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Gogol's poem Dead Souls» is not devoid of a significant amount acting characters. All heroes according to their significance and time period of action in the poem can be divided into three categories: main, secondary and tertiary.

The main characters of "Dead Souls"

As a rule, in poems the number of main characters is small. The same trend is observed in the work of Gogol.

Chichikov
The image of Chichikov is undoubtedly the key in the poem. It is thanks to this image that the episodes of the story are connected.

Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is distinguished by his dishonesty and hypocrisy. His desire to enrich himself fraudulently discourages.

On the one hand, the reasons for such behavior can be explained by the pressure of society and the priorities operating in it - a rich and dishonest person is more respected than an honest and decent poor person. Since no one wants to drag out their existence in poverty, the financial question and the problem of improving their material resources is always relevant and often borders on the norms of morality and integrity, which many are ready to cross.

The same situation happened with Chichikov. He, being common man by origin, he was actually deprived of the opportunity to make his fortune in an honest way, so he solved the problem that arose with the help of ingenuity, ingenuity and deceit. The sting of "dead souls" as an idea is a hymn to his mind, but at the same time exposes the dishonest nature of the hero.

Manilov
Manilov became the first landowner to whom Chichikov came to buy souls. The image of this landowner is ambiguous. On the one hand, he creates a pleasant impression - Manilov is a pleasant and well-mannered person, but we immediately note that he is apathetic and lazy.

Manilov is a person who always adapts to circumstances and never expresses his real opinion on this or that matter - Manilov takes the most favorable side.

box
The image of this landowner, perhaps, is perceived as a whole as positive and pleasant. Korobochka is not smart, she is a stupid and, to some extent, uneducated woman, but at the same time she was able to successfully realize herself as a landowner, which greatly elevates her perception as a whole.

The box is too simple - to some extent, its habits and habits resemble the lifestyle of peasants, which does not impress Chichikov, who aspires to aristocrats and life in high society, but allows Korobochka to live quite happily and quite successfully develop his economy.

Nozdrev
Nozdryov, to whom Chichikov comes, after Korobochka, is perceived quite differently. And this is not surprising: it seems that Nozdryov could not fully realize himself in any field of activity. Nozdrev is a bad father who neglects communication with children and their upbringing. He is a bad landowner - Nozdryov does not take care of his estate, but only spends all his money. Nozdryov's life is the life of a man who prefers drinking, festivities, cards, women and dogs.

Sobakevich
This landowner calls mixed opinion. On the one hand, he is a rude, manly man, but on the other hand, this simplicity allows him to live quite successfully - all the buildings on his estate, including the houses of peasants, are made to last - you will not find anything leaky anywhere, his peasants are full and quite satisfied . Sobakevich himself often works together with the peasants on an equal footing and does not see anything unusual in this.

Plushkin
The image of this landowner, perhaps, is perceived as the most negative - he is a stingy and angry old man. Plyushkin outwardly looks like a beggar, since his clothes are incredibly leaky, his house looks like ruins, as well as the houses of his peasants.

Plyushkin lives extraordinarily economically, but he does it not because there is a need for it, but because of a feeling of greed - he is ready to throw away the spoiled thing, but just not to use it for good. That is why fabric and products rot in his warehouses, but at the same time his serfs go head and ragged.

Minor Heroes

Minor Heroes there is also not much in Gogol's story. In fact, all of them can be described as significant figures in the county, whose activities are not related to the landownership.

Governor and his family
This is perhaps one of the most important people in the county. In theory, he should be insightful, intelligent and reasonable. However, in practice, everything turned out not quite so. The governor was a kind and pleasant man, but he did not differ in foresight.

His wife was also a nice woman, but her excessive coquetry spoiled the whole picture. The governor's daughter was a typical cutesy girl, although outwardly she was very different from the generally accepted standard - the girl was not full, as was customary, but was slender and sweet.

What is true, due to her age, she was too naive and gullible.

prosecutor
The image of the prosecutor defies significant description. According to Sobakevich, he was the only decent person, although, to be completely honest, he was still a “pig”. Sobakevich does not explain this characterization in any way, which makes it difficult to understand his image. In addition, we know that the prosecutor was a very impressionable person - when Chichikov's deception was revealed, due to excessive excitement, he dies.

Chairman of the Chamber
Ivan Grigoryevich, who was the chairman of the chamber, was a nice and well-mannered man.

