What brings dead souls together between landowners. Images of landowners in N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”. In the poem N. Gogol "dead souls"

Having created an unforgettable and truthful gallery of portraits and characters of serf-owners, Gogol exclaims: “And to what insignificance, pettiness, disgusting man could condescend! Could have changed so much! And does this seem true? Does everything seem true? Everything looks like the truth, everything can happen to a person...” Having analyzed the images of serf-owners in the poem, we can say that the system in which the Sobakevichs, Korobochki, Manilovs, Plyushkins and the like are the masters of life, control the destinies of people, live out the national wealth is flawed . Thus, the landowners in “Dead Souls” are united by common features: inhumanity, idleness, vulgarity, spiritual emptiness. Gogol indeed creates “typical characters in typical circumstances,” but “circumstances” can also lie in the conditions of a person’s inner mental life. Plyushkin's fall is not directly related to his position as a landowner. Can’t the loss of a family break even the strongest person, a representative of any class or estate?! In a word, Gogol’s realism also includes the deepest psychologism. This is what makes the poem interesting to the modern reader.

So, the five characters created by Gogol in “Dead Souls” diversely depict the state of the noble-serf class. Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, Plyushkin - all these are different forms of one phenomenon - the economic, social, spiritual decline of the class of feudal landowners.

Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdryov, Sobakevich - these heroes are antisocial, their characters are ugly, but each of them has at least something positive left.

The landowners are long gone, but Gogol's poem does not die. The images he created became the property of Russian literature, and the names of these heroes became household names. It is not for nothing that Herzen said about his types that “we met them at every step” and with the help of Gogol “we finally saw them, without embellishment.” In Dead Souls, Gogol created typical portraits of landowners, reflecting the characteristic features of an entire class, revealing the spiritual impoverishment and moral degeneration of this class, although the writer himself did not think of drawing such decisive conclusions.

The world of dead souls is contrasted in the poem with faith in the “mysterious” Russian people, in their inexhaustible moral potential. At the end of the poem, the image of an endless road and a trio of birds rushing forward appears. In this indomitable movement one can feel the writer’s confidence in the great destiny of Russia, in the possibility of the spiritual resurrection of humanity. Gogol endowed each landowner with original, specific features. Whatever the hero, he is a unique personality. But at the same time, his heroes retain generic, social characteristics: low cultural level, lack of intellectual demands, desire for enrichment, cruelty in treatment of serfs, moral uncleanliness, lack of an elementary concept of patriotism. These moral monsters, as Gogol shows, are generated by feudal reality and reveal the essence of feudal relations based on the oppression and exploitation of the peasantry. Gogol's work stunned, first of all, the ruling circles and landowners. The ideological defenders of serfdom argued that the nobility was the best part of the Russian population, passionate patriots, the support of the state.

Gogol dispelled this myth with images of landowners. Herzen said that the landowners “pass before us without masks, without embellishment, flatterers and gluttons, obsequious slaves of power and ruthless tyrants of their enemies, drinking the life and blood of the people... “Dead Souls” shocked all of Russia.”

The composition of the poem allowed the author to talk about different landowners and their villages. Gogol creates five characters, five portraits that are so different from each other, and at the same time, in each of them the typical features of a Russian landowner appear. Our acquaintance begins with Manilov and ends with Plyushkin. This sequence has its own logic: from one landowner to another, the process of impoverishment of the human personality deepens, an ever more terrible picture of the decomposition of feudal society unfolds. From Manilov to Sobakevich the feeling of the deadness of the landowners' souls intensifies.

Gogol shows them in order of increasing moral degradation. At first it is Manilov, courteous, with pleasant facial features; dreamy person. But this is only at first glance. In Korobochka, Gogol presents us with a different type of Russian landowner. Thrifty, hospitable, hospitable, she suddenly becomes a “club-head” in the scene of selling dead souls, afraid of selling herself short. This is the type of person with his own mind. In Nozdryov, Gogol showed a different form of decomposition of the nobility. The writer shows us two essences of Nozdryov: first, he is an open, daring, direct face. But then you have to make sure that Nozdryov’s sociability is an indifferent familiarity with everyone he meets and crosses, his liveliness is an inability to concentrate on any serious subject or matter, his energy is a waste of energy in revelries and debauchery. Sobakevich is akin to Korobochka. He, like her, is a hoarder. Only, unlike Korobochka, he is a smart and cunning hoarder. He manages to deceive Chichikov himself. This gallery of “dead souls” is completed by the “hole in humanity” Plyushkin. This is the eternal image of the stingy in classical literature. Plyushkin is an extreme degree of economic, social and moral decay of the human personality. Provincial officials also join the gallery of landowners who are essentially “dead souls”.

