t say that I’m too young.” The author describes in much more detail the premises and furnishings of the hotel, the visitor’s belongings, and his lunch menu. But the hero’s behavior attracts attention: he asks in detail about everything, including about city officials, “about all significant landowners,” about their farms. The desire to know in detail about the state of the region, whether there were any diseases there, shows, as the author notes, “more than just simple curiosity.” The hero introduced himself as “a landowner, according to his needs.” That is, the purpose of his visit is still unknown and incomprehensible to the reader.
N.V. Gogol describes the provincial town in detail, emphasizing its ordinariness and typicality, for example, houses “with an eternal mezzanine, very beautiful, according to the provincial architects.” The author makes fun of the signs of merchants and artisans (“Foreigner Vasily Fedorov”), and notes that drinking houses are most often found. The stunted city garden was described in the newspapers as a decoration of the city, causing “streams of tears as a sign of gratitude to the mayor.” The neglect of the city economy, hypocritical words in the newspapers, full of veneration for rank - these features have already been encountered in the collective image of the county town in the comedy “The Inspector General”.
Chichikov's next day in the city is devoted to visits. He visited everyone he could and showed himself to be a person who knew the intricacies of dealing with people. He “very skillfully knew how to flatter everyone,” so he formed the best opinion of himself and received return invitations from everyone. The hero prepares for the governor’s party for a long time and carefully, since this party is very important for him: he must consolidate his success in provincial society. Depicting the entire color of the province at this party, Gogol introduces the technique of typification - a generalized, collective characteristic of “thick and thin.” This conditional division of all officials into two types has a deep meaning, justified both psychologically and philosophically. “Thin” officials “hovered around the ladies,” they follow fashion and their appearance. Their goal in life is entertainment, success in society, and this requires money. Therefore, “a thin man at three years old does not have a single soul left that is not pawned in a pawnshop,” this is a type of spendthrift in his lifestyle and character. “Fat” people ignore their appearance, and for entertainment they prefer cards. But the main thing is that they have a different goal in life, they serve for the sake of a career and material gain. They gradually acquire first one house in the city (in the name of their wife, out of formal precautions), then another, then a village near the city, “then a village with all the land.” After retiring, he becomes a hospitable landowner, a respected man. And the “thin” heirs-spendthrifts squander their father’s accumulated property. Gogol draws such typical characters in further chapters, showing a gallery of images of landowners as types of spendthrifts (Manilov, Nozdrev) or acquirers (Korobochka, Sobakevich). Therefore, this author’s digression by Gogol has a deep meaning for revealing the ideological content of the poem as a whole.
Chichikov's communication with officials further reveals his ability to deal with people. He plays cards with them, and, as is customary, during the game, everyone makes noise and argues. The visiting guest “also argued, but somehow extremely skillfully” and pleasantly for those around him. He knows how to support any conversation, showing extensive knowledge, his comments are very practical. But he says almost nothing about himself, speaking “in some generalities, with noticeable modesty”: that he served and “suffered for the truth,” “had many enemies,” and is now looking for a place for a quiet life. Everyone is fascinated by the new visitor, and everyone has the best opinion of him, even Sobakevich, who rarely said good things about anyone, invited him to visit.
So, the first chapter of the poem - Chichikov’s arrival in the city of NN - plays an important compositional role - this is the exposition of the poem. It gives us an idea of the city of NN itself, of its bureaucracy, briefly outlines the main character and prepares the reader for further developments: Chichikov’s visits to the landowners of the province.

For more than a century and a half, interest in the amazing work written by N.V. Gogol has not disappeared. “Dead Souls” (a brief chapter-by-chapter retelling is given below) is a poem about the writer’s contemporary Russia, its vices and shortcomings. Unfortunately, many things described in the first half of the 19th century by Nikolai Vasilyevich still exist, which makes the work relevant today.

Chapter 1. Meet Chichikov

A chaise drove into the provincial town of NN, in which sat a gentleman of ordinary appearance. She stopped at a tavern where she could rent a room for two rubles. Selifan, the coachman, and Petrushka, the footman, brought into the room a suitcase and a small chest, whose appearance indicated that they were often on the road. This is how you can begin a brief retelling of “Dead Souls.”

Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the visiting collegiate adviser Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. He immediately went to the hall, where he ordered lunch and began asking the servant about local officials and landowners. And the next day the hero paid visits to all important persons of the city, including the governor. When we met, Pavel Ivanovich announced that he was looking for a new place of residence. He made a very pleasant impression, as he could flatter and show respect to everyone. As a result, Chichikov immediately received a lot of invitations: to a party with the governor and to tea with other officials.

A brief retelling of the first chapter of “Dead Souls” continues with a description of the reception with the mayor. The author gives an eloquent assessment of the high society of the city of NN, comparing the governor’s guests to flies hovering over refined sugar. Gogol also notes that all men here, as well as everywhere else, were divided into “thin” and “fat” - he classified the main character as the latter. The position of the former was unstable and unstable. But the latter, if they ever sit down somewhere, will be there forever.

For Chichikov, the evening was useful: he met wealthy landowners Manilov and Sobakevich and received an invitation from them to visit. The main question that interested Pavel Ivanovich in his conversation with them was how many souls they have.

Over the next few days, the newcomer visited the officials and charmed all the noble residents of the city.

Chapter 2. At Manilov's

More than a week passed, and Chichikov finally decided to visit Manilov and Sobakevich.

A brief retelling of Chapter 2 of “Dead Souls” should begin with the hero’s servants. Petrushka was taciturn, but loved to read. He also never undressed and carried his special smell everywhere, which displeased Chichikov. This is what the author writes about him.

But let's return to the hero. He drove quite a distance before he saw Manilov's estate. The two-story manor house stood alone on a turf-decorated jug. It was surrounded by bushes, flower beds, and a pond. Particularly attractive was the gazebo with the strange inscription “Temple of Solitary Reflection.” The peasant huts looked gray and neglected.

A brief retelling of “Dead Souls” continues with a description of the meeting between host and guest. The smiling Manilov kissed Pavel Ivanovich and invited him into the house, which inside was just as unfurnished as the rest of the estate. So, one chair stood unupholstered, and on the windowsill in the office the owner laid out piles of ashes from a pipe. The landowner kept dreaming about some projects that remained unrealized. At the same time, he did not notice that his farm was increasingly falling into disrepair.

Gogol especially notes Manilov’s relationship with his wife: they cooed, trying to please each other in everything. City officials were the most wonderful people for them. And they gave their children strange ancient names and at dinner everyone tried to show off their education. In general, when talking about the landowner, the author emphasizes the following idea: the owner’s appearance radiated so much sweetness that the first impression of his attractiveness quickly changed. And by the end of the meeting it already seemed that Manilov was neither this nor that. The author gives this characterization of this hero.