Chichikov noted that he was very educated, unlike most of the significant people of the county. However, his education does not always make a person wise and far-sighted.

This happened in the case of the chairman of the chamber, who could easily quote works of literature, but at the same time could not discern Chichikov's deceit and even helped him draw up documents for dead souls.

Chief of Police
Aleksey Ivanovich, who was acting as chief of police, seemed to have grown accustomed to his work. Gogol says that he was able to ideally comprehend all the subtleties of the work and it was already difficult to imagine him in any other position. Alexey Ivanovich comes to any shop as if to his home and can take whatever his heart desires. Despite such impudent behavior, he did not cause indignation among the townspeople - Alexei Ivanovich knows how to successfully get out of the situation and smooth out the unpleasant impression of extortion. So, for example, he invites guests for tea, play checkers or watch a trotter.

We suggest following in Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's poem "Dead Souls".

Such proposals are not made by the chief of police spontaneously - Alexei Ivanovich knows how to find a weak spot in a person and uses this knowledge. So, for example, having learned that the merchant has a passion for card games, he immediately invites the merchant to the game.

Episodic and third-rate heroes of the poem

Selifan
Selifan is Chichikov's coachman. Like most ordinary people He is an uneducated and stupid person. Selifan faithfully serves his master. Typical of all serfs, he likes to drink and is often distracted.

Parsley
Petrushka is the second serf subordinate to Chichikov. He serves as a footman. Parsley loves to read books, however, he does not understand much of what he read, but this does not prevent him from enjoying the process itself. Parsley often neglects the rules of hygiene and therefore it emits an incomprehensible smell.

Mizhuev
Mizhuev is Nozdrev's son-in-law. Mizhuev is not distinguished by prudence. At its core, he is a harmless person, but he loves to drink very much, which significantly spoils his image.

Feodulia Ivanovna
Feodulia Ivanovna - Sobakevich's wife. She simple woman and with its habits resembles a peasant woman. Although, it cannot be said that the behavior of aristocrats is completely alien to her - some elements are still present in her arsenal.

We offer you to get acquainted with the poem by Nikolai Gogol "Dead Souls"

Thus, in the poem, Gogol presents the reader with a wide system of images. And although most of them are collective images and in their structure are an image of the characteristic types of individuals in society, yet arouse the interest of the reader.

Characteristics of the heroes of the poem "Dead Souls": a list of characters

The work of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol "Dead Souls" is one of the most bright works author. This poem, the plot of which is connected with the description of the Russian reality of the 19th century, is of great value for Russian literature. It was also significant for Gogol himself. No wonder he called it a "national poem" and explained that in this way he tried to expose the shortcomings Russian Empire and then change the face of their homeland for the better.

Birth of a genre

The idea that Gogol wrote "Dead Souls" was suggested to the author by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Initially, the work was conceived as a light humorous novel. However, after the start of work on the work Dead Souls, the genre in which the text was originally supposed to be presented was changed.

The fact is that Gogol considered the plot to be very original and gave the presentation a different, more deep meaning. As a result, a year after the start of work on the work Dead Souls, its genre became more extensive. The author decided that his offspring should be nothing more than a poem.

Main idea

The writer divided his work into 3 parts. In the first of them, he decided to point out all the shortcomings that took place in contemporary society. In the second part, he planned to show how the process of correcting people takes place, and in the third part, the life of the heroes who have already changed for the better.

In 1841, Gogol completed the first volume of " dead souls". The plot of the book shocked the entire reading country, causing a lot of controversy. After the release of the first part, the author began work on the continuation of his poem. However, he was never able to finish what he started. The second volume of the poem seemed to him imperfect, and nine days before his death he burned the only copy of the manuscript. For us, only drafts of the first five chapters have been preserved, which today are considered a separate work.

Unfortunately, the trilogy was never completed. But the poem "Dead Souls" should have had a significant meaning. Its main purpose was to describe the movement of the soul, which went through a fall, purification, and then rebirth. This path to the ideal had to be passed by the main character of the poem, Chichikov.

Plot

The story told in the first volume of Dead Souls takes us to the nineteenth century. It tells about a journey through Russia undertaken by the main character, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, to acquire the so-called dead souls from the landowners. The plot of the work provides the reader complete picture manners and life of the people of that time.