The work of N.V. Gogol is multifaceted and diverse. The writer has the talent to captivate the reader, makes him cry and laugh along with the characters, experience failures and rejoice at successes. He calls on a person to think about the fate of the Motherland, about himself, and exposes the shortcomings of society and every citizen. It was in the poem “Dead Souls” that the author posed the most painful and pressing questions of contemporary life. He clearly showed the decomposition of the serf system, the doom of its representatives.

A couple of centuries flew by headlong,

Our Rus' - Mother gallops in threes

On a difficult road, in heat and snowstorms...

Someone laughs, and someone still cries.

Today we inherited

The same "living" and "dead" souls,

Buying and selling... but only a little

I believe it has gotten a little better!

The dead souls of landowners, their repulsive features are the lesson that Gogol gives us. Nikolai Vasilyevich turns into a kind teacher, an older friend, warning us: “Everything seems to be true, everything can happen to a person.<...>Take with you on the journey, emerging from the soft years of youth into stern, embittering courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road, you will not pick them up later! Now there are no landowners, but the character traits that Gogol so vividly captured in the poem “Dead Souls” remain, scattered into countless vices of a huge part of society. In the poem “Dead Souls” N.V. Gogol makes fun of the local nobility for a reason. After all, the Sobakevichs and Plyushkins ruled Russia at that time, decided the destinies of the Russian people. Their images are woven so brightly and prominently that the names of Gogol’s landowners have become household names. Even today we widely use the concept of Manilovism in everyday life, we compare certain people with Korobochki or Nozdryov.

In this article we will describe the image of landowners created by Gogol in the poem “Dead Souls”. The table we have compiled will help you remember the information. We will sequentially talk about the five heroes presented by the author in this work.

The image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol is briefly described in the following table.

landowner	Characteristic	Attitude towards the request for the sale of dead souls
Manilov	Vulgar and empty. For two years, a book with a bookmark on one page has been lying in his office. His speech is sweet and cloying.	I was surprised. He thinks that this is illegal, but he cannot refuse such a pleasant person. Gives it to peasants for free. At the same time, he does not know how many souls he has.
Box	She knows the value of money, is practical and economical. Stingy, stupid, club-headed, hoarding landowner.	He wants to know what Chichikov’s souls are for. The number of deaths is known exactly (18 people). He looks at dead souls as if they were hemp or lard: they might come in handy on the farm.
Nozdryov	He is considered a good friend, but is always ready to play a trick on his friend. Kutila, card player, "broken fellow." When talking, he constantly jumps from subject to subject and uses swear words.	It would seem that it was easiest for Chichikov to get them from this landowner, but he was the only one who left him with nothing.
Sobakevich	Uncouth, clumsy, rude, unable to express feelings. A tough, evil serf owner who never misses a profit.	The smartest of all landowners. He immediately saw through the guest and made a deal to his advantage.
Plyushkin	Once upon a time he had a family, children, and he himself was a thrifty owner. But the death of the mistress turned this man into a miser. He became, like many widowers, stingy and suspicious.	I was amazed and delighted by his offer, since there would be income. He agreed to sell the souls for 30 kopecks (78 souls in total).

Gogol's portrayal of landowners

In the works of Nikolai Vasilyevich, one of the main themes is the landowner class in Russia, as well as the ruling class (nobility), its role in the life of society and its fate.

