Laughter through the tears of dead souls. Laughter through tears in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"
Gogol's "laughter through tears" in the poem "Dead Souls".
There is a famous saying referring to Gogol's work: "laughter through tears." Gogol's laughter... Why is he never carefree? Why is the finale ambiguous even in “Sorochinsky Fair”, one of the brightest and most cheerful works of Gogol? The celebration on the occasion of the wedding of young heroes ends with the dance of the old women. We catch some dissonance. This amazing, purely Gogolian feature of a sad smile was first noticed by V.G. Belinsky, giving way to great literature to the future author of Dead Souls. But Gogol's laughter is mixed with more than just sadness. It has anger, rage, and protest. All this, merging into a single whole under the brilliant pen of the master, creates an unusual flavor of Gogol's satire.
Chichikov, together with Selifan and Petrushka, gets into the britzka, and now it has already rolled over the bumps of the Russian impassability, and went “to write nonsense and game on the sides of the road.” On this road, the reader will see representatives of various social groups, the peculiarities of their life, and see all aspects of the many-sided Rus'. On this journey, he will hear Gogol's laughter all the time, full of amazing love for Russia and its people.
Gogol's laughter can be kind and crafty - then unusual comparisons and stylistic turns are born, which constitute one of the characteristic features of Gogol's poem.
Describing the ball and the governor, Gogol speaks of the division of officials into thick and thin, and the thin officials, in black tailcoats, standing around the ladies, looked like flies that sat down on refined sugar. It is impossible not to mention the very small comparisons, which, like sparkling diamonds, are scattered throughout the poem and create its unique flavor. So, for example, the face of the governor's daughter looked like a "just laid testicle"; The head of Feodulia Ivanovna Sobakevich looked like a cucumber, and Sobakevich himself looked more like a pumpkin, from which balalaikas are made in Rus'. When meeting Chichikov, Manilov's expression was like that of a cat whose ears were being scratched lightly. Gogol also uses hyperbole, for example, talking about the Plyushkin toothpick, which was picked in the teeth even before the French invasion.
Causes laughter and the appearance of the landowners described by Gogol. Plyushkin's appearance, which struck the climber himself and the hypocrite Chichikov (for a long time he could not figure out whether the housekeeper was in front of him or the housekeeper), the habits - the "beggar-fisher" that blossomed in Plyushkin's soul - all this is surprisingly witty and funny, but ... Plyushkin, It turns out that it is capable of causing not only laughter, but also disgust, indignation, protest. This degraded personality ceases to be funny, which you can’t even call a personality. As Gogol accurately said about him: “a tear in humanity”! Is it really funny a person who has lost everything human: appearance, soul, heart. Before us is a spider, for which the main thing is to swallow the prey as soon as possible. This is what he does with his peasants, pumping out of them bread, household utensils, and then rotting it in his bottomless barns. He does the same with his own daughter. The greedy and terrible Plyushkin disgusts us not only because of his moral qualities. Gogol throws a resolute "no" to Plyushkin the landowner, Plyushkin the nobleman. After all, it was believed that the Russian state rested on the nobles, on these same Plyushkins. But what kind of stronghold is this, what kind of support?! The anti-social nature of the nobility is a cruel fact, the existence of which horrifies Gogol. Plyushkin, no matter how scary, is a typical phenomenon for Russian society in the middle of the 19th century.
Gogol is a sharp and angry accuser. This is how he appears on the pages of Dead Souls. What does he condemn, what qualifies as unacceptable in a normal human society? It would seem that, speaking of Manilov, the word “condemnation” is somehow inappropriate. After all, we have such a sweet, pleasant in all respects, courteous and kind person. This is also a very educated landowner who looks like a learned man against the background of Korobochka and Sobakevich. And how funny are his children, named Alkid and Themistoclus (we must not forget that this is happening in Russia). But Gogol is ashamed and hurt for Manilov, who, building searchlights in the "temple of solitary contemplation" and "reading a book always laid on the fourteenth page," does not notice the theft and drunkenness of his peasants. Manilov, in idleness and laziness, lives everything that was created by his peasants, without thinking about anything.