But let's continue with the briefest retelling. Dead souls soon became the subject of conversation between the guest and Manilov. Chichikov asked to sell him the dead peasants, who, according to the audit documents, were still listed as alive. The owner was at first confused, and then gave them to the guest just like that. There was no way he could take money from such a good person.

Chapter 3. Box

Having said goodbye to Manilov, Chichikov went to Sobakevich. But on the way I got lost, got caught in the rain and after dark found myself in some village. He was met by the hostess herself - Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka.

The hero slept well on a soft feather bed and, waking up, noticed his cleaned dress. Through the window he saw many birds and strong peasant huts. The furnishings of the room and the behavior of the hostess testified to her thrift and economy.

During breakfast, Chichikov, without ceremony, started talking about dead peasants. At first Nastasya Petrovna did not understand how a non-existent product could be sold. Then she was afraid to sell things short, saying that the matter was new to her. The box was not as simple as it seemed at first - a brief retelling of “Dead Souls” leads to this idea. Chapter 3 ends with Chichikov promising the landowner to buy honey and hemp in the fall. After this, the guest and the hostess finally agreed on the price and concluded a deed of sale.

Chapter 4. Quarrel with Nozdrev

The rain washed out the road so much that by noon the stroller ended up on a pillar. Chichikov decided to stop by the tavern, where he met Nozdryov. They met at the prosecutor's, and now the landowner behaved as if Pavel Ivanovich was his best friend. Having no way to get rid of Nozdryov, the hero went to his estate. You will learn about the trouble that happened there if you read the further brief retelling of “Dead Souls”.

Chapter 4 introduces the reader to the landowner, who has earned the reputation of a rowdy and scandal-maker, a gambler and a money changer. "Pig" and other similar words were common in his vocabulary. Not a single meeting with this man ended peacefully, and the people who suffered the most were those who had the misfortune of getting to know him closely.

Upon arrival, Nozdryov took his son-in-law and Chichikov to look at the empty stalls, kennels, and fields. Our hero felt defeated and disappointed. But the main thing was ahead. At lunch there was a quarrel that continued the next morning. As the briefest retelling shows, dead souls became the reason for this. When Chichikov started a conversation for which he went to the landowners, Nozdryov easily promised to give him non-existent peasants. The guest was only required to buy from him a horse, a barrel organ and a dog. And in the morning the owner offered to play checkers for souls and began to cheat. Pavel Ivanovich, who discovered this, was almost beaten. It is difficult to describe how happy he was at the appearance of the police captain in the house, who had come to arrest Nozdryov.

Chapter 5. In Sobakevich’s house

On the way, another trouble happened. Selifan's unreasonableness caused Chichikov's carriage to collide with another cart, which was harnessed to six horses. Men who came running from the village took part in unraveling the horses. And the hero himself drew attention to the cute blond young lady sitting in the stroller.

The brief retelling of Gogol’s “Dead Souls” continues with a description of the meeting with Sobakevich, which finally took place. The village and house that appeared before the hero’s eyes were large. Everything was distinguished by good quality and durability. The landowner himself resembled a bear: in appearance, gait, and the color of his clothes. And all the objects in the house resembled their owner. Sobakevich was taciturn. At lunch he ate a lot, and spoke negatively about the mayors.

He took the offer to sell dead souls calmly and immediately set a rather high price (two rubles and a half), since all of his peasants were registered and each of them had some special quality. The guest did not like this very much, but he accepted the conditions.

Then Pavel Ivanovich went to Plyushkin, whom he learned about from Sobakevich. According to the latter, his peasants were dying like flies, and the hero hoped to acquire them profitably. The correctness of this decision is confirmed by a brief retelling (“Dead Souls”).

Chapter 6 Patched

This nickname was given to the master by a man from whom Chichikov asked for directions. And Plyushkin’s appearance completely justified him.

Having driven through strange, dilapidated streets, which indicated that there had once been a strong economy here, the carriage stopped at a disabled man's house. A certain creature was standing in the yard and quarreling with a man. It was impossible to immediately determine his gender and position. Seeing a bunch of keys on his belt, Chichikov decided that it was the housekeeper and ordered to call the owner. Imagine his surprise when he found out: standing in front of him was one of the richest landowners in the area. In Plyushkin’s appearance, Gogol draws attention to his lively, darting eyes.

A brief retelling of “Dead Souls” chapter by chapter allows us to note only the essential features of the landowners who became the heroes of the poem. Plyushkin stands out because the author tells the story of his life. He was once an economical and hospitable host. However, after the death of his wife, Plyushkin became more and more stingy. As a result, the son shot himself because his father did not help pay off his debts. One daughter ran away and was cursed, the other died. Over the years, the landowner turned into such a miser that he picked up all the garbage on the street. He himself and his farm turned into rot. Gogol calls Plyushkin “a hole in humanity,” the reason for which, unfortunately, cannot be fully explained by a brief retelling.

Chichikov bought dead souls from the landowner at a very favorable price for himself. It was enough to tell Plyushkin that this freed him from paying duties for long-defunct peasants, and he happily agreed to everything.

Chapter 7. Paperwork

Chichikov, who returned to the city, woke up in a good mood in the morning. He immediately rushed to review the lists of purchased souls. He was especially interested in the paper compiled by Sobakevich. The landowner gave a full description of each man. Russian peasants seem to come to life in front of the hero, and therefore he embarks on discussions about their difficult fate. Everyone, as a rule, has the same fate - to pull the burden until the end of their days. Having come to his senses, Pavel Ivanovich got ready to go to the ward to fill out the documents.

A brief retelling of “Dead Souls” takes the reader into the world of officials. On the street Chichikov met Manilov, still caring and good-natured. And, fortunately for him, Sobakevich was in the ward. Pavel Ivanovich walked for a long time from one office to another and patiently explained the purpose of the visit. Finally he paid a bribe, and the matter was immediately completed. And the hero’s legend that he takes peasants for export to the Kherson province did not raise any questions among anyone. At the end of the day, everyone went to the chairman, where they drank to the health of the new landowner, wished him good luck and promised to find a bride.

Chapter 8. Things are heating up

Rumors about a large purchase of peasants soon spread throughout the city, and Chichikov began to be considered a millionaire. He received signs of attention everywhere, especially since the hero, as a brief chapter-by-chapter retelling of Dead Souls shows, could easily win people over. However, the unexpected soon happened.

The governor gave a ball, and the center of attention, of course, was Pavel Ivanovich. Now everyone wanted to please him. Suddenly the hero noticed the same young lady (she turned out to be the governor’s daughter) whom he had met on the way from Korobochka to Nozdryov. Even at their first meeting, she charmed Chichikov. And now all the hero’s attention was turned to the girl, which aroused the anger of the other ladies. They suddenly saw in Pavel Ivanovich a terrible enemy.