The main method used by Gogol to portray various characters is satire. The process of gradual degeneration of the landowner class was reflected in the heroes created by his pen. Nikolai Vasilyevich reveals shortcomings and vices. Gogol's satire is colored with irony, which helped this writer speak directly about what was impossible to talk about openly under censorship conditions. At the same time, Nikolai Vasilyevich’s laughter seems good-natured to us, but he does not spare anyone. Each phrase has a subtext, a hidden, deep meaning. Irony is generally a characteristic element of Gogol's satire. It is present not only in the speech of the author himself, but also in the speech of the heroes.

Irony is one of the essential features of Gogol’s poetics; it adds greater realism to the narrative and becomes a means of analyzing the surrounding reality.

Compositional structure of the poem

The images of landowners in the poem, the largest work of this author, are presented in the most multifaceted and complete way. It is constructed as the story of the adventures of the official Chichikov, who buys up “dead souls.” The composition of the poem allowed the author to tell about different villages and the owners living in them. Almost half of the first volume (five out of eleven chapters) is devoted to the characteristics of different types of landowners in Russia. Nikolai Vasilyevich created five portraits that are not similar to each other, but each of them at the same time contains features that are typical of a Russian serf owner. Acquaintance with them begins with Manilov and ends with Plyushkin. This construction is not accidental. There is a logic to this sequence: the process of impoverishment of a person’s personality deepens from one image to another, it increasingly unfolds as a terrible picture of the collapse of serf society.

Meeting Manilov

Manilov - representing the image of landowners in the poem "Dead Souls". The table only briefly describes it. Let us introduce you closer to this hero. The character of Manilov, which is described in the first chapter, is already manifested in the surname itself. The story about this hero begins with an image of the village of Manilovka, which is capable of “luring” few people with its location. The author describes with irony the master's courtyard, created as an imitation with a pond, bushes and the inscription “Temple of Solitary Reflection.” External details help the writer create the image of the landowners in the poem “Dead Souls”.

Manilov: character of the hero

The author, speaking about Manilov, exclaims that only God knows what kind of character this man had. By nature he is kind, courteous, polite, but all this takes on ugly, exaggerated forms in his image. sentimental and beautiful to the point of cloying. The relationships between people seem festive and idyllic to him. Various relationships, in general, are one of the details that create the image of the landowners in the poem “Dead Souls”. Manilov did not know life at all; reality was replaced by empty fantasy. This hero loved to dream and think, sometimes even about things useful to the peasants. However, his ideas were far from the needs of life. He did not know about the real needs of the serfs and never even thought about them. Manilov considers himself a bearer of culture. He was considered the most educated man in the army. Nikolai Vasilyevich speaks ironically about the house of this landowner, in which there was always “something missing,” as well as about his sugary relationship with his wife.

Chichikov's conversation with Manilov about buying dead souls

In an episode of a conversation about buying dead souls, Manilov is compared to an overly smart minister. Gogol's irony here intrudes, as if accidentally, into a forbidden area. Such a comparison means that the minister is not so different from Manilov, and “Manilovism” is a typical phenomenon of the vulgar bureaucratic world.

Box

Let us describe another image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls”. The table has already briefly introduced you to Korobochka. We learn about her in the third chapter of the poem. Gogol classifies this heroine as one of the small landowners who complain about losses and crop failures and always keep their heads somewhat to one side, while collecting money little by little into bags placed in the chest of drawers. This money is obtained by selling a variety of subsistence products. Korobochka's interests and horizons are completely focused on her estate. Her entire life and economy are patriarchal in nature.

How did Korobochka react to Chichikov’s proposal?

The landowner realized that trading in dead souls was profitable, and after much persuasion she agreed to sell them. The author, describing the image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” (Korobochka and other heroes), is ironic. For a long time, the “club-headed” one cannot figure out what exactly is required of her, which infuriates Chichikov. After that, she bargains with him for a long time, afraid of making a mistake.

Nozdryov

In the image of Nozdryov in the fifth chapter, Gogol depicts a completely different form of decomposition of the nobility. This hero is a man of what is called a “jack of all trades.” In his very face there was something daring, direct, open. He is also characterized by a “breadth of nature.” According to the ironic remark of Nikolai Vasilyevich, Nozdryov is a “historical man”, since not a single meeting that he managed to attend was never without stories. He loses a lot of money at cards with a light heart, beats a simpleton at a fair and immediately “squanders it all.” This hero is an utter liar and a reckless braggart, a true master of “casting bullets.” He behaves defiantly everywhere, if not aggressively. This character’s speech is replete with swear words, and he has a passion for “spoiling his neighbor.” Gogol created in Russian literature a new socio-psychological type of so-called Nozdrevism. In many ways, the image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” is innovative. A brief image of the following heroes is described below.

