Essay Images of officials in the poem “Dead Souls. Depiction of officials in “Dead Souls” and “The Inspector General” - Essay Dead Souls depiction of officials
Images of officials in the poem “Dead Souls”
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol more than once addressed the topic of bureaucratic Russia. This writer’s satire affected contemporary officials in such works as “The Inspector General,” “The Overcoat,” and “Notes of a Madman.” This theme is also reflected in N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls,” where, starting from the seventh chapter, bureaucracy is the focus. In contrast to the portraits of landowners depicted in detail in this work, the images of officials are given in only a few strokes. But they are so masterful that they give the reader a complete picture of what a Russian official was like in the 30s and 40s of the 19th century.
This is the governor, embroidering on tulle, and the prosecutor with thick black eyebrows, and the postmaster, the wit and philosopher, and many others. The miniature portraits created by Gogol are well remembered for their characteristic details, which give a complete picture of a particular character. For example, why is the head of the province, a person occupying a very responsible government position, described by Gogol as a good-natured man who embroiders on tulle? The reader is forced to think that he is not capable of anything else, since he is characterized only from this side. Yes and busy man There is hardly time for such an activity. The same can be said about his subordinates.
What do we know from the poem about the prosecutor? It is true that he, as an idle man, sits at home. This is how Sobakevich speaks of him. One of the most significant officials in the city, called upon to monitor the rule of law, the prosecutor did not bother himself with public service. All he did was sign papers. And all the decisions were made for him by the solicitor, “the first grabber in the world.” Therefore, when the prosecutor died, few could say what was outstanding about this man. Chichikov, for example, thought at the funeral that the only thing the prosecutor could be remembered for was his thick black eyebrows. “...Why he died or why he lived, only God knows” - with these words Gogol speaks of the complete meaninglessness of the life of a prosecutor.
And what meaning is the life of the official Ivan Antonovich Kuvshinnoe Rylo filled with? Collect more bribes. This official extorts them using his official position. Gogol describes how Chichikov placed a “piece of paper” in front of Ivan Antonovich, “which he did not notice at all and immediately covered with a book.”
N.V. Gogol in the poem “Dead Souls” not only introduces the reader to individual representatives of the bureaucracy, but also gives them a unique classification. He divides them into three groups - lower, thin and thick. The lower ones are represented by petty officials (clerks, secretaries) Most of them are drunkards. The thin ones are the middle stratum of the bureaucracy, and the fat ones are the provincial nobility, who know how to derive considerable benefit from their high position.
The author also gives us an idea of the lifestyle of Russian officials in the 30s and 40s of the nineteenth century. Gogol compares officials with a squadron of flies swooping down on tasty morsels of refined sugar. They are occupied by playing cards, drinking, lunches, dinners, and gossip. In the society of these people, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. Gogol portrays this class as thieves, bribe-takers and slackers. That is why they cannot convict Chichikov of his machinations - they are bound by mutual responsibility, each, as they say, “has a cannon in their mouth.” And if they try to detain Chichikov for fraud, all their sins will come out.
In “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” Gogol completes the collective portrait of an official he gave in the poem. The indifference that the disabled war hero Kopeikin faces is terrifying. And here already we're talking about not about some petty county officials. Gogol shows how a desperate hero, who is trying to get the pension he is entitled to, reaches the highest authorities. But even there he does not find the truth, faced with the complete indifference of a high-ranking St. Petersburg dignitary. Thus, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol makes it clear that vices have affected the entire bureaucratic Russia - from a small county town to the capital. These vices make people “dead souls.”
The author's sharp satire not only exposes bureaucratic sins, but also shows the terrible social consequences of inactivity, indifference and thirst for profit.