There is a famous saying referring to Gogol's work: "laughter through tears." Gogol's laughter... Why is he never carefree? Why is the ending ambiguous even in "Sorochinsky Fair", one of Gogol's brightest and most cheerful works? The celebration on the occasion of the wedding of young heroes ends with the dance of the old women. We catch some dissonance. This amazing, purely Gogolian feature of a sad smile was first noticed by V.G. Belinsky, giving way to great literature to the future author of Dead Souls. But Gogol's laughter is mixed with more than just sadness. It has anger, rage, and protest. All this, merging into a single whole under the brilliant pen of the master, creates an unusual flavor of Gogol's satire. Chichikov, together with Selifan and Petrushka, gets into the britzka, and now it rolled along the bumps of the Russian impassability, and went "to write nonsense and game on the sides of the road." On this road, the reader will see representatives of various social groups, the peculiarities of their life, and see all aspects of the many-sided Rus'. On this journey, he will hear Gogol's laughter all the time, full of amazing love for Russia and its people. Gogol's laughter can be kind and crafty - then unusual comparisons and stylistic turns are born, which constitute one of the characteristic features of Gogol's poem. Describing the ball and the governor, Gogol speaks of the division of officials into thick and thin, and the thin officials, in black tailcoats, standing around the ladies, looked like flies that sat down on refined sugar. It is impossible not to mention the very small comparisons, which, like sparkling diamonds, are scattered throughout the poem and create its unique flavor. So, for example, the face of the governor's daughter looked like a "just laid testicle"; The head of Feodulia Ivanovna Sobakevich looked like a cucumber, and Sobakevich himself looked more like a pumpkin, from which balalaikas are made in Rus'. When meeting Chichikov, Manilov's expression was like that of a cat whose ears were being scratched lightly. Gogol also uses hyperbole, for example, talking about the Plyushkin toothpick, which was picked in the teeth even before the French invasion. Causes laughter and the appearance of the landowners described by Gogol. Plyushkin's appearance, which struck the climber himself and the hypocrite Chichikov (for a long time he could not figure out whether the keykeeper was in front of him or the housekeeper), the habits - the "beggar-fisher" that blossomed in Plyushkin's soul - all this is surprisingly witty and funny, but ... Plyushkin, It turns out that it is capable of causing not only laughter, but also disgust, indignation, protest. This degraded personality ceases to be funny, which you can’t even call a personality. As Gogol accurately said about him: "a tear in humanity"! Is it really funny a person who has lost everything human: appearance, soul, heart. Before us is a spider, for which the main thing is to swallow the prey as soon as possible. This is what he does with his peasants, pumping out of them bread, household utensils, and then rotting it in his bottomless barns. He does the same with his own daughter. The greedy and terrible Plyushkin disgusts us not only because of his moral qualities. Gogol throws a resolute "no" to Plyushkin the landowner, Plyushkin the nobleman. After all, it was believed that the Russian state rested on the nobles, on these same Plyushkins. But what kind of stronghold is this, what kind of support?! The anti-social nature of the nobility is a cruel fact, the existence of which horrifies Gogol. Plyushkin, no matter how scary, is a typical phenomenon for Russian society in the middle of the 19th century. Gogol is a sharp and angry accuser. This is how he appears on the pages of Dead Souls. What does he condemn, what qualifies as unacceptable in a normal human society? It would seem that, speaking of Manilov, the word "condemnation" is somehow inappropriate. After all, we have such a sweet, pleasant in all respects, courteous and kind person. This is also a very educated landowner who looks like a learned man against the background of Korobochka and Sobakevich. And how funny are his children, named Alkid and Themistoclus (we must not forget that this is happening in Russia). But Gogol is ashamed and hurt for Manilov, who, building searchlights in the "temple of solitary contemplation" and "reading a book always laid on the fourteenth page," does not notice the theft and drunkenness of his peasants. Manilov, in idleness and laziness, lives everything that was created by his peasants, without thinking about anything. Other Gogol’s heroes are antisocial and generally harmful to others: Korobochka, a “club-headed” and dull-witted hoarder, and Nozdryov, a scoundrel, a debauchee and, in general, a “historical person” ", and Sobakevich, a live-eater and a "fist", which "cannot be unbent in the palm of your hand." These are all vicious pests. What do they care, these bloodsuckers, to state interests? Gogol's laughter is not only angry, satirical, accusatory, there is laughter cheerful and affectionate. It is with a feeling of joyful pride, if it is possible to put it that way, that the writer speaks of the Russian people. This is how the image of a peasant appears, who, like a tireless ant, carries a thick log. Chichikov asks him how to get to Plyushkin, and finally getting an answer, he chuckles at the apt nickname given to Plyushkin by the peasants. Gogol speaks of the burning Russian word coming from the very heart. He writes about a Russian peasant who has even been sent to Kamchatka, put an ax in your hands, and he will go to cut himself a new hut. In these words there is hope and faith in the Russian people, whose hands the troika bird was also made. And "like a brisk, irresistible troika," Rus, "inspired by God," rushes along, and "other peoples and states, sideways, step aside and give it way."
Gogol's laughter through tears in the poem Dead Souls. There is a famous saying referring to Gogol's work laughter through tears. Gogol's laughter Why is it never carefree? Why is the finale ambiguous even in the Sorochinsky fair, one of Gogol's brightest and most cheerful works? The celebration on the occasion of the wedding of the young heroes ends with the dance of the old women.
We catch some dissonance. It was V.G. Belinsky, giving the road to great literature to the future author of Dead Souls. But Gogol's laughter is mixed with more than one sadness. It has anger, rage, and protest. All this, merging into a single whole under the brilliant pen of the master, creates an unusual coloring Gogol's satire.
Chichikov, together with Selifan and Petrushka, gets into the britzka, and now it has already rolled over the bumps of the Russian impassability, and has gone to write Yiddish nonsense on the sides of the road. On this road, the reader will see representatives of the most diverse social groups, the peculiarities of their life, and see all aspects of the many-sided Russia. On this journey, he will hear Gogol's laughter all the time, full of amazing love for Russia and its people.
Gogol's laughter can be kind and sly, then extraordinary comparisons and stylistic turns are born, which constitute one of the characteristic features of Gogol's poem. Describing the ball and the governor, Gogol speaks of dividing officials into thick and thin, and thin officials, in black tailcoats, standing around the ladies, looked like flies that sat down on refined sugar. It is impossible not to say about very small comparisons, which, like sparkling diamonds, are scattered all over the world.
poem and create its unique flavor. So, for example, the face of the governor's daughter looked like a freshly laid testicle; At the meeting with Chichikov, Manilov's expression was like that of a cat whose ears were lightly scratched. Gogol also uses hyperbole, for example, talking about the Plyushkin toothpick, which was used to pick in the teeth
before the French invasion. The appearance of the landowners described by Gogol also causes laughter. The appearance of Plyushkin, which struck the very climb and the hypocrite Chichikov, for a long time could not figure out whether the housekeeper was in front of him or the housekeeper, the habits of a beggar-fisherman, blossoming in Plyushkin's soul, all this is surprisingly witty and funny, but Plyushkin, it turns out , is capable of causing not only laughter, but also disgust, indignation, protest.