The second trouble that happened that day was that Nozdryov appeared at the ball and began to talk about how Chichikov was buying up the souls of dead peasants. And although no one attached any importance to his words, Pavel Ivanovich felt awkward all evening and returned to his room ahead of time.

After the guest left, the box kept wondering if it had sold out. Exhausted, the landowner decided to go to the city to find out how much dead peasants were being sold these days. The next chapter (its brief retelling) will tell about the consequences of this. Gogol continues “Dead Souls” with a description of how unsuccessfully events began to develop for the main character.

Chapter 9 Chichikov at the center of the scandal

The next morning, two ladies met: one was simply pleasant, the other was pleasant in all respects. They discussed the latest news, the main one of which was Korobochka’s story. Let us give a very brief retelling of it (this directly concerned dead souls).

According to the guest, the first lady, Nastasya Petrovna was staying at her friend’s house. She told her about how an armed Pavel Ivanovich appeared at the estate at night and began to demand that the souls of the dead be sold to him. The second lady added that her husband heard about such a purchase from Nozdryov. After discussing the incident, the women decided that it was all just a cover. Chichikov's true goal is to kidnap the governor's daughter. They immediately shared their guess with the prosecutor who entered the room and went to the city. Soon all its inhabitants were divided into two halves. The ladies discussed the version of the kidnapping, and the men discussed the purchase of dead souls. The governor's wife ordered Chichikov's servants not to be allowed on the threshold. And the officials gathered with the police chief and tried to find an explanation for what happened.

Chapter 10 The story of Kopeikin

We went through many options for who Pavel Ivanovich could be. Suddenly the postmaster exclaimed: “Captain Kopeikin!” And he told the life story of a mysterious man about whom those present knew nothing. It is with this that we will continue our brief retelling of chapter 10 of “Dead Souls.”

In 12, Kopeikin lost an arm and a leg in the war. He could not earn money himself and therefore went to the capital to ask for well-deserved help from the monarch. In St. Petersburg, he stopped at a tavern, found a commission and began to wait for the reception. The nobleman immediately noticed the disabled man and, having learned about his problem, advised him to come over in a few days. The next time, he assured that everything would be decided soon and a pension would be awarded. And at the third meeting, Kopeikin, who never received anything, made a fuss and was expelled from the city. No one knew exactly where the disabled man was taken. But when a gang of robbers appeared in the Ryazan region, everyone decided that its leader was none other than... Further, all the officials agreed that Chichikov could not be Kopeikin: he had both an arm and a leg in the right place. Someone suggested that Pavel Ivanovich is Napoleon. After some more deliberation, the officials dispersed. And the prosecutor, coming home, died of shock. With this, the brief retelling of “Dead Souls” comes to an end.

All this time, the culprit of the scandal sat in the sick room and was surprised that no one was visiting him. Feeling a little better, he decided to go on a visit. But Governor Pavel Ivanovich was not received, and the others clearly avoided the meeting. Everything was explained by Nozdryov’s arrival at the hotel. It was he who said that Chichikov was accused of preparing a kidnapping and making false banknotes. Pavel Ivanovich immediately ordered Petrushka and Selifan to prepare for departure early in the morning.

Chapter 11. Chichikov's life story

However, the hero woke up later than planned. Then Selifan said that it was necessary. Finally, we set off and on the way we met a funeral procession - they were burying the prosecutor. Chichikov hid behind the curtain and secretly examined the officials. But they didn’t even notice him. Now they were concerned about something else: what the new governor-general would be like. As a result, the hero decided that it was good to celebrate the funeral. And the carriage moved forward. And the author gives the life story of Pavel Ivanovich (we will give a brief retelling of it below). Dead souls (chapter 11 indicates this) did not come to Chichikov’s mind by chance.

Pavlusha’s childhood can hardly be called happy. His mother died early, and his father often punished him. Then Chichikov Sr. took his son to the city school and left him to live with a relative. When parting, he gave some advice. To please teachers. Make friends only with rich classmates. Don’t treat anyone, but arrange everything so that you yourself are treated. And the main thing is to save a pretty penny. Pavlusha fulfilled all his father’s behests. He soon added his own earnings to the fifty dollars he left behind when they parted. He conquered the teachers with his diligence: no one could sit in class as well as he could. And although I received a good certificate, I started working from the very bottom. Moreover, after the death of his father, he inherited only a dilapidated house, which Chichikov sold for a thousand, and servants.

Having entered the service, Pavel Ivanovich showed incredible diligence: he worked a lot, slept in the office. At the same time, he always looked great and pleased everyone. Having learned that the boss had a daughter, he began to look after her, and things even went towards a wedding. But as soon as Chichikov was promoted, he moved away from his boss to another apartment, and soon everyone somehow forgot about the engagement. This was the most difficult step towards the goal. And the hero dreamed of great wealth and an important place in society.

When the fight against bribery began, Pavel Ivanovich made his first fortune. But he did everything through secretaries and clerks, so he himself remained clean and earned a reputation with the management. Thanks to this, I was able to get a job in construction - instead of the planned buildings, officials, including the hero, had new houses. But failure awaited Chichikov here: the arrival of a new boss deprived him of both his position and his fortune.

I started building my career from the very beginning. Miraculously I got to customs - a fertile place. Thanks to his efficiency and servility, he achieved a lot. But suddenly he quarreled with an official friend (they did business with smugglers together), and he wrote a denunciation. Pavel Ivanovich was again left with nothing. He managed to hide only ten thousand and two servants.

A way out of the situation was suggested by the secretary of the office in which Chichikov, as part of his new service, had to mortgage the estate. When it came to the number of peasants, the official noted: “They died, but they are still on the audit lists. Some will disappear, others will be born - everything is good.” It was then that the idea came to buy dead souls. It will be difficult to prove that there are no peasants: Chichikov purchased them for export. For this purpose, he acquired land in advance in the Kherson province. And the guardianship council will give two hundred rubles for each registered soul. This is the state now. This is how the main character’s plan and the essence of all his actions are revealed to the reader. The main thing is to be careful and everything will work out. The carriage rushed on, and Chichikov, who loved fast driving, only smiled.

The poem “Dead Souls of Gogol in a summary in 10 minutes.

Meeting Chichikov

A middle-aged gentleman of rather pleasant appearance arrived at a hotel in a provincial town in a small chaise. He rented a room in the hotel, looked around it and went to the common room for dinner, leaving the servants to settle in their new place. This was the collegiate adviser, landowner Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov.

After lunch, he went to explore the city and found that it was no different from other provincial cities. The visitor devoted the entire next day to visits. He visited the governor, the police chief, the vice-governor and other officials, each of whom he managed to win over by saying something pleasant about his department. He had already received an invitation to the governor for the evening.