Sobakevich

The author’s satire in the image of Sobakevich, whom we meet in the fifth chapter, takes on a more accusatory character. This character bears little resemblance to previous landowners. This is a tight-fisted, cunning tradesman, a “kulak landowner.” He is alien to the violent extravagance of Nozdryov, the dreamy complacency of Manilov, as well as Korobochka’s hoarding. Sobakevich has an iron grip, he is taciturn, he is on his own mind. There are few people who could deceive him. Everything about this landowner is strong and durable. In all the everyday objects surrounding him, Gogol finds a reflection of the character traits of this person. Everything surprisingly resembles the hero himself in his house. Each thing, as the author notes, seemed to say that she was “also Sobakevich.”

Nikolai Vasilyevich portrays a figure that amazes with its rudeness. This man seemed to Chichikov to look like a bear. Sobakevich is a cynic who is not ashamed of moral ugliness in others or in himself. He is far from enlightened. This is a die-hard serf owner who only cares about his own peasants. It is interesting that, apart from this hero, no one understood the true essence of the “scoundrel” Chichikov, but Sobakevich perfectly understood the essence of the proposal, reflecting the spirit of the times: everything can be sold and bought, the maximum benefit should be obtained. This is the generalized image of the landowners in the poem of the work, however, it is not limited to the depiction of only these characters. We present to you the next landowner.

Plyushkin

The sixth chapter is dedicated to Plyushkin. On it, the characteristics of the landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” are completed. The name of this hero has become a household word, denoting moral degradation and stinginess. This image is the last degree of degeneration of the landowner class. Gogol begins his acquaintance with the character, as usual, with a description of the estate and village of the landowner. At the same time, a “particular disrepair” was noticeable on all buildings. Nikolai Vasilyevich describes a picture of the ruin of a once rich serf owner. Its cause is not idleness and extravagance, but the painful stinginess of the owner. Gogol calls this landowner “a hole in humanity.” Its very appearance is characteristic - it is a sexless creature resembling a housekeeper. This character no longer causes laughter, only bitter disappointment.

Conclusion

The image of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” (the table is presented above) is revealed by the author in many ways. The five characters that Gogol created in the work depict the diverse state of this class. Plyushkin, Sobakevich, Nozdrev, Korobochka, Manilov are different forms of one phenomenon - spiritual, social and economic decline. The characteristics of landowners in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" prove this.

Unlike Nozdryov, Sobakevich cannot be considered a person with his head in the clouds. This hero stands firmly on the ground, does not indulge himself with illusions, soberly evaluates people and life, knows how to act and achieve what he wants. Given the character of his life, Gogol is in everything...

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Every time has its own heroes. They determine his face, character, principles, ethical guidelines. With the advent of “Dead Souls,” a new hero entered Russian literature, unlike his predecessors. The elusive, slippery is felt in the description of his appearance....

The episode “Chichikov at Plyushkin’s” is interesting from an ideological and artistic point of view. The author managed to paint lively, vivid pictures of Chichikov’s meeting with the most repulsive landowner, with “a hole in humanity.” Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich was the last to visit Plyushkin...

"Dead Souls" is a novel called a poem. A permanent resident of all anthologies on Russian literature. A work of classics that is as topical and relevant today as it was a century and a half ago. "Try to remember the plot in detail...

The “abundance” of lyrical digressions in such important, perhaps central, works of two writers - Pushkin and Gogol - is explained by both many common features and some differences. Let's try to trace these similarities and differences and understand the place of lyrical...

Gogol reveals the characters of people by depicting their words and actions.
The writer reveals the human essence of his heroes using the example of the landowners of the district town of N. It is there that the main character of the poem, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, comes to realize his plan - buying up dead audit souls.

