A message about Chichikov's dead souls. All the spiritual qualities of Chichikov. The image of the main character in the work

>Characteristics of heroes Dead Souls

Characteristics of the hero Chichikov

Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich is the main character of N.V. Gogol’s work “Dead Souls”, a former official, and now a schemer. He came up with the idea of ​​a scam involving the dead souls of peasants. This character is present in all chapters. He travels around Russia all the time, meets wealthy landowners and officials, gains their trust, and then tries to pull off all sorts of frauds. Chichikov is a new type of adventurer-inventor in Russian literature. The author himself partially justifies Chichikov’s actions, since he sees that he is not hopeless.

Outwardly, this character is not bad. He is not very fat, but not thin either, he does not look old, but he is no longer young. The main features of the hero are averageness and enterprise. His averageness is manifested not only in his appearance, but also in his manner of communication. He always speaks “neither loudly nor quietly, but absolutely as he should,” knows how to find an approach to everyone, and is known everywhere as “his man.” Chichikov has a little bit of everything. He is enterprising, but does not show rude efficiency, like Sobakevich. He does not have the dreaminess of Manilov, the innocence of Korobochka and the riotousness of Nozdryov. This person is active and active, he saves every penny, even the inheritance he receives does not squander, but increases it. At the same time, he is not prone to unbridled greed like Plyushkin. For Chichikov, money is not a goal, but a means. He just wants to ensure a decent existence for himself.

Little is known about the hero’s childhood and youth. Parents were nobles. His father strongly recommended that he hang out only with the rich and always please his superiors. He didn’t say anything about such things as a sense of duty, honor and dignity, so Pavel grew up like that. He himself quickly realized that such high values ​​interfered with the achievement of his cherished goal, which is why he made his way through his own efforts, drowning out the voice of conscience. At school he was a diligent student, but without talent. The only thing he knew how to do was sell things to his comrades and perform tricks for money. After studying, he entered the service in the government chamber. Then he changed more than one job and wanted to make money everywhere. When he once again had to start all over again, he came up with the idea of ​​“dead souls.” Despite the fact that Chichikov is a rogue and a swindler, the hero’s tenacity and ingenuity do not go unnoticed.

Article menu:

It often happens that it is not enough for us to know about the actions or opinions of another person; we want to have a complete understanding of him, even when his external data in no way affects his type of activity or is not relevant to the subject of discussion. This pattern has its reasons. Often, peering into a person’s face, we try to lament something hidden, something that he does not want to talk about. Therefore, the appearance of any character is important for comparing his characteristics and actions.

Who is Chichikov

Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is a former official of a “cautious and chilled character.”
Until the last chapter of the work, many facts of the biography and origin of Pavel Ivanovich remain hidden for us; we can guess about some points based on their hints from the hero, and only after reading the last pages will we learn the true picture.

Chichikov is of humble origin. As he himself says, “without family or tribe.” And this is not an exaggeration. His parents really were simple people, this fact confuses Pavel Ivanovich, but, nevertheless, at some points he makes mention of this in society, citing the fact that such a position in society will help win over the landowners and they will become more accommodating. Despite his humble origins, Pavel Ivanovich managed to become a man of “brilliant education,” but “Chichikov did not know French at all” (this is the privilege of aristocrats). He was especially gifted in the exact sciences; he could quickly and easily make calculations in his head - “he was strong in arithmetic.”

Passion for accumulating money

The judgment that events that occurred in childhood properly influence the character, the process of formation of principles and moral principles of a person, has long passed from the category of assumptions to the category of axioms. We find confirmation of this in Chichikov.

After working for some time as a collegiate official, he resigned and seriously began to look for a way to enrich himself. By the way, the thought of the need to improve his financial situation never left Pavel Ivanovich, despite the fact that it arose in him from an early age.