Officials withdrawn to " Dead souls", are strong with their mutual guarantee. They feel a commonality of their interests and the need to defend themselves together when necessary. They have the characteristics of a special class in a class society. They are the third force, the average one, the average majority that actually governs the country. The concept of civil and public responsibilities is alien to provincial society; for them, a position is only a means of personal pleasure and well-being, a source of income. Among them there is bribery, servility to higher officials, and a complete lack of intelligence. The bureaucracy has rallied into a corporation of embezzlers and robbers. Gogol wrote in his diary about provincial society: “The ideal of the city is emptiness. Gossip that has gone beyond limits.” Among officials, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. Officials for the most part are uneducated, empty people who live according to a pattern and who give up in a new everyday situation.
The abuses of officials are most often ridiculous, insignificant and absurd. “You take things inappropriately” - that’s what is considered a sin in this world. But it is the “vulgarity of everything as a whole,” and not the size of the criminal acts that horrifies readers. “A stunning mud of little things,” as Gogol writes in the poem, has swallowed up modern man.
The bureaucracy in “Dead Souls” is not only “flesh of the flesh” of a soulless, ugly society; it is also the foundation on which this society rests. While provincial society considers Chichikov a millionaire and a “Kherson landowner,” the officials treat the newcomer accordingly. Since the governor “gave the go-ahead,” then any official will immediately fill out the necessary papers for Chichikov; Of course, not for free: after all, nothing can erase the initial habit of taking bribes from a Russian official. And Gogol, with short but unusually expressive strokes, painted a portrait of Ivan Antonovich Kuvshinnoye Rylo, who can safely be called a symbol of Russian bureaucracy. He appears in the seventh chapter of the poem and speaks only a few words. Ivan Antonovich is essentially not even a person, but a soulless “cog” of the state machine. And other officials are no better.
What is the value of a prosecutor, who has nothing but thick eyebrows...
When Chichikov’s scam was revealed, the officials were confused and suddenly “found ... sins in themselves.” Gogol laughs angrily at how bureaucrats in positions of power, mired in criminal activity, help the swindler in his dirty machinations, fearing their exposure.
To the greatest extent, the lack of spirituality of the state machine is shown by Gogol in “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin.” Faced with the bureaucratic mechanism, the war hero turns not even into a speck of dust, he turns into nothing. And in this case, the fate of the captain is unjustly decided not by the provincial semi-literate Ivan Antonovich, but by a metropolitan nobleman of the highest rank, a member of the Tsar himself! But even here, at the highest state level, a simple honest person, even a hero, has nothing to hope for understanding and participation. It is no coincidence that when the poem passed censorship, it was “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” that was mercilessly cut by the censors. Moreover, Gogol was forced to rewrite it almost anew, significantly softening the tonality and smoothing out the rough edges. As a result, little remains of “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” that was originally intended by the author.
Gogol's city is a symbolic, “collective city of the entire dark side,” and bureaucracy is an integral part of it.
« Dead Souls"is one of the brightest works of Russian literature. According to the strength and depth of ideas, according to
The artistic mastery of “Dead Souls” ranks with such masterpieces of Russian classical literature as “Woe from Wit” by Griboyedov, “Eugene Onegin” and “ Captain's daughter» Pushkin, as well as the best works Goncharov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Leskov.
When starting to create “Dead Souls,” Gogol wrote to Pushkin that in his work he wanted to show “from one side” all of Rus'. “All Rus' will appear in it!” - he also told Zhukovsky. Indeed, Gogol was able to illuminate many aspects of the life of contemporary Russia, to reflect with wide completeness the spiritual and social conflicts in its life.
Undoubtedly, " Dead Souls And" were very relevant for their time. Gogol even had to change the title when publishing the work, as it irritated the censors. The high political effectiveness of the poem is due to both the sharpness of the ideas and the topicality of the images.
The poem widely reflected the Nikolaev reactionary era, when all initiative and freethinking were suppressed, the bureaucratic apparatus grew significantly, and a system of denunciations and investigations was in place.
Dead Souls poses extremely important questions both for its time and for Russia in general: the question of serfs and landowners, bureaucracy and corruption in all spheres of life.