Arriving at the governor's house, Chichikov, among other things, met Manilov, a very courteous and polite man, and the somewhat clumsy Sobakevich, and behaved so pleasantly with them that he completely charmed them, and both landowners invited their new friend to visit them. The next day, at dinner with the police chief, Pavel Ivanovich made the acquaintance of Nozdryov, a broken-hearted fellow of about thirty, with whom they immediately became friendly.

The newcomer lived in the city for more than a week, traveling around to parties and dinners; he showed himself to be a very pleasant conversationalist, able to talk on any topic. He knew how to behave well and had a degree of sedateness. In general, everyone in the city came to the opinion that he was an exceptionally decent and well-intentioned
Human.

Chichikov at Manilov's

Finally, Chichikov decided to visit his landowner acquaintances and went out of town. First he went to Manilov. With some difficulty he found the village of Manilovka, which turned out to be not fifteen, but thirty miles from the city. Manilov greeted his new acquaintance very cordially, they kissed and entered the house, passing each other at the door for a long time. Manilov was, in general, a pleasant person, somehow cloyingly sweet, had no special hobbies other than fruitless dreams, and did not do housework.

His wife was brought up in a boarding school, where she was taught the three main subjects necessary for family happiness: French, piano and knitting purses. She was pretty and dressed well. Her husband introduced Pavel Ivanovich to her. They talked a little, and the owners invited the guest to dinner. Already waiting in the dining room were the Manilovs’ sons, Themistoclus, seven years old, and six-year-old Alcides, for whom the teacher had tied napkins. The guest was shown the children's learning; the teacher only reprimanded the boys once, when the older one bit the younger one on the ear.

After dinner, Chichikov announced that he intended to talk with the owner about a very important matter, and both went to the office. The guest started a conversation about peasants and invited the owner to buy dead souls from him, that is, those peasants who had already died, but according to the audit were still listed as alive. Manilov could not understand anything for a long time, then he doubted the legality of such a bill of sale, but still agreed because
respect for the guest. When Pavel Ivanovich started talking about the price, the owner was offended and even took it upon himself to draw up the bill of sale.

Chichikov did not know how to thank Manilov. They said a hearty goodbye, and Pavel Ivanovich drove off, promising to come again and bring gifts for the children.

Chichikov at Korobochka

Chichikov was going to pay his next visit to Sobakevich, but it started to rain, and the crew drove into some field. Selifan turned the wagon around so clumsily that the master fell out of it and became covered in mud. Luckily, dogs were heard barking. They went to the village and asked to spend the night in some house. It turned out that this was the estate of a certain landowner Korobochka.

In the morning, Pavel Ivanovich met the owner, Nastasya Petrovna, a middle-aged woman, one of those who always complains about the lack of money, but little by little saves and collects a decent fortune. The village was quite large, the houses were strong, the peasants lived well. The hostess invited the unexpected guest to drink tea, the conversation turned to housekeeping, and Chichikov offered to buy dead souls from her.

Korobochka was extremely frightened by this proposal, not really understanding what they wanted from her. After much explanation and persuasion, she finally agreed and wrote Chichikov a power of attorney, trying to sell him hemp as well.

After eating pie and pancakes baked especially for him, the guest drove on, accompanied by a girl who was supposed to lead the carriage onto the high road. Seeing a tavern already standing on the main road, they dropped off the girl, who, having received a copper penny as a reward, wandered home, and went there.

Chichikov at Nozdryov's

At the tavern, Chichikov ordered a pig with horseradish and sour cream and, eating it, asked the hostess about the surrounding landowners. At this time, two gentlemen drove up to the tavern, one of whom was Nozdryov, and the second was his son-in-law Mizhuev. Nozdryov, a well-built fellow, what is called blood and milk, with thick black hair and sideburns, rosy cheeks and very white teeth,
recognized Chichikov and began to tell him how they walked at the fair, how much champagne they drank and how he lost at cards.

Mizhuev, a tall, fair-haired man with a tanned face and a red mustache, constantly accused his friend of exaggeration. Nozdryov persuaded Chichikov to go to him, Mizhuev, reluctantly, also went with them.

It must be said that Nozdryov’s wife died, leaving him with two children, about whom he had nothing to do, and he moved from one fair to another, from one party to another. Everywhere he played cards and roulette and usually lost, although he was not shy about cheating, for which he was sometimes beaten by his partners. He was cheerful, considered a good friend, but he always managed to spoil his friends: upset a wedding, ruin a deal.

At the estate, having ordered lunch from the cook, Nozdryov took the guest to inspect the farm, which was nothing special, and drove for two hours, telling stories incredible in lies, so that Chichikov was very tired. Lunch was served, some of which was burnt, some was undercooked, and numerous wines of dubious quality.

The owner poured food for the guests, but hardly drank himself. The heavily intoxicated Mizhuev was sent home to his wife after dinner, and Chichikov started a conversation with Nozdryov about dead souls. The landowner flatly refused to sell them, but offered to play cards with them, and when the guest refused, exchange them for Chichikov’s horses or chaise. Pavel Ivanovich also rejected this proposal and went to bed. The next day, the restless Nozdryov persuaded him to fight for souls in checkers. During the game, Chichikov noticed that the owner was playing dishonestly and told him about it.

The landowner was offended, began to scold the guest and ordered the servants to beat him. Chichikov was saved by the appearance of the police captain, who announced that Nozdryov was on trial and accused of inflicting a personal insult on the landowner Maximov with rods while drunk. Pavel Ivanovich did not wait for the outcome, jumped out of the house and drove away.

Chichikov at Sobakevich's

On the way to Sobakevich, an unpleasant incident happened. Selifan, lost in thought, did not give way to a carriage drawn by six horses that was overtaking them, and the harness of both carriages became so mixed up that it took a long time to re-harness. In the carriage sat an old woman and a sixteen-year-old girl whom Pavel Ivanovich really liked...

Soon we arrived at Sobakevich's estate. Everything there was strong, solid, solid. The owner, fat, with a face as if carved with an axe, very much like a learned bear, met the guest and led him into the house. The furniture matched the owner - heavy, durable. On the walls hung paintings depicting ancient commanders.

The conversation turned to city officials, each of whom the owner gave a negative description. The hostess entered, Sobakevich introduced the guest to her and invited him to dinner. Lunch was not very varied, but tasty and filling. During dinner, the owner mentioned the landowner Plyushkin, who lived five miles away from him, whose people were dying like flies, and Chichikov took note of this.

Having had a very hearty lunch, the men retired to the living room, and Pavel Ivanovich got down to business. Sobakevich listened to him without saying a word. Without asking any questions, he agreed to sell the dead souls to the guest, but charged a high price for them, as for living people.