Let's look at the chapters of "Dead Souls" with their plot in a little more detail. This will give general idea about a brilliant piece of literature.

Chapter first. Start

How does the work "Dead Souls" begin? The theme raised in it describes the events that took place at the time when the French were finally expelled from the territory of Russia.

At the beginning of the story, Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, who served as a collegiate adviser, arrived in one of the provincial cities. When analyzing "Dead Souls", the image of the protagonist becomes clear. The author shows him as a middle-aged man with an average build and good looks. Pavel Ivanovich is extremely inquisitive. There are situations when you can even talk about his importunity and annoying. So, at the tavern servant, he is interested in the income of the owner, and also tries to find out about all the officials of the city and about the most noble landowners. He is also interested in the state of the region to which he arrived.

The collegiate adviser does not sit alone. He visits all officials, finding them right approach and choosing words that are pleasant for people. That is why they treat him just as well, which even surprises Chichikov a little, who has experienced many negative reactions towards himself and even survived the assassination attempt.

The main purpose of Pavel Ivanovich's visit was to find a place for quiet life. To do this, when attending a party in the governor's house, he meets two landowners - Manilov and Sobakevich. At a dinner at the police chief's, Chichikov became friends with the landowner Nozdrev.

Chapter two. Manilov

The continuation of the plot is connected with Chichikov's trip to Manilov. The landowner met the official on the threshold of his estate and led him into the house. The road to Manilov's dwelling lay among the pavilions, on which signs were hung with inscriptions indicating that these were places for reflection and solitude.

Analyzing "Dead Souls", Manilov can be easily characterized by this decoration. This is a landowner who has no problems, but at the same time is too cloying. Manilov says that the arrival of such a guest is comparable for him to a sunny day and the happiest holiday. He invites Chichikov to dine. The mistress of the estate and the two sons of the landowner, Themistoclus and Alkid, are present at the table.

After a hearty dinner, Pavel Ivanovich decides to tell about the reason that brought him to these parts. Chichikov wants to buy peasants who have already died, but their death has not yet been reflected in the audit certificate. His goal is to draw up all the documents, supposedly these peasants are still alive.

How does Manilov react to this? He has dead souls. However, the landowner is initially surprised by such a proposal. But then he agrees to the deal. Chichikov leaves the estate and goes to Sobakevich. Meanwhile, Manilov begins to dream about how Pavel Ivanovich will live next door to him and what good friends they will be after his move.

Chapter three. Getting to know the Box

On the way to Sobakevich, Selifan (Chichikov's coachman) accidentally missed the right turn. And then it began to rain heavily, besides, Chichikov fell into the mud. All this forces the official to look for lodging for the night, which he found at the landowner Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka. Analysis of "Dead Souls" indicates that this lady is afraid of everything and everyone. However, Chichikov did not waste time in vain and offered to purchase deceased peasants from her. At first, the old woman was intractable, but after a visiting official promised to buy everything from her lard and hemp (but next time), she agrees.

The deal went through. The box treated Chichikov with pancakes and pies. Pavel Ivanovich, having eaten a hearty meal, drove on. And the landowner became very worried that she took little money for dead souls.

Chapter Four. Nozdrev

After visiting Korobochka, Chichikov drove out onto the main road. He decided to visit an inn along the way to have a bite to eat. And here the author wanted to give this action a certain mystery. He does digressions. In "Dead Souls" he reflects on the properties of appetite, inherent in people similar to the protagonist of his work.

While in the tavern, Chichikov meets Nozdryov. The landowner complained that he had lost money at the fair. Then they follow to the estate of Nozdrev, where Pavel Ivanovich intends to profit well.

By analyzing "Dead Souls", you can understand what Nozdrev is. This is a man who loves all sorts of stories. He tells them everywhere, wherever he is. After a hearty dinner, Chichikov decides to bargain. However, Pavel Ivanovich cannot beg for dead souls or buy them. Nozdrev sets his own conditions, which consist in an exchange or in a purchase in addition to something. The landowner even offers to use dead souls as a bet in the game.

Serious disagreements arise between Chichikov and Nozdryov, and they postpone the conversation until morning. The next day, the men agreed to play checkers. However, Nozdryov tried to deceive his opponent, which was noticed by Chichikov. In addition, it turned out that the landowner was on trial. And Chichikov had no choice but to run when he saw the police captain.