Depicting contemporary Russia, Gogol devoted significant space to the description of: provincial (VII-IX chapters) and capital (“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”).
Provincial officials are represented in the images of officials of the city of N. It is characteristic that they all live as one family: they spend their leisure time together, address each other by name and patronymic (“My dear friend Ilya Ilyich!”), and are hospitable. Gogol doesn't even mention their last names. On the other hand, officials are bound by mutual responsibility in matters related to their service.
The widespread bribery that reigned in Russia was also reflected in Gogol’s work. This motive is very important in the description of life Officials in poem Dead souls: the police chief, despite the fact that he visits the Gostiny Dvor as if it were his own storeroom, enjoys the love of the merchants because he is not proud and courteous; Ivan Antonovich accepts a bribe from Chichikov deftly, with knowledge of the matter, as a matter of course.
The motive of bribery also appears in the biography of Chichikov himself, and the episode with a certain generalized petitioner can be considered a digression on bribes.
All officials treat service as an opportunity to make money at someone else’s expense, which is why lawlessness, bribery and corruption flourish everywhere, disorder and red tape reign. Bureaucracy is a good breeding ground for these vices. It was in his conditions that Chichikov’s scam was possible.
Because of their “sins” in their service, all officials are afraid of being checked by an auditor sent by the government. Chichikov's incomprehensible behavior terrifies the city Officialdom in the poem Dead Souls: “Suddenly both of them turned pale; fear is more sticky than the plague and is communicated instantly. “Everyone suddenly found sins in themselves that didn’t even exist.” Suddenly they have assumptions, there are rumors that Chichikov is Napoleon himself, or Captain Kopeikan, an auditor. The motive of gossip is typical for describing the life of Russian society in XIX literature century, he is also present in “Dead Souls”.
The position of an official in society corresponds to his rank: the higher the position, the greater the authority, respect, and the preferable it is to get to know him. Meanwhile, there are some qualities necessary “for this world: pleasantness in appearance, in turns of speech and actions, and agility in business...” All of this was possessed by Chichikov, who knew how to carry on a conversation, present himself favorably to society, unobtrusively show respect, provide service. “In a word, he was a very decent person; That’s why it was so well received by the society of the city of N.”
Officials generally do not engage in service, but spend their time in entertainment (dinners and balls). Here they indulge in their only “good occupation” - playing cards. Playing cards is more common for fat people than for thin people, and that’s what they do at the ball. The city fathers devote themselves to playing cards without reserve, showing imagination, eloquence, and liveliness of mind.
Gogol did not forget to point out the ignorance and stupidity of officials. Saying sarcastically that many of them “were not without education,” the author immediately points out the limits of their interests: “Lyudmila” by Zhukovsky, Karamzin or “Moscow News”; many didn’t read anything at all.
Having introduced “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” into the poem, Gogol also introduced a description of the capital’s officials. As well as in provincial town, Bureaucracy Petersburg is subject to bureaucracy, bribery, and veneration of rank.
Despite the fact that Gogol presented Bureaucracy more as one whole, individual images can also be distinguished. Thus, the governor, representing in his person the highest city power, is shown in a somewhat comic light: he had “Anna around his neck” and, perhaps, was presented to the star; but, however, he was “a great good-natured man and sometimes even embroidered on tulle himself.” He was “neither fat nor thin.” And if Manilov says that the governor is “the most respectable and most amiable person,” then Sobakevich directly declares that he is “the first robber in the world.” It seems that both assessments of the governor’s personality are correct and characterize him from different sides.
The prosecutor is an absolutely useless person in the service. In his portrait, Gogol points out one detail: very thick eyebrows and a seemingly conspiratorial winking eye. One gets the impression of dishonesty, uncleanliness, and cunning of the prosecutor. Indeed, such qualities are characteristic of court officials, where lawlessness flourishes: the poem mentions two of the many cases where an unjust trial was committed (the case of a fight between peasants and the murder of an assessor).