They bargained for a long time and agreed on two and a half rubles per head, and Sobakevich demanded a deposit. He compiled a list of peasants, gave each a description of his business qualities and wrote a receipt for receiving the deposit, striking Chichikov with how intelligently everything was written. They parted satisfied with each other, and Chichikov went to Plyushkin.

Chichikov at Plyushkin's

He entered a large village, striking in its poverty: the huts were almost without roofs, their windows were covered with bull's bladders or covered with rags. The master's house is large, with many outbuildings for household needs, but they are all almost collapsed, only two windows are open, the rest are boarded up or closed with shutters. The house gave the impression of being uninhabited.

Chichikov noticed a figure dressed so strangely that it was impossible to immediately recognize whether it was a woman or a man. Paying attention to the bunch of keys on his belt, Pavel Ivanovich decided that it was the housekeeper, and turned to her, calling her “mother” and asking where the master was. The housekeeper told him to go into the house and disappeared. He entered and was amazed at the chaos that reigned there. Everything is covered in dust, there are dried bits of wood on the table, and a bunch of strange things are piled in the corner. The housekeeper entered, and Chichikov again asked for the master. She said that the master was in front of him.

It must be said that Plyushkin was not always like this. Once he had a family and was simply a thrifty, albeit somewhat stingy owner. His wife was distinguished by her hospitality, and there were often guests in the house. Then the wife died, the eldest daughter ran away with an officer, and her father cursed her because he could not stand the military. The son went to the city to enter civil service. but he signed up for the regiment. Plyushkin cursed him too. When the youngest daughter died, the landowner was left alone in the house.

His stinginess assumed terrifying proportions; he carried into the house all the rubbish found around the village, even an old sole. The quitrent was collected from the peasants in the same amount, but since Plyushkin asked an exorbitant price for the goods, no one bought anything from him, and everything rotted in the master’s yard. His daughter came to him twice, first with one child, then with two, bringing him gifts and asking for help, but the father did not give a penny. His son lost the game and also asked for money, but also received nothing. Plyushkin himself looked like if Chichikov had met him near the church, he would have given him a penny.

While Pavel Ivanovich was thinking about how to start talking about dead souls, the owner began to complain about the hard life: the peasants were dying, and taxes had to be paid for them. The guest offered to bear these expenses. Plyushkin happily agreed, ordered the samovar to be put on and the remains of the Easter cake brought from the pantry, which his daughter had once brought and from which the mold had to be scraped off first.

Then he suddenly doubted the honesty of Chichikov’s intentions, and he offered to draw up a deed of sale for the dead peasants. Plyushkin decided to sell Chichikov some runaway peasants as well, and after bargaining, Pavel Ivanovich took them for thirty kopecks. After this, he (to the great satisfaction of the owner) refused lunch and tea and left in excellent spirits.

Chichikov is running a scam with “dead souls”

On the way to the hotel, Chichikov even sang. The next day he woke up in a great mood and immediately sat down at the table to write deeds of sale. At twelve o'clock I got dressed and, with papers under my arm, went to the civil ward. Coming out of the hotel, Pavel Ivanovich ran into Manilov, who was walking towards him.

They kissed so hard that both of them had toothaches all day long, and Manilov volunteered to accompany Chichikov. In the civil chamber, it was not without difficulty that they found the official in charge of deeds of sale, who, having received the bribe, sent Pavel Ivanovich to the chairman, Ivan Grigorievich. Sobakevich was already sitting in the chairman’s office. Ivan Grigorievich gave instructions to the same
official to fill out all the papers and collect witnesses.

When everything was properly completed, the chairman proposed to inject the purchase. Chichikov wanted to supply them with champagne, but Ivan Grigorievich said that they would go to the police chief, who would only blink an eye at the merchants in the fish and meat aisles, and a wonderful dinner would be prepared.

And so it happened. The merchants considered the police chief to be their man, who, although he robbed them, did not behave and even willingly baptized merchant children. The dinner was magnificent, the guests drank and ate well, and Sobakevich alone ate a huge sturgeon and then did not eat anything, but just sat silently in a chair. Everyone was happy and did not want to let Chichikov leave the city, but decided to marry him, to which he gladly agreed.

Feeling that he had already begun to say too much, Pavel Ivanovich asked for a carriage and arrived at the hotel completely drunk in the prosecutor's droshky. Petrushka with difficulty undressed the master, cleaned his suit, and, making sure that the owner was fast asleep, went with Selifan to the nearest tavern, from where they came out in an embrace and fell asleep crosswise on the same bed.

Chichikov’s purchases caused a lot of talk in the city, everyone took an active part in his affairs, they discussed how difficult it would be for him to resettle so many serfs in the Kherson province. Of course, Chichikov did not spread that he had acquired dead peasants; everyone believed that they had bought living ones, and a rumor spread throughout the city that Pavel Ivanovich was a millionaire. He was immediately interested in the ladies, who were very presentable in this city, traveled only in carriages, dressed fashionably and spoke elegantly. Chichikov could not help but notice such attention to himself. One day they brought him an anonymous love letter with poetry, at the end of which it was written that his own heart would help him guess the writer.

Chichikov at the governor's ball

After some time, Pavel Ivanovich was invited to a ball with the governor. His appearance at the ball caused great enthusiasm among all those present. The men greeted him with loud cheers and tight hugs, and the ladies surrounded him, forming a multi-colored garland. He tried to guess which of them wrote the letter, but he couldn’t.

Chichikov was rescued from their entourage by the governor's wife, holding on the arm a pretty sixteen-year-old girl, in whom Pavel Ivanovich recognized the blonde from the carriage that encountered him on the way from Nozdryov. It turned out that the girl was the governor’s daughter, who had just graduated from the institute. Chichikov turned all his attention to her and spoke only to her, although the girl got bored from his stories and began to yawn. The ladies did not like this behavior of their idol at all, because each had her own views on Pavel Ivanovich. They were indignant and condemned the poor schoolgirl.

Unexpectedly, Nozdryov appeared from the living room, where the card game was going on, accompanied by the prosecutor, and, seeing Chichikov, immediately shouted to the whole room: What? Did you sell a lot of dead people? Pavel Ivanovich did not know where to go, and meanwhile the landowner, with great pleasure, began to tell everyone about Chichikov’s scam. Everyone knew that Nozdryov was a liar, nevertheless his words caused confusion and controversy. Upset Chichikov, anticipating a scandal, did not wait until dinner was over and went to the hotel.

While he, sitting in his room, was cursing Nozdryov and all his relatives, a car with Korobochka drove into the city. This club-headed landowner, worried whether Chichikov had deceived her in some cunning way, decided to personally find out how much dead souls are worth these days. The next day the ladies stirred up the whole city.