The reason for this was the humble origin of the protagonist and the poverty he experienced in his childhood. This is confirmed in the last paragraphs of the work, where the reader can observe the picture of young Chichikov’s departure to study. His parents warmly and reverently say goodbye to him, giving advice that would help their son take a more advantageous position in society:

“Look, Pavlusha, study, don’t be stupid and don’t act out, but most of all please your teachers and bosses. Don’t hang out with your comrades, they won’t teach you any good; hang out with those who are richer, so that on occasion they can be useful to you. Don’t treat or treat anyone, take care and save a penny: this thing is more reliable than anything in the world. A comrade or friend will deceive you and in trouble will be the first to betray you, but a penny will not betray you, no matter what trouble you are in. You will do everything and ruin everything in the world with a penny.”

Gogol does not depict in detail the life of Pavel’s parents - a few snatched facts do not give a complete picture, but Nikolai Vasilyevich manages to achieve understanding among readers that the parents were honest and respectable people. They have felt the burden of earning a piece of bread and do not want their son to work hard as well, which is why they give him such unusual recommendations.

Chichikov tries his best to follow his parents' advice. And therefore, he manages to achieve significant results, but not as high as he wanted.

He learned to earn money and save it, denying himself everything he could. True, his earnings were based on an unfair and insidious method: in his behavior with his classmates, he was able to arrange the situation in such a way that “they treated him, and he, having hidden the received treat, then sold it to them.” “He didn’t have any special abilities for any science,” but he could skillfully craft, for example, he molded a bullfinch from wax and managed to sell it at a good price. He knew how to communicate with animals, and he had a talent for training animals. Pavlusha - caught a mouse and taught it several tricks: it “stood on its hind legs, lay down and stood up when ordered.” They also managed to sell such a curiosity for a decent sum.

Gogol does not talk about how his father’s death affected Chichikov. The only thing he tells the reader is that Pavel inherited from his father “four irretrievably worn sweatshirts, two old frock coats lined with sheepskin, and an insignificant amount of money.” And he adds a sarcastic comment - the father happily gave advice on getting rich, but he himself could not accumulate anything.

His further life followed the same principle - he stubbornly saved money - “everything that smacked of wealth and contentment made an impression on him that was incomprehensible to himself.” But an economical life does not allow him to accumulate large capital, and this fact saddens him very much - he decides to get rich in any way. Over time, a loophole was found and Chichikov rushes to take advantage of it, trying to get rich by fraud. To do this, he travels to villages and tries to buy “dead souls” from local landowners, so that later, passing them off as real living people, he can sell them at a better price.

Appearance and character traits

Pavel Ivanovich is a stately man of middle age and “pleasant appearance”: “neither too fat, nor too thin; I can’t say that I’m old, but I can’t say that I’m too young.”

It has just the right amount of everything - if it were a little fuller it would be too much and spoil it significantly. Chichikov himself also finds himself attractive. In his opinion, he has a beautiful face with an unusually beautiful chin.

He doesn't smoke, doesn't play cards, doesn't dance and doesn't like to drive fast. In fact, all of these preferences are associated with avoiding financial costs: tobacco costs money, added to this is the fear that the “pipe will dry out,” you can lose significantly at cards, in order to dance, you first need to learn how to do it, and this is also a waste—and This does not impress the main character; he tries to save as much as possible, because “a penny opens any door.”

The fact that Chichikov has an ignoble origin allowed him to outline for himself the ideal of a person close to high society (he knows perfectly well what, in addition to financial and social status, distinguishes aristocrats, what first of all catches the eye and impresses people).

First of all, Chichikov is an undeniable pedant and a neat freak. He is very principled in terms of hygiene: when he needed to wash, he “rubbed both cheeks with soap for an extremely long time,” wiped his entire body with a damp sponge, “which was done only on Sundays,” and diligently exterminated the hair that came out of his nose. This has an unusually positive impression on the district landowners - they are very surprised by such habits, I consider them a sign of high society.