The inspector of the medical board is no less frightened by the talk about Chichikov than the others, since he is also guilty of sins: in the infirmaries there is no proper care for the sick, so people die in large numbers. The inspector is not embarrassed by this fact, he is indifferent to fate ordinary people, but he is afraid of the auditor, who can punish him and deprive him of his position.
Nothing is said about the postmaster’s occupation of postal affairs, which indicates that he does not do anything remarkable in his service: just like other officials, he is either inactive or trying to loot and profit. Gogol mentions only
The fact that the postmaster is engaged in philosophy and makes large extracts from books.
Some of them also serve to reveal the images of officials lyrical digressions. For example, a satirical digression about fat and thin typifies the images of officials. The author divides men into two kinds, characterizing them depending on their physical appearance: thin men love to look after women, and fat men, preferring to play whist over ladies, know how to “manage their affairs better” and always firmly and invariably occupy reliable places.
Another example: Gogol compares Russian officials with foreigners - “wise men” who know how to treat people of different status and social status differently. Thus, speaking about the veneration of officials and their understanding of subordination, Gogol creates the image of a kind of conditional manager of the office, radically changing in appearance depending on whose company he is in: among subordinates or in front of his boss.
The world presented by Gogol, called " Officialdom in the poem “Dead Souls”"very colorful, many-sided. Comic images of officials, collected together, create a picture of the ugly social structure of Russia. Gogol’s creation evokes both laughter and tears, because even after more than a century, it allows you to recognize familiar situations, faces, characters, destinies. Great Gogol’s talent, which so uniquely vividly accurately described reality, pointed out the ulcer of society, which they could not heal even a century later.
Composition: Officialdom in the poem “Dead Souls”
Composition
In Tsarist Russia of the 30s of the 19th century, a real disaster for the people was not only serfdom, but also an extensive bureaucratic bureaucracy. Called to guard law and order, representatives of the administrative authorities thought only about their own material wealth, robbing the treasury, extorting bribes, mocking powerless people. Thus, the theme of exposing the bureaucratic world was very relevant for Russian literature. Gogol addressed it more than once in such works as “The Inspector General,” “The Overcoat,” and “Notes of a Madman.” It also found expression in the poem “Dead Souls,” where, starting from the seventh chapter, bureaucracy is the focus of the author’s attention. Despite the absence of detailed and detailed images similar to the landowner heroes, the picture of bureaucratic life in Gogol’s poem is striking in its breadth.
With two or three masterful strokes, the writer draws wonderful miniature portraits. This is the governor, embroidering on tulle, and the prosecutor with very black thick eyebrows, and the short postmaster, a wit and philosopher, and many others. These sketchy faces are memorable because of their characteristic funny details that are filled with deep meaning. In fact, why is the head of an entire province characterized as a good-natured man who sometimes embroiders on tulle? Probably because there is nothing to say about him as a leader. From here it is easy to draw a conclusion about how negligently and dishonestly the governor treats his official duties and civic duty. The same can be said about his subordinates. Gogol widely uses the technique of characterizing the hero by other characters in the poem. For example, when a witness was needed to formalize the purchase of serfs, Sobakevich tells Chichikov that the prosecutor, as an idle person, is probably sitting at home. But this is one of the most significant officials of the city, who must administer justice and ensure compliance with the law. The characterization of the prosecutor in the poem is enhanced by the description of his death and funeral. He did nothing but mindlessly sign papers, as he left all decisions to the solicitor, “the first grabber in the world.” Obviously, the cause of his death was rumors about the sale of “dead souls”, since it was he who was responsible for all the illegal affairs that took place in the city. Bitter Gogolian irony is heard in thoughts about the meaning of the prosecutor’s life: “...why he died, or why he lived, only God knows.” Even Chichikov, looking at the funeral of the prosecutor, involuntarily comes to the thought that the only thing the deceased can be remembered for is his thick black eyebrows.