Chichikov visits the landowners in a certain sequence. It is no coincidence that the first on his path is the landowner Manilov. There is nothing special about Manilov, he is, as they say, “neither fish nor fowl.” Everything about him is barren, vague, even the features of his face lack concreteness.
The first impression of pleasantness that Manilov made on Chichikov turns out to be deceptive: “This pleasantness seemed to have too much sugar in it. In the first minute of a conversation with him, you can’t help but say: “What a pleasant and kind person!” The next minute you won’t say anything, and the third you’ll say: “The devil knows what it is!” - and move away; If you don’t leave, you will feel mortal boredom.”

Things, interior, Manilov’s home, description of the estate characterize its owner. In words, this landowner loves his family and peasants, but in reality he does not care about them at all. Against the background of the general disorder of the estate, Manilov indulges in sweet dreams in the “temple of solitary reflection.” His pleasantness is nothing more than a mask that covers spiritual emptiness. Idle daydreaming with apparent culture allows us to classify Manilov as an “idle unshakable” who gives nothing to society.

Next on Chichikov's path is the collegiate secretary Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka. She is completely mired in petty interests in life and hoarding. Korobochka's indifference combined with stupidity looks funny and absurd. Even in the sale of dead souls, she is afraid of being deceived, of being cheap: “... I’d better wait a little, maybe the merchants will come, but I’ll adjust the prices.”

Everything in this landowner’s house is like a box. And the very name of the heroine - Korobochka - conveys her essence: limitations and narrow interests. In a word, this is the heroine - “club-headed,” as Chichikov himself called her.

In search of the landowner Sobakevich, Chichikov ends up in Nozdryov’s house. Nozdryov is the complete opposite of the stingy Korobochka. This is a reckless nature, a player, a reveler. He is endowed with an amazing ability to lie unnecessarily, cheat at cards, change for anything and lose everything. All his activities have no purpose, his whole life is pure revelry: “Nozdryov was in some respects a historical person. Not a single meeting where he attended was complete without a story.”

At first glance, Nozdryov may seem like a lively, active person, but in reality he turns out to be empty. But there is one feature in both him and Korobochka that unites these people, different in nature. Just as the old woman hoards her wealth senselessly and uselessly, Nozdryov squanders his fortune just as senselessly and uselessly.

Next Chichikov gets to Sobakevich. In contrast to Nozdryov, who is on friendly terms with everyone, Sobakevich seems to Chichikov to be like “a medium-sized bear” with a characteristic feature - to scold everyone and everything. Sobakevich is a strong master, a “kulak”, suspicious and gloomy, going ahead. He doesn't trust anyone. This is clearly evidenced by the episode in which Chichikov and Sobakevich transfer money and lists of dead souls into each other’s hands.

Everything that surrounded Sobakevich “was solid, clumsy to the highest degree and bore some strange resemblance to the owner of the house himself... Every chair, every object seemed to say: “And I, too, Sobakevich!” It seems to me that, at his core, Sobakevich is a petty, insignificant, clumsy person with an inner desire to step on everyone’s toes.

And the last one on Chichikov’s path is the landowner Plyushkin, whose stinginess is taken to the extreme, to the last line of human degradation. He is “a hole in humanity”, representing the complete disintegration of personality. Having met Plyushkin, Chichikov could not even think that he had met the owner of the estate; at first he mistakes him for the housekeeper.

Plyushkin's once rich farm is completely falling apart. This hero has eight hundred souls, his storerooms and barns are bursting with goods, but because of greed and senseless accumulation, all this wealth turned to dust: “...hay and bread rotted, storehouses and stacks turned into pure manure, even if you spread it on them cabbage, flour in the cellars turned into stone, and it was necessary to chop it; it was scary to touch cloth, linens and household materials: they turned to dust.”
Plyushkin’s peasants are “dying like flies”; dozens of them are on the run. But in the past he was known as a thrifty and enterprising landowner. But after the death of his wife, Plyushkin’s suspicion and stinginess intensified to the highest degree. The passion for hoarding even killed his love for children. As a result, having lost his human appearance, Plyushkin becomes like a beggar, a man without gender and without gender.