Chapter five. Sobakevich

Sobakevich continues the images of the landowners in Dead Souls. It is to him that Chichikov comes after Nozdryov. The estate he visited is a match for his master. Just as strong. The host treats the guest to dinner, talking during the meal about city officials, calling them all swindlers.

Chichikov talks about his plans. They did not frighten Sobakevich at all, and the men quickly moved on to making a deal. However, trouble began for Chichikov. Sobakevich began to bargain, talking about the most best qualities dead peasants. However, Chichikov does not need such characteristics, and he insists on his own. And here Sobakevich begins to hint at the illegality of such a deal, threatening to tell whoever needs to know about it. Chichikov had to agree to the price offered by the landowner. They sign the document, still fearing a dirty trick from each other.

There are lyrical digressions in "Dead Souls" in the fifth chapter. The author finishes the story about Chichikov's visit to Sobakevich with a discussion about the Russian language. Gogol emphasizes the diversity, strength and richness of the Russian language. Here he points to the peculiarity of our people to give each nickname associated with various misconduct or with the course of circumstances. They do not leave their master until his death.

Chapter six. Plushkin

Very interesting hero is Plushkin. "Dead Souls" shows him as a very greedy person. The landowner does not even throw away his old sole, which has fallen off his boot, and carries it into a rather decent pile of such rubbish.

However, Plyushkin sells dead souls very quickly and without bargaining. Pavel Ivanovich is very happy about this and refuses the tea with cracker offered by the owner.

Chapter seven. Deal

Having reached his original goal, Chichikov is sent to finally resolve the issue in civil chamber. Manilov and Sobakevich have already arrived in the city. The chairman agrees to become an attorney for Plyushkin and all other sellers. The deal went through, and champagne was opened for the health of the new landowner.

Chapter eight. Gossip. Ball

The city began to discuss Chichikov. Many thought he was a millionaire. The girls began to go crazy for him and send love messages. Once at the ball to the governor, he literally finds himself in the arms of the ladies. However, a sixteen-year-old blonde catches his attention. At this time, Nozdryov comes to the ball, loudly interested in buying dead shower. Chichikov had to leave in complete confusion and sadness.

Chapter nine. Benefit or love?

At this time, the landowner Korobochka arrived in the city. She decided to check if she had miscalculated with the cost of dead souls. The news about the amazing sale and purchase becomes the property of the residents of the city. People believe that dead souls are a cover for Chichikov, but in fact he dreams of taking away the blonde he likes, who is the daughter of the governor.

Chapter ten. Versions

The city literally revived. The news comes one after another. In them in question about the appointment of a new governor, about the presence of supporting papers about fake banknotes, about an insidious robber who escaped from the police, etc. There are many versions, and they all relate to Chichikov's personality. The excitation of people negatively affects the prosecutor. He dies on impact.

Chapter Eleven. Purpose of the event

Chichikov does not know what the city is talking about him. He goes to the governor, but he is not received there. In addition, people who meet him on the way shy away from the official in different directions. Everything becomes clear after Nozdryov comes to the hotel. The landowner tries to convince Chichikov that he was trying to help him kidnap the governor's daughter.

And here Gogol decides to tell about his hero and why Chichikov is buying up dead souls. The author tells the reader about childhood and schooling, where Pavel Ivanovich already showed the ingenuity given to him by nature. Gogol also tells about Chichikov's relations with comrades and teachers, about his service and work in the commission, which was located in the government building, as well as about the transition to service in customs.

The analysis of "Dead Souls" clearly indicates the makings of the protagonist, which he used to complete his deal described in the work. After all, at all places of work, Pavel Ivanovich managed to make a lot of money by concluding fake contracts and collusion. In addition, he did not disdain to work with smuggling. In order to avoid criminal punishment, Chichikov resigned. Having gone to work as an attorney, he immediately put together an insidious plan in his head. Buy Chichikov dead I wanted souls in order to pawn, as if alive, into the treasury for the sake of receiving money. Further in his plans was the purchase of a village for the sake of providing future offspring.

In part, Gogol justifies his hero. He considers him the owner, who built such an entertaining chain of transactions with his mind.