This degraded personality ceases to be funny, which you can’t even call a personality. How accurately Gogol said about him, a hole in humanity! Is it really funny a person who has lost all human appearance, soul, heart. Before us is a spider, for which the main thing is to swallow the prey as soon as possible. This is what he does with his peasants, pumping bread and household utensils out of them, and then rotting them.
in their bottomless barns. He does the same with his own daughter. The greedy and fearful Plyushkin is disgusting to us not only because of his moral qualities. Gogol throws a resolute no to Plyushkin the landowner, Plyushkin the nobleman. After all, it was believed that the Russian state rests on the nobles, on these same Plyushkins. Yes, what a stronghold, what a support
The anti-social nature of the nobility is a cruel fact, the existence of which horrifies Gogol. Plyushkin, how terribly typical this is for Russian society in the middle of the 19th century. Gogol is a sharp and angry accuser. This is how he appears on the pages of Dead Souls. What does he condemn, what qualifies as unacceptable in a normal human society? It would seem that, speaking of Manilov, the word condemnation is somehow inappropriate.
After all, we have such a sweet, pleasant in all respects, courteous and kind person. This is also a very educated landowner, who looks like a learned man against the background of Korobochka and Sobakevich. And how funny his children, named Alkid and Themistoclus, should not be forgotten that this is happening in Russia. But Gogol is ashamed and hurt for Manilov, who is building searchlights in the temple of solitary contemplation.
and reading the book, always laid on the fourteenth page, does not notice the theft and drunkenness of his peasants. Manilov, in idleness and laziness, lives everything that was created by his peasants, without thinking about anything. Other Gogol's heroes are antisocial and generally harmful to those around them and Korobochka, a club-headed and stupid accumulator, and Nozdryov, a scoundrel, a debauchee and, in general, a historical person, and
Sobakevich, a live-eater and a fist that cannot be unbent in the palm of your hand. These are all vicious pests. What do they care, these bloodsuckers, to the interests of the state? Gogol's laughter is not only angry, satirical, denunciatory, it is merry and affectionate laughter. It is with a feeling of joyful pride, if it is possible to put it that way, that the writer speaks of the Russian people. This is how the image of a peasant appears, who, like an indefatigable ant, carries a thick log.
Chichikov asks him how to get to Plyushkin, and finally getting an answer, he chuckles at the apt nickname given to Plyushkin by the peasants. Gogol speaks of the burning Russian word coming from the very heart. He writes about a Russian peasant who was even sent to Kamchatka, put an ax in your hands, and he will go to cut himself a new hut. In these words, there is hope and faith in the Russian people, whose hands the troika bird was also made.
And like a brisk, unbeatable troika, Russia, inspired by God, rushes, and other peoples and states, sideways, step aside and give it way.
There is a famous saying referring to Gogol's work: "laughter through tears." Gogol's laughter... Why is he never ʜᴇ carefree? Why is the finale ambiguous even in “Sorochinsky Fair”, one of the brightest and most cheerful works of Gogol? The celebration on the occasion of the wedding of young heroes ends with the dance of the old women. We catch some dissonance. This amazing, purely Gogolian feature of a sad smile was first noticed by V.G. Belinsky, giving way to great literature to the future author of Dead Souls. But sadness is mixed with Gogol's laughter. It has anger, rage, and protest. All this, merging into a single whole under the brilliant pen of the master, creates an unusual flavor of Gogol's satire.
Chichikov, together with Selifan and Petrushka, gets into the britzka, and now it has already rolled over the bumps of the Russian impassability, and went “to write nonsense and game on the sides of the road.” On this road, the reader will see representatives of various social groups, the peculiarities of their life, and see all aspects of the many-sided Rus'. On this journey, he will hear Gogol's laughter all the time, full of amazing love for Russia and its people.
Gogol's laughter can be kind and crafty - then unusual comparisons and stylistic turns are born, which constitute one of the characteristic features of Gogol's poem.