They could not understand the essence of the scam with dead souls and decided that the purchase was made as a distraction, and in fact Chichikov came to the city to kidnap the governor’s daughter. The governor's wife, having heard about this, interrogated her unsuspecting daughter and ordered Pavel Ivanovich no longer to be received. The men also couldn’t understand anything, but they didn’t really believe in the kidnapping.

At this time, a new general was appointed to the province - the governor and officials even thought that Chichikov had come to their city on his instructions to check. Then they decided that Chichikov was a counterfeiter, then that he was a robber. They interrogated Selifan and Petrushka, but they could not say anything intelligible. They also talked with Nozdryov, who, without blinking an eye, confirmed all their guesses. The prosecutor was so worried that he had a stroke and died.

Chichikov knew nothing about all this. He caught a cold, sat in his room for three days and wondered why none of his new acquaintances visited him. Finally he recovered, dressed warmly and went to visit the governor. Imagine Pavel Ivanovich’s surprise when the footman said that he was not ordered to receive him! Then he went to see other officials, but everyone received him so strangely, they conducted such a forced and incomprehensible conversation that he doubted their health.

Chichikov leaves town

Chichikov wandered around the city aimlessly for a long time, and in the evening Nozdryov showed up to him, offering his help in kidnapping the governor’s daughter for three thousand rubles. The cause of the scandal became clear to Pavel Ivanovich and he immediately ordered Selifan to pawn the horses, and he himself began to pack his things. But it turned out that the horses needed to be shod, and we left only the next day. When we were driving through the city, we had to miss the funeral procession: they were burying the prosecutor. Chichikov drew the curtains. Fortunately, no one paid attention to him.

the essence of the dead souls scam

Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov was born into a poor noble family. By sending his son to school, his father ordered him to live frugally, behave well, please teachers, be friends only with the children of rich parents, and most of all in life value a penny. Pavlusha did all this conscientiously and was very successful in it. not disdaining to speculate on edibles. Not distinguished by intelligence and knowledge, his behavior earned him a certificate and a letter of commendation upon graduating from college.

Most of all, he dreamed of a quiet, rich life, but for now he denied himself everything. He began to serve, but did not receive a promotion, no matter how much he pleased his boss. Then, having checked. that the boss had an ugly and no longer young daughter, Chichikov began to look after her. It even got to the point that he settled in the boss’s house, started calling him daddy and kissed his hand. Soon Pavel Ivanovich received a new position and immediately moved to his apartment. but the matter of the wedding was hushed up. Time passed, Chichikov succeeded. He himself did not take bribes, but received money from his subordinates, who began to take three times more. After some time, a commission was organized in the city to build some kind of capital structure, and Pavel Ivanovich settled there. The structure did not grow above the foundation, but the members of the commission built beautiful large houses for themselves. Unfortunately, the boss was changed, the new one demanded reports from the commission, and all the houses were confiscated to the treasury. Chichikov was fired, and he was forced to start his career again.

He changed two or three positions, and then got lucky: he got a job at the customs office, where he showed his best side, was incorruptible, knew better than anyone how to find contraband, and earned a promotion. As soon as this happened, the incorruptible Pavel Ivanovich conspired with a large gang of smugglers, attracted another official to the case, and together they pulled off several scams, thanks to which they put four hundred thousand in the bank. But one day an official quarreled with Chichikov and wrote a denunciation against him, the case was revealed, the money was confiscated from both, and they themselves were fired from customs. Fortunately, we managed to avoid trial, Pavel Ivanovich had some money hidden, and he began to arrange his life again. He had to become an attorney, and it was this service that gave him the idea of dead souls. Once he was trying to get several hundred peasants from a bankrupt landowner to pledge to the board of guardians. In between, Chichikov explained to the secretary that half of the peasants had died out and he doubted the success of the business. The secretary said that if the souls are listed in the audit inventory, then nothing terrible can happen. It was then that Pavel Ivanovich decided to buy up more dead souls and put them in the guardianship council, receiving money for them as if they were alive. The city in which we met Chichikov was the first on his way to realizing his plan, and now Pavel Ivanovich in his chaise drawn by three horses rode further.

Chichikov to the city of NN is actually an exposition of the poem. It is here that Chichikov makes acquaintances with city officials, who then invite him to visit them. It also gives a brief description of the hero himself and a group portrait of the NN city officials.

The author describes Chichikov's arrival in the city deliberately slowly, unhurriedly, with a lot of details. Men lazily discussing whether such a wheel will reach Moscow or Kazan, a young man turning to look at the carriage, a helpful innkeeper - all these images emphasize how boring, sleepy, leisurely life is in this

City. The author characterizes Chichikov himself rather vaguely: “Mr., not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; I can’t say that I’m old, but I can’t say that I’m too young.” The author describes in much more detail the premises and furnishings of the hotel, the visitor’s belongings, and his lunch menu. But the hero’s behavior attracts attention: he asks in detail about everything, including about city officials, “about all significant landowners,” about their farms. The desire to know in detail about the state of the region, whether there were any diseases there, shows, as the author notes, “more than just simple curiosity.” The hero introduced himself as “a landowner, according to his needs.” That is, the purpose of his visit is still unknown and incomprehensible to the reader.

N.V. Gogol describes the provincial town in detail, emphasizing its ordinariness and typicality, for example, houses “with an eternal mezzanine, very beautiful, according to the provincial architects.” The author makes fun of the signs of merchants and artisans (“Foreigner Vasily Fedorov”), and notes that drinking houses are most often found. The stunted city garden was described in the newspapers as a decoration of the city, causing “streams of tears as a sign of gratitude to the mayor.” The neglect of the city economy, hypocritical words in the newspapers, full of veneration for rank - these features have already been encountered in the collective image of the county town in the comedy “The Inspector General”.

Chichikov's next day in the city is devoted to visits. He visited everyone he could and showed himself to be a person who knew the intricacies of dealing with people. He “very skillfully knew how to flatter everyone,” so he formed the best opinion of himself and received return invitations from everyone. The hero prepares for the governor’s party for a long time and carefully, since this party is very important for him: he must consolidate his success in provincial society. Depicting the entire color of the province at this party, Gogol introduces the technique of typification - a generalized, collective characteristic of “thick and thin.” This conditional division of all officials into two types has a deep meaning, justified both psychologically and philosophically. “Thin” officials “hovered around the ladies,” they follow fashion and their appearance. Their goal in life is entertainment, success in society, and this requires money. Therefore, “a thin man at three years old does not have a single soul left that is not pawned in a pawnshop,” this is a type of spendthrift in his lifestyle and character. “Fat” people ignore their appearance, and for entertainment they prefer cards. But the main thing is that they have a different goal in life, they serve for the sake of a career and material gain. They gradually acquire first one house in the city (in the name of their wife, out of formal precautions), then another, then a village near the city, “then a village with all the land.” After retiring, he becomes a hospitable landowner, a respected man. And the “thin” heirs-spendthrifts squander their father’s accumulated property. Gogol draws such typical characters in further chapters, showing a gallery of images of landowners as types of spendthrifts (Manilov, Nozdrev) or acquirers (Korobochka, Sobakevich). Therefore, this author’s digression by Gogol has a deep meaning for revealing the ideological content of the poem as a whole.