Images of landlords

These heroes of "Dead Souls" are especially vividly presented in five chapters. Moreover, each of them is dedicated to only one landowner. There is a certain pattern in the placement of chapters. The images of the landlords of "Dead Souls" are arranged in them according to the degree of their degradation. Let's remember who was the first of them? Manilov. Dead Souls describes this landowner as lazy and dreamy, sentimental and practically unadapted to life. This is confirmed by many details, for example, the farm that has fallen into disrepair and the house standing southward, open to all winds. The author, using the amazing artistic power words, shows his reader the deadness of Manilov and the worthlessness of his life path. After all, behind external attractiveness there is a spiritual emptiness.

What else vivid images created in the work "Dead Souls"? Heroes-landlords in the image of the Box are people who are focused only on their household. Not without reason, at the end of the third chapter, the author draws an analogy of this landowner with all aristocratic ladies. The box is distrustful and stingy, superstitious and stubborn. In addition, she is narrow-minded, petty and narrow-minded.

Next in terms of degradation is Nozdrev. Like many other landowners, he does not change with age, without even trying to develop internally. The image of Nozdryov embodies a portrait of a reveler and a braggart, a drunkard and a cheater. This landowner is passionate and energetic, but all of his positive traits go to waste. The image of Nozdryov is as typical as the previous landowners. And this is emphasized by the author in his statements.

Describing Sobakevich, Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol resorts to comparing him with a bear. In addition to clumsiness, the author describes his parodic inverted heroic power, earthiness and rudeness.

But the ultimate degree of degradation is described by Gogol in the form of the richest landowner in the province - Plyushkin. During his biography, this man went from a thrifty owner to a half-crazy miser. And it was not social conditions that brought him to this state. Plyushkin's moral decline provoked loneliness.

Thus, all the landlords in the poem "Dead Souls" are united by such features as idleness and inhumanity, as well as spiritual emptiness. And he opposes this world of truly "dead souls" with faith in the inexhaustible potential of the "mysterious" Russian people. Not without reason, in the finale of the work, an image of an endless road appears, along which a trinity bird rushes. And in this movement, the writer's confidence in the possibility of the spiritual transformation of mankind and in the great destiny of Russia is manifested.

1. Most interesting place in the poem, these are chapters dedicated to five landowners.
2. The image of Manilov.
3. Image of the Box.
4. The image of Sobakevich.
5. The image of Nozdryov!
6. The image of Plushkin.
7. The role of the images of landowners in the novel.

The most interesting place in I. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is the chapters devoted to five landowners: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin. It is easy to see that the chapters are arranged in a special sequence: from the least to the greatest degree of degradation of the characters.

The surname of the landowner Manilov is derived from the verb "beckon". The main features of this character are dreaminess, sentimentality and laziness. Gogol characterizes his hero as follows: "...a man is so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan." Manilov's house is located on the Jura, which is blown by all the winds, which speaks of his frivolity and inability to think realistically. The landowner is very fond of indulging in his dreams in the gazebo, on which the inscription flaunts: "The Temple of Solitary Reflection." This is the only secluded place for Manilov, where he can calmly fantasize about some completely unrealistic projects. But, as it seems to him, to dig an underground passage from the house or build a stone bridge across the pond - these are quite normal ideas. Housekeeping is not part of Manilov. In his estate, everything goes awry, and the hero does not even care about this.

Gogol says that Manilov's hospitality and good looks are too cloying: "In the first minute of a conversation with him, you cannot but say:" What a pleasant good person!" The next ... you won’t say anything, but the third you’ll say: “The devil knows what it is!” - and move away! .. ". This is manifested not only in the manners of the landowner, but also in his relationship with his wife. They lisp all the time with each other, and this amuses the author a lot.

The image of this hero has become one of the key for literature. From him came the name of such a phenomenon as "Manilovism", which means the unnaturalness of a person.

Another no less striking character in the story is the landowner Korobochka. Her surname was chosen by Gogol not by chance. By nature, the landowner is immensely economical and superstitious. The box belongs to the type of women who can cry for a crop failure, but still always save themselves a pretty penny. Her chest of drawers, besides all the nonsense, is filled with bags of money. The box is very petty, she only cares about housekeeping, in it she sees the meaning of life. Gogol endows her entourage with "animal" surnames: Bobrov and Svinin, which once again emphasizes that the heroine is only interested in her estate. The author highlights, among other "merits" of his character, his clubhead. Korobochka shows this quality in a situation where Chichikov is trying to negotiate with her about the sale of "dead souls". The heroine thinks that her interlocutor is going to dig out of the graves dead peasants. She is not in a hurry to sell her "wealth", but instead she tries to slip hemp and honey. Korobochka agrees to Chichikov's proposal only after he mentions the devil.