Describing the ball and the governor, Gogol speaks of the division of officials into thick and thin, and the thin officials, in black tailcoats, standing around the ladies, looked like flies that sat down on refined sugar. One cannot ʜᴇ say about the very small comparisons that, like sparkling diamonds, are scattered throughout the poem and create its unique flavor. So, for example, the face of the governor's daughter looked like a "just laid testicle"; The head of Feodulia Ivanovna Sobakevich looked like a cucumber, and Sobakevich himself looked more like a pumpkin, from which balalaikas are made in Rus'. At the meeting with Chichikov, Manilov's expression was like that of a cat, whose ears were slightly scratched. Gogol also uses hyperbole, for example, talking about the Plyushkin toothpick, which was picked in the teeth even before the French invasion.
Causes laughter and the appearance of the landowners described by Gogol. Plyushkin's appearance, which struck the climber himself and the hypocrite Chichikov (for a long time ʜᴇ could figure out whether the housekeeper was in front of him or the housekeeper), the habits - the "beggar-fisher" that blossomed in Plyushkin's soul - everything is amazingly witty and funny, but ... Plyushkin , it turns out, is capable of causing ʜᴇ only laughter, but also disgust, indignation protest. This degraded personality ceases to be funny, which you can even call a personality. As Gogol accurately said about him: “a tear in humanity”! Is it really funny a person who has lost everything human: appearance, soul, heart. Before us is a spider, for which the main thing is to swallow the prey as soon as possible. This is what he does with his peasants, pumping out of them bread, household utensils, and then rotting ϶ᴛο in his bottomless barns. He does the same with his own daughter. The greedy and terrible Plyushkin is disgusting to us ʜᴇ only because of his moral qualities. Gogol throws a resolute "no" to Plyushkin the landowner, Plyushkin the nobleman. After all, it was believed that the Russian state rests on the nobles, on the very Plyushkins. But what a bulwark, what a support?! The anti-social nature of the nobility is a cruel fact, the existence of which horrifies Gogol. Plyushkin, no matter how scary, is a typical phenomenon for Russian society in the middle of the 19th century.
Gogol is a sharp and angry accuser. This is how he appears on the pages of Dead Souls. What does he condemn, what qualifies as unacceptable in a normal human society? It would seem that, speaking of Manilov, the word “condemnation” is somehow inappropriate. After all, we have such a sweet, pleasant in all respects, courteous and kind person. This is also a very educated landowner who looks like a learned man against the background of Korobochka and Sobakevich. And how funny are his children, named Alkid and Themistoclus (we must not forget that this is happening in Russia). But Gogol is ashamed and hurt for Manilov, who, building searchlights in the “temple of solitary reflection” and “reading a book always laid on the fourteenth page,” notices the theft and drunkenness of his peasants. Manilov, in idleness and laziness, lives everything that was created by his peasants, thinking about nothing.
Other Gogol’s heroes are antisocial and generally harmful to those around them: Korobochka, a “club-headed” and dull-witted hoarder, and Nozdryov, a scoundrel, a libertine and in general a “historical man”, and Sobakevich, a live-throat and a “fist”, who “cannot straighten up in the palm of his hand”. All ϶ᴛο are malicious pests. What do they care, ϶ᴛᴎm bloodsuckers, to state interests?
Gogol's laughter - ʜᴇ only angry, satirical, revealing, there is laughter cheerful and affectionate. It is with a feeling of joyful pride, ᴇᴄᴧᴎ it is possible to put it this way, that the writer says about the Russian people. This is how the image of a peasant appears, who, like a tireless ant, carries a thick log. Chichikov asks him how to get to Plyushkin, and finally getting an answer, he chuckles at the apt nickname given to Plyushkin by the peasants. Gogol speaks of the burning Russian word coming from the very heart. He writes about a Russian peasant who has even been sent to Kamchatka, put an ax in your hands, and he will go to cut himself a new hut. In ϶ᴛᴎ words - hope and faith in the Russian people, whose hands the troika bird was also made. And “like a brisk, irresistible troika,” Rus', “inspired by God,” rushes, and “other peoples and states, looking sideways, step aside and give it way.”