The images of landowners in “Dead Souls” show all the horror and absurdity of what is happening in Gogol’s contemporary Russia. After all, under serfdom, such Plyushkins, Manilovs, Sobakeviches receive all the rights to the same living people and do with them whatever they want.
In his poem, the writer considers all types of Russian landowners, but does not find one with whom the future of the country could be linked. In my opinion, Gogol in his poem very vividly described all the soullessness

A short essay-discussion on the topic Artistic Rus' in the poem “Dead Souls”, the image of Russia, “Russia of Dead Souls”, images of landowners and officials

The poem “Dead Souls” is one of the most significant works of Russian literature. Gogol masterfully reflected the problems of Russia, its vices and shortcomings. He identified unique types of people who have a special national flavor. The writer’s goal was to “illuminate a picture taken from a despicable life,” and he succeeded. Therefore, Russia, the homeland of dead souls, became the most vivid and realistic image in the work.

The author decided to show the degradation of Russia using the example of the nobility - the main supporting class of the state. If even the nobles are dead souls, what can we say about the other, lower strata of society who look to the courtiers and landowners as examples to follow? The writer begins the description of the vices of “the best people of the fatherland” with the hypocritical and lazy dreamer Manilov. This inactive person squanders his fortune and does not justify his privileged position. Such people can only talk, but are not going to do anything for the good of their homeland, so they only take from Russia, but do not give it anything in return.

After Manilov, Gogol introduces us to the thrifty Korobochka. It would seem, what is the vice? A woman runs the house and works to the envy of everyone. However, a very strong vice is obvious in her - greed. Profit became the only meaning of life for her. For the sake of profit or out of greed, she kills more than one peasant to death, therefore her activities are worse than Manilov’s inactivity. It also kills the future of Russia, because Korobochki are desperate enemies of progress.

The ruined Nozdryov is the antithesis of Korobochka. This man has undermined the credibility of his class, because he has sunk to the extreme degree of dishonor. He wanders in the status of “a guest worse than a Tatar” and is forced to live at the mercy of other nobles. He squandered the property of his ancestors, leaving his descendants poor and disgraced. It was because of such frivolous and vicious people that Russia gradually became merchant, and not noble. The privileged class began to humiliate itself in front of uneducated and greedy traders.

Then the author depicted the type of economic landowner Sobakevich. However, he did not become a positive image either. He turned out to be so narrow-minded and limited that after meeting his club-headed person it became clear: with such people Russia will not move forward and will not become better. They look into the past and are ready to stay in it forever.

The gallery of images of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” is closed by the miser Plyushkin (), who embodies the extreme degradation of the human being: “A person could condescend to such insignificance, pettiness, disgusting!” - writes the author. Gogol. The landowner destroyed all the goods he had earned, drove away the children and starved the peasants to death with poverty. With such people, Russia is in danger of falling into the abyss.

In the poem, Gogol reveals the vices of the city, as well as the bureaucratic class, which represents the state and, in this case, discredits it. District officials of the city of N thought only about how to line their pockets and deceive the townspeople. They are all connected by a single criminal network that surrounds the city. Patriotism is alien to them, like other moral concepts. In depicting this, the author does not mean just one city, he means the whole of autocratic Russia.

The new type of person that Chichikov represents in the poem is hardly better than the old ones. As a bankrupt nobleman, he is forced to make a living through fraud. “It’s fairest,” writes Gogol, “to call him the owner-acquirer.” Chichikov's life credo is to save a penny. Therefore, the hero makes money in every possible way, not disdaining crime. Gogol also mercilessly ridicules the vices of this new type in order to prove that Russia is not on the same path with him.

Thus, Gogol described a gallery of images of landowners, revealing the pressing problems of the country. This is how the image of Russia in the poem “Dead Souls” was formed from fragments, an image long-suffering and deep, in need of change. And the author still hopes for a good future. The extraordinary potential of the Russian is manifested in the images of the “Yaroslavl efficient man”, the carpenter-hero Stepan Probka, the miracle shoemaker Makeich Telyatin, the carriage maker Mezheev. The people's love of freedom, their spiritual wealth, and their “lively and lively” mind give Gogol incentives to believe in his country and love it no matter what. Therefore, he compares Rus' with a flying “unbeatable troika”, which is shunned by “other peoples and states.”

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