The next landowner visited by Chichikov was Sobakevich. His image was compiled by N.V. Gogol from everything big: big boots, cheesecakes “much larger than a plate”, “a turkey as tall as a calf”. Even the health of this character is heroic. Thanks to such descriptions, the author achieves comic effect. Parodying the great feats of heroes, Gogol thereby emphasizes the true essence of Sobakevich himself, whose main qualities can be called rudeness and clumsiness. All items in the house are as bulky and clumsy as their owner: a table, chairs, a wooden bureau - everything seems to be shouting: “And I, too, Sobakevich!”. In his opinion, everyone around is liars and the last scammers. He doesn't care at all human soul, interest for Sobakevich is only in money.

From the foregoing, we can conclude that Sobakevich is one of the most "dead souls" of the poem. There is nothing spiritual for him. Valuable for this hero are only money and things. He is only interested in "earthly" affairs.

Most bright character, in my opinion, is Nozdrev. This is the image of an inveterate reveler. The author is ironic about his character, speaking of him as a "historical" person. In relation to his hero, Gogol uses the figurative meaning of this word. Nozdryov's "historicism" lies in the fact that he always gets into some kind of story: either he gets drunk in the buffet, or he lies mercilessly about the supposedly acquired horse. Like any rake, he loves women. But most main feature Nozdrevskaya character is a great desire to "spoil one's neighbor." Not once did he commit despicable deeds. For example, he told fictitious stories, disrupted a wedding, upset a trade deal, etc. But the most outstanding thing in his character is that after all his tricks he, without a twinge of conscience, continued to consider himself a comrade of the victim.

According to tradition, in the poem, the situation in the house of each landowner corresponds to the character of his owner. So the dwelling of Nozdryov is saturated with the spirit of excitement and boasting. According to Nozdrev himself, in his possessions there was once "a fish of such size that two people could hardly pull out a thing." The walls of his choir are haphazardly filled with paint, as the peasants whitewash them. His office is filled with weapons instead of books and papers. Nozdryov likes to change one thing for another, but not because of money or some other material interest, but simply because he is fascinated by this process. Since all kinds of tricks are main passion character, it is not difficult for him to cheat Chichikov, whom Nozdryov gets drunk and tries to deceive when playing checkers.

What else can be said about Nozdrev? His description will tell everything much better: “... he sometimes returned home with only one sideburn, and then quite thin. But his healthy and full cheeks were so well created and contained so much plant power that the sideburns soon grew again, even better than before.

And the final image in the gallery of Russian "dead souls" is a landowner named Plyushkin. As you know, in the poem all the surnames are speaking. Only "Plyushkin" is given in a figurative sense. It looks more like not a rich bun, but a completely dried-up cracker. The image of the landowner Plyushkin is very sloppy. Gogol mentions his double chin, which has to be constantly covered, as well as a greasy dressing gown, which causes nothing but disgust in the reader. The author gives his hero a very capacious definition: "a hole in humanity." This character is a symbol of decadent mood and decay of all living things. And again the house speaks for its owner: the bread in the pantries is rotting, the gates and the fence are covered with mold, and the roofs in the huts are completely leaky. Gogol adds short story about the fate of his hero, whose wife first died, and after that his daughter fled with the headquarters captain. These events were the last moments for Plushkin. real life. After that time for the hero stopped.

All images of N. V. Gogol are very bright and unique in their own way. But there is one the main idea that unites them. The author, showing illustrative examples of the degradation of mankind, urges readers not to become " dead soul", but always stay "alive".

Pavel Ivanovich CHICHIKOV lives according to his father's behest: to protect and multiply a penny, using all methods and means.

An idea has ripened in his head: to buy "dead souls" and turn into a fantastically rich person who will be loved, respected and honored for this.

A man with an ordinary appearance, a good education begins to implement his plan. He seeks his own approach to each landowner: he praises Manilov for his children and the arrangement of life, Korobochka for housekeeping, Sobakevich for a commercial vein ... He is an excellent psychologist, and he almost succeeded in implementing the plan. But then there were still "bright heads of our time" who revealed the whole deception. It is not worth deceiving the state: you will lose honor and you will not gain honor. I think that Chichikov's evolution "went" the wrong way, and the father's precepts were not the same ...