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There is a famous saying referring to Gogol's work: "laughter through tears." Gogol's laughter... Why is he never carefree? Why is the finale ambiguous even in “Sorochinsky Fair”, one of the brightest and most cheerful works of Gogol? The celebration on the occasion of the wedding of young heroes ends with the dance of the old women. We catch some dissonance. This amazing, purely Gogolian feature of a sad smile was first noticed by V.G. Belinsky, giving way to great literature to the future author of Dead Souls. But Gogol's laughter is mixed with more than just sadness. It has anger, rage, and protest. All this, merging into a single whole under the brilliant pen of the master, creates an unusual flavor of Gogol's satire.
Chichikov, together with Selifan and Petrushka, gets into the britzka, and now it has already rolled over the bumps of the Russian impassability, and went “to write nonsense and game on the sides of the road.” On this road, the reader will see representatives of various social groups, the peculiarities of their life, and see all aspects of the many-sided Rus'. On this journey, he will hear Gogol's laughter all the time, full of amazing love for Russia and its people.
Gogol's laughter can be kind and crafty - then unusual comparisons and stylistic turns are born, which constitute one of the characteristic features of Gogol's poem.
Describing the ball and the governor, Gogol speaks of the division of officials into thick and thin, and the thin officials, in black tailcoats, standing around the ladies, looked like flies that sat down on refined sugar. It is impossible not to mention the very small comparisons, which, like sparkling diamonds, are scattered throughout the poem and create its unique flavor. So, for example, the face of the governor's daughter looked like a "just laid testicle"; The head of Feodulia Ivanovna Sobakevich looked like a cucumber, and Sobakevich himself looked more like a pumpkin, from which balalaikas are made in Rus'. When meeting Chichikov, Manilov's expression was like that of a cat whose ears were being scratched lightly. Gogol also uses hyperbole, for example, talking about the Plyushkin toothpick, which was picked in the teeth even before the French invasion.
Causes laughter and the appearance of the landowners described by Gogol. Plyushkin's appearance, which struck the climber himself and the hypocrite Chichikov (for a long time he could not figure out whether the housekeeper was in front of him or the housekeeper), the habits - the "beggar-fisher" that blossomed in Plyushkin's soul - all this is surprisingly witty and funny, but ... Plyushkin, It turns out that it is capable of causing not only laughter, but also disgust, indignation, protest. This degraded personality ceases to be funny, which you can’t even call a personality. As Gogol accurately said about him: “a tear in humanity”! Is it really funny a person who has lost everything human: appearance, soul, heart. Before us is a spider, for which the main thing is to swallow the prey as soon as possible. This is what he does with his peasants, pumping out of them bread, household utensils, and then rotting it in his bottomless barns. He does the same with his own daughter. The greedy and terrible Plyushkin disgusts us not only because of his moral qualities. Gogol throws a resolute "no" to Plyushkin the landowner, Plyushkin the nobleman. After all, it was believed that the Russian state rested on the nobles, on these same Plyushkins. But what kind of stronghold is this, what kind of support?! The anti-social nature of the nobility is a cruel fact, the existence of which horrifies Gogol. Plyushkin, no matter how scary, is a typical phenomenon for Russian society in the middle of the 19th century.
Gogol is a sharp and angry accuser. This is how he appears on the pages of Dead Souls. What does he condemn, what qualifies as unacceptable in a normal human society? It would seem that, speaking of Manilov, the word “condemnation” is somehow inappropriate. After all, we have such a sweet, pleasant in all respects, courteous and kind person. This is also a very educated landowner who looks like a learned man against the background of Korobochka and Sobakevich. And how funny are his children, named Alkid and Themistoclus (we must not forget that this is happening in Russia). But Gogol is ashamed and hurt for Manilov, who, building searchlights in the "temple of solitary contemplation" and "reading a book always laid on the fourteenth page," does not notice the theft and drunkenness of his peasants. Manilov, in idleness and laziness, lives everything that was created by his peasants, without thinking about anything.