The following qualities that noticeably distinguish him from the crowd are knowledge and understanding of the basics of psychology and the ability to flatter a person. His praises always know the measure - there are not many and not little - just enough so that a person does not suspect deception: “he very skillfully knew how to flatter everyone.”

Due to his duty and, looking at his origin, Chichikov witnessed various scenes, he was able to study the types of behavior of different people and now in communication he easily found the key to the trust of any person. He understood perfectly well what, to whom and in what form he needed to be told so that a person would stop distrusting him: he, “who really knew the great secret, would be liked.”

Chichikov is a person of exceptional upbringing and tact in communication. Many people find him charming, he has “charming qualities and techniques,” and his behavior in society is admired: “he did not like to allow himself to be treated with familiarity in any case.”

His efforts in the area of ​​flattery are not in vain. The landowners, and even the governor of the city N himself, soon spoke of him as a man of the purest thoughts and aspirations. He is an ideal for them, an example to follow, everyone is ready to vouch for him.

But still, Chichikov does not always manage to find the key to the heart of the bosses and the aristocracy. The stumbling block was the new boss, appointed “in place of the previous mattress, a military man, strict, an enemy of bribe-takers and everything that is called untruth.” He didn’t like Chichikov right away, and no matter how hard Pavel Ivanovich tried, “he just couldn’t get in, no matter how hard he tried.”

He behaved carefully with women, because he knew that they were too destructive for men: “their eyes are such an endless state into which a person has driven - and remember what their name was.” In general, it was not particularly difficult for him to distance himself - romantic impulses were alien to him, he could find women beautiful, but the matter did not progress beyond these remarks.

Like any other person from ordinary people, he takes care of all the attributes of social life - he carefully folds letters and papers, monitors the condition of his clothes and stroller - everything about him must be impeccable. He must give the impression of a successful and promising person, so he always has a clean, rather expensive suit and a “beautiful small spring chaise.”

He thinks that any flaws, even the smallest ones, can cause a significant blow to his reputation.

In the story, justice prevails - Chichikov’s deception is revealed. He has no choice but to leave the city.

Thus, The Image of Chichikov is one of the examples when the writer’s fiction provides the reader with a unique basis for analyzing various problems of society. This is an indisputable fact, the character of the story has taken root in society so much that all global deceivers began to be called after him. The image itself is not devoid of positive character traits, but their number and significance against the general background of the image do not give the right to talk about Pavel Ivanovich as a positive person.

You may also be interested

The image of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is perhaps the most successful of Gogol's caricatures. The life story of only this character, who plays the main role in the poem “Dead Souls,” is revealed by the author in great detail. The novelty of the character he took on forced the writer to engage in such an artistic and comprehensive study.

Pavel Ivanovich combines many of the features of the landowners of that time. The hero would not be complete without a description in the eleventh chapter of the conditions in which his formation took place.

As an inheritance from an impoverished nobleman, Pavel Ivanovich received some copper and instructions to study well and please everyone, and to save and save money. He took the absence of lofty words about debt in the will literally. And life itself soon confirmed that these concepts did not lead to anything good (in his understanding). At school, Pavlushi’s knowledge, behavior, and respectfulness evoked only approval and praise from the teachers, who set the boy as an example to other students. Having entered the government chamber after studying, he continues to please his boss and show attention to his daughter. The same behavior is characteristic of him in any situation. Chichikov quickly realized: in order to please a person, you need to talk to him about his interests, about topics close to him. This behavior helps him remain his own person in any society. Gradually, Pavel Ivanovich drowns out his still living soul, tries not to hear the quiet voice of conscience, builds his happiness on the misfortune of others. And all this for their own benefit. The tools that Chichikov skillfully and actively uses are fraud and deception, theft from the treasury, insult, and bribery. Constant accumulation and acquisition become the meaning of life for the main character. And at the same time, Chichikov needs money not for its own sake. They serve as a means to achieve a good, prosperous life for his family. The image of Chichikov differs sharply from other characters in his determination and strength of character. He achieves his goal by any means, showing extraordinary resourcefulness, resourcefulness, and perseverance.