Manilov is a pleasant person in all respects. Sweet, gentle, courteous. His eyes are the color of the sky, he smiles all the time, but, the gogol notices. they have too much sugar in them. There is no loiki in his speech. On the table - neat hills of ash,. Absolutely mismanaged Has no idea how many serfs he has. For all questions, contact the clerk. An apple orchard could appear on its land, but instead we see some stunted birch trees and a complete lack of greenery.

The landowner MANILOV is worthless, stupid in his dreams, impractical. In his room there is expensive furniture, an elegant candlestick, and next, in contrast, there are armchairs covered with coarse matting and some kind of statuette of a disabled person. He himself seems to be a cripple.

Manilov has an unusual lightness in his thoughts. He "projects" a house with a long underground passage, or a stone bridge. Why does he need this - our hero himself does not know, especially since the bridge will be over the pond. His children, named after the great Greeks, are ill-mannered, undeveloped, do not know how to behave correctly even at the dinner table. And who brings them reasonable and eternal? Manilov himself, who has been reading the book for many years, is on the fourteenth page.

Conclusion: Manilov is outwardly pleasant, but inwardly he is an empty person, neither this nor that ...

PLYUSHKIN is "a hole in humanity". Gogol describes in detail the destroyed houses of his peasants, the mountains of rotten bread, his own dwelling, which seemed to be an invalid. Only the garden shines with eternal beauty, but this is a miracle of nature, and not the result of Plyushkin's activity.

The figure of the landowner is strange. He does not look like a woman or a man, but, most likely, just a poor creature who wants to give alms. He has a lot of good things, but greed, his desire to beg, to accumulate, led to an absolute moral decline.

His peasants are dying like flies, he does not trust people, he is hostile to the world.

Things replaced him real people. Gogol writes: "And a person could descend to the same insignificance, pettiness, vileness!"

Heroes of N. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"

There is no doubt that Gogol's laughter originated long before Gogol: in Fonvizin's comedy, in Krylov's fables, in Pushkin's epigrams, in representatives Famus Society at Griboyedov. What was Gogol laughing at? He laughed not at the monarchy, not at the church, and not even at serfdom. Gogol laughed at human lack of spirituality, at spiritual deadness, at the absurdity and stupidity of people who have deprived themselves of spiritual interests, values ​​and ideals. It is known that in the works of Gogol there are no positive characters. The writer sincerely sought to create such characters, but he did not succeed. For Gogol, the most important thing was the merciless denunciation of the vulgarity of Russian life. “Had I depicted picture monsters, they would have forgiven me, but they didn’t forgive me for vulgarity. The Russian man was frightened by his insignificance ... ”- wrote Gogol. Many years have passed since his death, but everyone remembers and knows the name of this wonderful writer. Why? Yes, because the heroes of his works exist in our time. The Chichikovs, Manilovs, Korobochki, Nozdrevs, Khlestakovs did not hatch to the end. However, there were fewer of them.

The heroes of the poem "Dead Souls", created under the direct influence of Pushkin, truly seem to us "familiar strangers." The portrait gallery of this work is opened by Manilov. He is by nature courteous, kind, polite, but all this has taken on him ridiculous, ugly forms. He did nothing for anyone or anything. Neither great nor small deeds can be expected from Manilov and others like him. Gogol exposed the phenomenon of Manilovism, which characterizes the bureaucracy of Russia. The word "manilovism" has become a household word. Manilov is terrifying to Gogol. While this landowner prospers and dreams, his estate is being destroyed, the peasants have forgotten how to work - they get drunk, slovenly. But the landowner's duty is to organize the life of his serfs, to give them the opportunity to live and work for their own benefit. "Manilovshchina" is greater than Manilov himself. "Manilovism", if it is considered not only as a universal phenomenon, but as a phenomenon of a certain era and specific environment, was highly characteristic of the highest bureaucratic and bureaucratic system of Russia Provincial landowner Manilov imitated the "first landowner of Russia" - Nicholas the First and his entourage. Gogol portrayed the "Manilovism" of the upper classes through its reflection in the provincial environment. And so far in our lives we often meet people like Manilov, which is why, when reading "Dead Souls", this hero seems to us a "familiar stranger."