Other Gogol’s heroes are antisocial and generally harmful to those around them: Korobochka, a “club-headed” and dull-witted hoarder, and Nozdryov, a scoundrel, a libertine and in general a “historical man”, and Sobakevich, a live-throat and a “fist”, who “cannot straighten up in the palm of his hand”. These are all vicious pests. What do they care, these bloodsuckers, to state interests?
Gogol's laughter is not only angry, satirical, denunciatory, it is merry and affectionate laughter. It is with a feeling of joyful pride, if it is possible to put it that way, that the writer speaks of the Russian people. This is how the image of a peasant appears, who, like a tireless ant, carries a thick log. Chichikov asks him how to get to Plyushkin, and finally getting an answer, he chuckles at the apt nickname given to Plyushkin by the peasants. Gogol speaks of the burning Russian word coming from the very heart. He writes about a Russian peasant who has even been sent to Kamchatka, put an ax in your hands, and he will go to cut himself a new hut. In these words there is hope and faith in the Russian people, whose hands the troika bird was also made. And “like a brisk, irresistible troika,” Rus', “inspired by God,” rushes, and “other peoples and states, looking sideways, step aside and give it way.”
Dead and living souls in the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls"
N.V. Gogol is a writer whose work has rightfully become a classic of Russian literature. Gogol is a realist writer, but the connection between art and reality is complicated for him. In no case does he copy the phenomena of life, but he always interprets them in his own way. Gogol knows how to see and show the ordinary from a completely new angle, from an unexpected angle. And an ordinary event takes on an ominous, strange coloring. This is what happens in Gogol's main work - the poem "Dead Souls".
The artistic space of the poem consists of two worlds, which we can conditionally designate as the "real" world and the "ideal" world. The author builds the “real” world by recreating a contemporary picture of Russian life. According to the laws of the epic, Gogol recreates a picture of life in the poem, striving for the maximum breadth of coverage. This world is ugly. This world is terrible. This is a world of inverted values, spiritual guidelines are perverted in it, the laws by which it exists are immoral. But living inside this world, having been born in it and having accepted its laws, it is practically impossible to assess the degree of its immorality, to see the abyss separating it from the world of true values. Moreover, it is impossible to understand the reason causing spiritual degradation, moral disintegration of society.
Plyushkin, Nozdrev Manilov, the prosecutor, the chief of police and other heroes live in this world, who are original caricatures of Gogol's contemporaries. A whole gallery of characters and types devoid of a soul was created by Gogol in a poem, they are all diverse, but they all have one thing in common - none of them have a soul. the first in the gallery of these characters is Manilov. To create his image, Gogol uses various artistic means, including the landscape, the landscape of the Manilov estate, the interior of his home. The things surrounding him characterize Manilov no less than the portrait and behavior: "everyone has his own enthusiasm, but Manilov had nothing." Its main feature is uncertainty. Manilov's outward well-being, his benevolence and willingness to serve, appear to Gogol as terrible traits. All this in Manilov is hypertrophied. His eyes, “sweet as sugar,” express nothing. And this sweetness of appearance brings a feeling of unnaturalness to every movement of the hero: here on his face appears “an expression not only sweet, but even cloying, similar to the potion that the dexterous doctor sweetened mercilessly, imagining to please the patient with it.” What kind of "potion" sweetened Manilov's cloying? Its emptiness, its worthlessness, its soullessness with endless discussions about the happiness of friendship. While this landowner prospers and dreams, his estate is being destroyed, the peasants have forgotten how to work.
The box has a completely different attitude to the household. She has a “pretty village”, the yard is full of all kinds of birds. But the box does not see anything further than its nose, everything “new and unprecedented” frightens it. Her behavior (which can also be noted in Sobakevich) is guided by a passion for profit, self-interest.