Chichikov's communication with officials further reveals his ability to deal with people. He plays cards with them, and, as is customary, during the game, everyone makes noise and argues. The visiting guest “also argued, but somehow extremely skillfully” and pleasantly for those around him. He knows how to support any conversation, showing extensive knowledge, his comments are very practical. But he says almost nothing about himself, speaking “in some generalities, with noticeable modesty”: that he served and “suffered for the truth,” “had many enemies,” and is now looking for a place for a quiet life. Everyone is fascinated by the new visitor, and everyone has the best opinion of him, even Sobakevich, who rarely said good things about anyone, invited him to visit.

So, the first chapter of the poem - Chichikov’s arrival in the city of NN - plays an important compositional role - this is the exposition of the poem. It gives us an idea of the city of NN itself, of its bureaucracy, briefly outlines the main character and prepares the reader for further developments: Chichikov’s visits to the landowners of the province.

Chichikov's unusual deal in the work "Dead Souls".
The work, written in the mid-19th century, will be useful and relevant for reading in 9th grade. Gogol, who wrote the novel “Dead Souls,” wanted to show and reveal the full breadth and essence of the Russian soul. If at all
In short, the poem tells about a certain Mr. Chichikov. He comes to a certain village, where life is calm and measured, and finds out if anyone has peasants who are considered to have actually died, but according to documents are still alive. He does this in order to get money from these so-called dead souls.
The collegiate adviser pulls off his fraud with the help of his charm and ability to gain trust and find an approach to everyone. But he makes a fatal mistake by trusting the drunkard and gossip Nozdryov. He, in turn, spreads throughout the village the whole truth about the visiting guest. And Chichikov has no choice but to quickly retreat from the village with the souls already purchased.
A little about each of the heroes of the work. Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich is the main character of the poem. He came up with a scheme to enrich himself and travels to carry it out. The essence is to buy up peasants, they have already died, but they have not yet been declared dead, that is, according to all documents they are alive. And he buys them in order to put them in the board of guardians. By the way, Pushkin inspired Gogol to come up with this idea. The hero was born into a poor family of nobles. The testament of his life becomes his father’s parting words and testament, in which the father says that his son should study well and save a penny. This is what Paul does throughout his life. After all, in my father’s covenant there was no word about such qualities as decency, honor, and dignity.
He is a good student and quickly advances in his career. But he achieves this not only with knowledge, but also with acquired charm. He subtly feels how to approach this or that person, how to please him and achieve what he wants for himself. To achieve his goals, he stops at nothing, showing ingenuity, creativity and perseverance. His determination and strong character can be envied. He chooses an approach for everyone and communicates in the language his interlocutor speaks.
Manilov is the first one to whom Chichikov comes with his strange request. We can say about him that he is a weak-willed, characterless person. He creates the impression of an educated person, he is attractive, he knows
manners, there seems to be an aura of sweetness hovering around him. At first acquaintance, it seems that Manilov seems to be enveloping him in sugary speeches, but then we understand that there is nothing but speeches. He has many ideas and desires, but things don’t go further than dreams. He has no opinion, is far from solving everyday problems, and becomes boring with him after a long conversation. This is a collective image of a dummy man. He has only an outer shell, it attracts, it is sweet, but inside there is emptiness. He doesn't care at all what happens to his peasants. He turns a blind eye to their drunkenness, he simply doesn’t notice it. He doesn't see
The benefit is to sell dead souls yourself. Manilov's house, like his plot, is in disrepair. Everything around is gray - both nature and houses. However, behind all this, Manilov is very hospitable, he loves to receive guests and
Upon arrival, Chichikova tries to do everything to make the guest feel comfortable and happy while visiting him. He is also an exemplary family man.
His love for his wife and children is sincere.
The next person Chichikov ends up with is Korobochka. Nastasya Petrovna is a widow. It seems that her life seemed to freeze with the death of her husband. But she still has everything in order, the house, the plot - everything is kept clean and orderly, everything is in its place. But if not for one thing. There are a lot of flies everywhere. This seems to symbolize stagnation, and Korobochka lives in it. And this lady's surname is telling. She lives in her own world, far from civilization. Korobochka has an excellent memory, and few people can boast of this. This proves that she remembers by name all the peasants who are listed as alive, but in fact have already died. She also has an iron grip and a commercial streak. She bargains with Chichikov as if she bargains with dead souls every day.
In addition to the peasants, she manages to sell a lot more that she doesn’t need. But she is stupid, and instead of benefiting herself, she exposes Chichikov with her arrival in the city and curiosity about the price of souls, thereby revealing Chichikov’s machinations. The author does not place hopes on her. She is approximately at the same level as Manilov, and there is no hope for her revival in the future. Next, the hero meets Nozdrev.
Nozdryov is a landowner, 35 years old. He loves a wild life, does not sit at home, and always ends up in some kind of story. But he himself is an expert at telling incredible stories that once happened, both with him and without his participation, and it is not at all a fact that these stories are not fiction. He loves to lie, he can easily make some kind of setup for a friend and not regret it at all. He is the main distributor of rumors. Moreover, it was his fault that Chichikov was almost discovered when at the ball he tried to tell everyone why Chichikov came to their city. He had a wife and a child. But this doesn’t bother Nozdryov at all. He is far from these matters. His main hobby is gambling, although he didn’t really know how to play and kept losing everything. And he also wanted to play heart-to-heart with Chichikov. Then he offered to buy the horses, and in addition would give the souls of the peasants. He persuaded Chichikov to stay at his place for the night, without showing hospitality. I had a strong quarrel with the guest.
By the way, his home is the same as himself. Everything is out of place, for example, the trestles are standing in the middle of the dining room, and there are no books or any papers in the office. But Nozdryov, having nevertheless forgotten about the insults allegedly inflicted on Chichikov, confirming the rumors, wants to sincerely help Chichikov, who wants to steal the governor’s daughter. This is the first hero of this novel, where Gogol highlights the beginnings of the remaining humanity. It’s just that Nozdryov doesn’t know where else to use the limitless fountain of energy, but it’s already pouring over the edge. The next hero with whom Chichikov is destined to meet is Sobakevich.