Following Manilov, Gogol shows Korobochka, one of “those mothers, small landowners who cry for crop failures and losses, and meanwhile they collect a little money in bags placed in chests of drawers.” The box has no claim to high culture Like Manilov, she does not indulge in empty fantasies, all her thoughts and desires revolve around the economy. Chichikov calls Korobochka "club-headed". This apt definition fully illuminates the psychology of the landowner. Agree that in our life such boxes are also very common. These people have turned into hard-hearted and greedy types, striving for hoarding and regretting donating a few pennies to a beggar.

The image of Nozdrev is also typical in our time. He is carried away by drunken revelry, violent fun, card game. In the presence of Nozdryov, not a single society could do without scandalous stories, therefore the author ironically calls Nozdryov “ historical man". Chatter, boasting, lies - the most typical features Nozdryova. According to Chichikov, Nozdrev is a “rubbish man”. He behaves cheekily, impudently and has a "passion to spoil his neighbor."

Sobakevich, unlike Manilov and Nozdrev, is associated with economic activity. He is a cunning rogue. Gogol ruthlessly exposes the greedy hoarder, who was “medved” by the system of serfdom. Sobakevich's interests are limited. The purpose of his life is material enrichment and delicious food. And how many people living by the same principle are found in our reality?

Another hero of "Dead Souls" is Plyushkin, as if crowning the gallery of provincial landowners. "A hole in humanity" - that's what Gogol calls it. It is in this person that pettiness, insignificance and vulgarity reach their ultimate expression. Avarice and passion for hoarding deprived Plyushkin human feelings and brought him to a monstrous deformity. In people, he saw only plunderers of his property. Plyushkin himself did not go anywhere and did not invite anyone to visit him. He kicked out his daughter and cursed his son. His people were dying like flies, many of his serfs were on the run. In Plyushkin himself and in his house, movement is felt - but this is a movement of decay, decay. How terrible is this man! And how terrible it is that in modern reality there are such people, only, no doubt, appearing before us in a slightly different guise. Thus, Plyushkin also seems to us to be a “familiar stranger”.

“Dead souls” shocked all of Russia,” Herzen noted. The serf-owning nobles, who recognized themselves in different faces of Gogol's new work, reactionary criticism angrily condemned both the author and the poem, accusing Gogol of not loving Russia, that this was a mockery of Russian society. Gogol knew how representatives of the ruling classes would react to his work, but he considered it his duty to Russia and the people to “show, at least from one side, all of Russia.”

central hero poem is Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. It stands out against the general background of activity, activity. This figure of an entrepreneur is new in Russian literature. Gogol shows how Chichikov's ability to adapt to any situation, to navigate in any situation has developed. The father gave advice to young Chichikov: “You will do everything and break everything in the world with a penny.” Chichikov’s whole life became a chain of fraudulent machinations and crimes. Pavel Ivanovich shows tremendous efforts and inexhaustible ingenuity, embarks on any scams, if they promise success, they promise a treasured penny. Chichikov quickly orients himself in any situation, fascinates everywhere, even admires some. In my opinion, Chichikov seems to us more than others as a “familiar stranger”, because even now life philosophy many of our "entrepreneurs" became the slogan:

"Hooked - dragged, broke - do not ask." Many people think: if “you can’t take the straight road”, then “the oblique road is more straight”. And in general, all of Gogol's work is presented as a gallery of "familiar strangers." Recall Khlestakov from the comedy "The Government Inspector". Is it not possible to argue that its features are inherent in every person to one degree or another? “Let everyone find a particle of himself in this role and at the same time look around, without fear and fear, so that someone does not point a finger at him and would not call him by name. Everyone, even for a minute, if not for a few minutes, was or is being done by Khlestakov, but, naturally, he just doesn’t want to admit it, ”Gogol himself wrote.

Thus, in our real life we often meet people in whom we notice the vices of certain Gogol characters. That is why his works are alive, they are loved, they are brought up according to them. Now in our country there are big changes, are rethought human values, but the ideas of Gogol the prophet are modern even now. Gogol is dear to us, because he, like no other of his predecessors, portrayed the moral essence and moral qualities of people, which, undoubtedly, are inherent in all of us to this day.