But Sobakevich is very different from Korobochka. He is, in Gogol's words, "the devil's fist." The passion for enrichment pushes him to cunning, makes him seek various means of profit. Therefore, unlike other landowners, he uses an innovation - cash dues. He is not at all surprised by the sale and purchase of dead souls, but only cares about how much he will receive for them.
The representative of another type of landowners is Nozdrev. He is a fidget, a hero of fairs, card tables. He was a drunkard, a rowdy and a liar. His business is running. Only the kennel is in good condition. Among dogs, he is like a “father”. He immediately squanders the income received from the peasants, which speaks of complete indifference to peasant labor. Plyushkin crowns the portrait gallery of provincial landowners. But he is fundamentally different from all previous landowners. We find all the other landowners as they are. Gogol emphasizes in every possible way that these heroes do not have a past that would differ from the present and explain something in it. Plyushkin's deadness is not so absolute. This is a hero with development, that is, we can judge him as a developing, changing (albeit for the worse) person. The image of Plyushkin corresponds to the picture of his estate. The same decay and destruction, the loss of human appearance: it is easy to mistake him, a man, a nobleman, for a housekeeper. In him and in his house one can feel the movement of decay, decay. The author knowingly dubbed him a hole in humanity. Chichikov belongs to the same type of landowners - a rogue, a man who has everything calculated in advance, a man wholly seized with a thirst for enrichment, mercantile interest, a man who has ruined his soul. But still, he looks more alive, compared to the rest of the landowners.
But, besides the landlords, there is also the city of N, and in it there is a governor embroidering with silk on tulle, and ladies showing off fashionable fabrics, and Ivan Antonovich a jug snout, and a whole series of officials eating up and losing their lives at cards.
There is another hero in the poem - the people. This is the very living soul that keeps and brings out all the best, fiery, Russian. Pain and hope, love and reproach live in the image of the people. Yes, Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minyay are funny, their stupidity of mind is funny, but there is sadness and pain in this laughter. Their talent and their life is in work. Gogol loves the peasants and therefore hates all those manifestations of social and moral weakness that prevent them from becoming real citizens of Russia. And the people are part of the “ideal” world, a world that is being built in strict accordance with true spiritual values, with that lofty ideal towards which the human soul aspires.
These worlds are mutually exclusive. In fact, the “ideal” world is opposed by the “anti-world”, in which virtue is ridiculous and absurd, and vice is normal. In technical terms, in order to achieve a sharp contrast between the dead and the living, Gogol resorts to a wide variety of techniques. First, the deadness of the “real” world is determined by the dominance of the material in it. That is why the descriptions widely use long enumerations of material objects, as if displacing the spiritual. Also, the poem is replete with fragments written in a grotesque style: characters are often compared to animals or things. The title of the poem contains the deepest philosophical meaning. Dead souls are nonsense, because the soul is immortal. For the "ideal" world, the soul is immortal, since it embodies the divine principle in man. And in the “real” world, there may well be a “dead soul”, because for him the soul is only that which distinguishes the living from the dead. In the episode of the prosecutor's death, those around him guessed that he "was definitely a soul" only when he became "only a soulless body." This world is insane - it has forgotten about the soul, and lack of spirituality is the reason for the collapse. Only with an understanding of this reason can the revival of Rus' begin, the return of lost ideals, spirituality, the soul in its true, highest meaning.
The Chichikovskaya britzka, ideally transformed in the last lyrical digression into a symbol of the ever-living soul of the Russian people - a wonderful “troika bird”, completes the first volume of the poem. Recall that the poem begins with a meaningless conversation between two peasants: will the wheel reach Moscow; from a description of the dusty, gray, dreary streets of a provincial town; with all sorts of manifestations of human stupidity and vulgarity. The immortality of the soul is the only thing that instills in the author faith in the obligatory revival of his heroes and all life, therefore, all of Rus'.