Sobakevich Mikhailo Semenych is an outwardly powerful and strong man. He is the fourth landowner on Chichikov’s list and he makes his request for the sale of souls. Sobakevich measures everything in money. He doesn't like to beat around the bush and gets straight to the point. So with Chichikov - he did not wait for him to ask openly, but he himself asked whether he had come for the souls of the dead peasants and wanted to buy them from Sobakevich. He doesn't care what or why. He only sees benefits in the form of money. His solidity, angularity, power and manliness are visible in everything. From his appearance, very similar to a bear, to his possessions. There are no unnecessary things or furniture in his house. Everything is thorough, only when necessary, without any frills or unnecessary details. The paintings, even those in his house, strictly reflect the character of the owner. By the way, in the men’s estates there is also nothing superfluous on the houses, and no decorations are pleasing to the eye. But this situation is to some extent good for the peasants. They feel the strength and confidence emanating from their owner. He sees how the people around him have been crushed, but does nothing about it. This hero is endowed with a powerful nature and liveliness, and many other good qualities. He, according to Gogol, has a chance for revival. Next, Chichikov meets with Plyushkin.
This is the last landowner in this city, where Chichikov goes to acquire dead souls. At first, Chichikov did not recognize the poor-looking man as a landowner who has many buildings, a large garden and a substantial estate. But it could have been called such earlier. This is a dilapidated, dilapidated building, in one place there is one floor, you go further, and there are already two floors. The village doesn't look any better. All this reveals that Plyushkin is a miser.
Collecting literally everything played a cruel joke on him. This man with a telling surname has turned into a beggar, because he is dressed in unclear clothes and drags into the house everything that, in his opinion, might be useful. And this
maybe an old shoe or a rusty nail. In his early sixties, he acquired only material wealth, but he did not use them either, but saved them. But no one knows for whom, because he is lonely.
He is unusually stingy. When his own daughter needs money, he refuses to help, and he curses his son and drives him out of the house. Rarely does anyone visit him, due to his bad character. Even the peasants are trying to escape from him. But they are punished - they are sent to prison. But Plyushkin was not always like this. When he was young, he was prudent, managed his household competently, and his neighbors often came to him for advice. He also had a beloved family. But after the death of his wife, the family falls apart, and his character undergoes changes due to loneliness. An unfounded suspicion of people appears. He looks for tricks in everyone who enters into conversation with him. He owns a huge fortune and has thousands of souls, but still considers himself poor. In appearance, he does not at all correspond to the role of a rich landowner and has not known for a long time what is going on on his estate.
So, let's take a closer look at our hero's journey. In the first chapter, he just appears and arrives in the city. Immediately upon arrival, he checks into a hotel, and at the tavern he tries to find out as much as possible about those who occupy high positions and have great wealth. But he tries to do this as carefully as possible and talk about himself as little as possible. But no matter who he talks to, everyone draws their own conclusions about him, and they are quite flattering for our traveler. He masterfully gains everyone's trust. He meets Manilov and Sobakevich, they are fascinated by his manners and ability to carry on a conversation. In the second chapter, Gogol introduces us to Chichikov's servants while their master is having fun at lunches and dinner parties. Parsley is silent and loves to read. He especially loves the process of reading, and it doesn’t matter what exactly he reads. But the author chose not to describe the coachman Selivan, thinking that the reader would not be interested in his image. Meanwhile, Chichikov comes to Manilov’s estate and gets to know him more closely. Over dinner, he talks about his purpose for coming and speaks so confidently that the owner of the house has no doubts about the correctness of what is happening. Manilov also introduced Chichikov to his family. He especially wanted to show off his sons, but his children were nothing outstanding.
In the third chapter, Chichikov goes to Sobakevich. But on the way they got lost and, in the end, their chaise overturned. Chichikov persuaded the elderly woman to let them spend the night. Having asked the hostess about Manilov, he received the answer that the hostess did not know who he was talking about. Chichikov concludes that they climbed quite far from civilization. With Korobochka, the owner, Chichikov behaves cheekily, allowing himself to be rude when talking to her. But still he receives dead souls from the mistress.
In the fourth chapter, the hero stops by at a tavern, where he asks about the officials and owners. He meets Nozdryov there, who invites the guest to his place.
Nozdryov is very sociable and good-natured, and Chichikov cannot refuse him. Upon arrival, he tries to buy souls from Nozdryov, but he does not agree, trying to find out the true reason for buying souls. Chichikov tries to get out and comes up with various excuses, but Nozdryov senses the lie and does not give up. However, in the morning he still offers Chichikov to win souls at cards, but he cheats. In the midst of the game, people come to Nozdryov and accuse him of beating the landowner. Taking advantage of the situation, Chichikov leaves.
In the fifth chapter, he meets a beautiful girl in a cart riding next to him and the horses mixed up with his cart, and becomes enchanted. Still
comes to Sobakevich. Buying peasants from him, he feels as if he was deceived, although quite the opposite happened. From him he learns about Plyushkin and goes to him.
In the sixth chapter he comes and meets Plyushkin. He also acquires the souls of dead peasants from him. In the seventh chapter, Chichikov tries to formalize souls, but they make it clear to him that nothing will come of it without bribes. In the eighth chapter there was a reception where Nozdryov almost betrayed Chichikov, and he tried to quickly leave the reception. At the reception, Chichikov meets the governor’s daughter, and he really liked her.
In the ninth chapter, the city is filled with rumors and gossip about why Chichikom needs dead souls. And it gets to the point where everyone goes to complain to the prosecutor. In the tenth chapter, residents try to figure out who Chichikov is and come to the conclusion that he is law-abiding. And Nozdryov, telling his tales, tells everyone that Chichikov wants to kidnap the governor’s daughter. But then he goes to Chichikov and talks about what rumors
they talk about him.
In the eleventh chapter we learn about Chichikov himself. His
history. In the second volume, Chichikov is already more careful when buying souls. He meets and stays overnight with Tentetnikov. Then his path continues to Betrishchev. There he is introduced to Tentetnikov’s beloved, Betrishchev’s daughter. Chichikov tries to carefully find out about the souls, but his story is taken for a joke and Chichikov soon leaves. When he goes to Koshkarev, he goes to the wrong place and ends up with Pyotr Rooster. Having learned that there is nothing for him here, he is about to leave, but he meets Platonov, who tells him secrets on how to become richer. He leaves Koshkarev with nothing and goes further to Kholobuev. He pays a deposit to Kholobuev for the estate,
which he sells very cheaply. Chichikov manages to purchase souls from his neighbor Lenitsyn. For his machinations with dead souls and Kholobuev's estate, Chichikov ends up in prison. There he meets Murazov, who shows Chichikov how good it is to live honestly and not break the law. As a result, the matter gets complicated, and Chichikov leaves the city.