The writer gives a close-up of a typical image of the official Ivan Antonovich, the Jug Snout. Taking advantage of his position, he extorts bribes from visitors. It’s funny to read about how Chichikov put a “piece of paper” in front of Ivan Antonovich, “which he did not notice at all and immediately covered with a book.” But it’s sad to realize what a hopeless situation Russian citizens found themselves in, dependent on dishonest, self-interested people representing state power. This idea is emphasized by Gogol’s comparison of the civil chamber official with Virgil. At first glance, it is unacceptable. But the vile official, like the Roman poet in The Divine Comedy, leads Chichikov through all the circles of bureaucratic hell. This means that this comparison strengthens the impression of the evil that permeates the entire administrative system of Tsarist Russia.
Gogol gives in the poem a unique classification of officials, dividing representatives of this class into lower, thin and fat. The writer gives a sarcastic characterization of each of these groups. The lowest ones, according to Gogol's definition, are nondescript clerks and secretaries, as a rule, bitter drunkards. By “thin” the author means the middle stratum, and the “thick” are the provincial nobility, which firmly holds on to their places and deftly extracts considerable income from their high position.
Gogol is inexhaustible in choosing surprisingly accurate and apt comparisons. Thus, he likens officials to a squadron of flies that swoop down on tasty morsels of refined sugar. Provincial officials are also characterized in the poem by their usual activities: playing cards, drinking, lunches, dinners, gossip. Gogol writes that in the society of these civil servants, “meanness, completely disinterested, pure meanness” flourishes. Their quarrels do not end in a duel, because “they were all civil officials.” They have other methods and means through which they play dirty tricks on each other, which can be more difficult than any duel. There are no significant differences in the way of life of officials, in their actions and views. Gogol portrays this class as thieves, bribe-takers, slackers and swindlers who are bound together by mutual responsibility. That’s why the officials felt so uncomfortable when Chichikov’s scam was revealed, because each of them remembered their sins. If they try to detain Chichikov for his fraud, then he too will be able to accuse them of dishonesty. A comical situation arises when people in power help a swindler in his illegal machinations and are afraid of him.
In his poem, Gogol expands the boundaries of the district town, introducing into it “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin.” It no longer talks about local abuses, but about the arbitrariness and lawlessness that is committed by the highest St. Petersburg officials, that is, the government itself. The contrast between the unheard-of luxury of St. Petersburg and the pitiful beggarly position of Kopeikin, who shed blood for his fatherland and lost an arm and a leg, is striking. But, despite his injuries and military merits, this war hero does not even have the right to the pension due to him. A desperate disabled person tries to find help in the capital, but his attempt is frustrated by the cold indifference of a high-ranking official. This disgusting image of a soulless St. Petersburg nobleman completes the characterization of the world of officials. All of them, starting with the petty provincial secretary and ending with the representative of the highest administrative power, are dishonest, selfish, cruel people, indifferent to the fate of the country and the people. It is to this conclusion that N. V. Gogol’s wonderful poem “Dead Souls” leads the reader.
Who did not become first of all
man, he is a bad citizen.
V.G. Belinsky
In his poem, Gogol mercilessly castigates officials with the light of satire. They are like a collection of strange and unpleasant insects collected by the author. Not a very attractive image, but are the officials themselves pleasant? If we remember that all these “statesmen” are in the service; if we remember that Gogol described the province (where the picture of the state is most typical); If we remember that Gogol was very criticized (which most clearly shows the veracity of the poem, despite all the grotesquery) for his work, it becomes truly scary for Russia, for the form in which it existed. Let's take a closer look at this eerie collection.
Russia has always been divided by modern critics into two parts: the peasantry, the people, and the landowners and officials. Here it would be necessary to add a third layer, which was still emerging at that time; his representative is Chichikov. He is like a pale toadstool growing on the bodies of landowners collapsing into oblivion. But was the landowner and bureaucratic layer really doomed? After all, the state existed, and it seemed to be good...
What is an urban society? In his description, Gogol used one, but very vivid image: officials “... flashed and rushed separately and in heaps here and there, like flies rushed,... and air squadrons..., lifted by light air, take off boldly, like full owners... not in order to eat, but just to show themselves..." With one comparison, Gogol immediately shows the great Emptiness, Emptiness with capital letters reigning in the minds and souls of officials.
What are landowners and officials like individually? Let's start with the “statesmen” who are in service, personifying state power; on which the life of the people depends.
Prosecutor. His “silence” and “seriousness,” taken by everyone as a sign of a great mind, are only evidence that he simply has nothing to say. It is clear that he is the biggest bribe-taker: the news of “dead souls” and the worries associated with it shock him so much that he, unable to withstand the enormous, all-consuming fear... dies.
Here is the chairman of the chamber. He is a “very” reasonable “amiable person”. All! This is where his characterization ends. Nothing is said about this person’s hobbies or inclinations - there’s simply nothing to talk about!
The postmaster is not much better than the rest. Only during the card game is a “thinking face” depicted on his face. The rest of the time he is “talkative.” But nothing is said about the content of the speeches. Obviously, as unnecessary.
One should not think that there are important differences between landowners and officials. Both are endowed with power that brings money.
Chichikov successively visits four landowners in the poem. A visit to Manilov shows highest degree emptiness and worthlessness. Manilov, about whom it can be said that his hobby - dreams - turned into a “profession”, brought his farm to such a state in which everything is collapsing from airy dilapidation and instability. One can guess about the future fate of Manilovka and the estate: they will be mortgaged if they do not fall apart first.
Korobochka and Plyushkin. These are two forms of the same phenomenon: senseless and greedy hoarding. This greed is brought to the point of absurdity: Korobochka and Plyushkin differ only in the size of the smallest and most worthless object, dragged into the house, into chests, and generally “inside.” Both Korobochka and Plyushkin have complete isolation and isolation from the world, in one it is expressed in a solid fence and chained dogs, in sitting at home all the time; the other - in misanthropism, hatred of all potential wasters, and, as a consequence, of all people. Plyushkin's farm is already ruined remains; Korobochka’s farm is a “fortress”, ready to become moldy and collapse within itself.
Sobakevich is a strong owner. It seems that it is his farm - strong, although uncouth, made of oak - that will last the longest. The peasants live relatively well... Although we don’t know if this is so - we know about the peasants of Sobakevich only from their dwellings - gray but strong huts. One can guess that Sobakevich keeps his peasants under strict discipline. Who can guarantee that in some bad year the peasants will not rebel and sweep away Sobakevich with his family and estate? The Russian revolt will be all the more senseless and merciless because peasants from Manilovki, Vshivy Spesei and other villages will probably join it.
And here is Chichikov, by position an official, by intentions a landowner, by nature a crafty slave, humiliating himself before the right person. “By adapting, people want to preserve themselves, and at the same time they lose themselves,” said Russian essayist M.I. Prishvin. This is very similar to Chichikov. Looking at the masks under which Chichikov hides, one can barely see his true face as a scoundrel and opportunist. But the failures that haunt him are an inevitable consequence of his machinations directed against people.
As for the environment in which such ugly personal computers appeared, they shaped it, adjusted it to themselves. The environment, musty and dark, produced more and more officials and landowners serving it. Only a revolution could break this vicious circle, which ultimately took place after 1861 and 1905.
So, where is the future of Russia, which will eventually rise and bloom? It is already clear that these are neither landowners nor Chichikov, the latter does not even have his own clear face, he is rather an exception; nor the officials who have subjugated power and law. The people, the Russian people, who will rise up, finally feeling freedom, part of which are the intelligentsia, and part of the truly tenacious, business people, this is Russia, we and our future.