Chichikov in the poem “Dead Souls” is not like everyone else in his activity, activity, and enterprise. Manilov’s head in the clouds and Korobochka’s naivety are not characteristic of him. He cannot be compared with the miser Plyushkin, but Nozdryov’s careless wastefulness is also not for him. The entrepreneurial spirit of this hero is far from the businesslike nature of Sobakevich. All these qualities indicate the clear superiority of Pavel Ivanovich over other characters in the poem.

The image of Chichikov is incredibly multifaceted. People like him are very difficult to immediately unravel, to understand what they really are. Chichikov managed to please most residents of the city as soon as he appeared in it. He managed to present himself as a secular, developed and decent person. During the conversation, he finds an individual key to everyone in whom he is interested. His ostentatious goodwill is only a means to profitably use the high position of the right people. It costs nothing for Chichikov to reincarnate, change his behavior and at the same time not forget about his own goals. His ability to adapt to everyone is amazing. When Pavel Ivanovich bargains with Manilov, he shows delicacy, sensitivity and courtesy. But with Korobochka, on the contrary, he behaves assertively, rudely, and impatiently. He understands that Plyushkin is very easy to persuade; he must speak to Sobakevich in a businesslike manner. The energy of the main character is tireless, but it is aimed at low actions.

The image of Chichikov is an example of a trader and entrepreneur, a new type of person, whom Gogol defined as a vile, vile, “dead soul.”

Poem "Dead Souls" occupies a special place in Gogol's work. The writer considered this work to be the main work of his life, the spiritual testament of Pushkin, who suggested to him the basis of the plot. In the poem, the author reflected the way of life and morals of different layers of society - peasants, landowners, officials. The images in the poem, according to the author, “are not at all portraits of insignificant people; on the contrary, they contain the features of those who consider themselves better than others.” The poem shows landowners, owners of serf souls, “masters” of life, in close-up. Gogol consistently, from hero to hero, reveals their characters and shows the insignificance of their existence. Starting with Manilov and ending with Plyushkin, the author intensifies his satire and exposes the criminal world of landowner-bureaucratic Russia.

The main character of the work is Chichikov- until the last chapter of the first volume remains a mystery to everyone: both for officials of the city of N and for readers. The author reveals the inner world of Pavel Ivanovich in scenes of his meetings with landowners. Gogol draws attention to the fact that Chichikov is constantly changing and almost copies the behavior of his interlocutors. Talking about Chichikov’s meeting with Korobochka, Gogol says that in Russia a person talks differently to the owners of two hundred, three hundred, five hundred souls: “... even if you reach a million, there will be all shades.”

Chichikov has studied people well, knows how to find a benefit in any situation, and always says what they would like to hear from him. So, with Manilov, Chichikov is pompous, amiable and flattering. He talks to Korobochka without any special ceremony, and his vocabulary is in tune with the style of the hostess. Communication with the arrogant liar Nozdryov is not easy, since Pavel Ivanovich does not tolerate familiar treatment, “...unless the person is of too high a rank.” However, hoping for a profitable deal, he does not leave Nozdryov’s estate until the last moment and tries to become like him: he addresses himself as “you,” adopts a boorish tone, and behaves familiarly. The image of Sobakevich, personifying the thoroughness of a landowner's life, immediately prompts Pavel Ivanovich to conduct as thorough a conversation as possible about dead souls. Chichikov manages to win over the “hole in the human body” - Plyushkin, who has long lost contact with the outside world and forgotten the norms of politeness. To do this, it was enough for him to play the role of a “motishka”, ready, at a loss to himself, to save a casual acquaintance from the need to pay taxes for dead peasants.

It is not difficult for Chichikov to change his appearance, because he has all the qualities that form the basis of the characters of the depicted landowners. This is confirmed by the episodes in the poem where Chichikov is left alone with himself and does not need to adapt to those around him. While examining the city of N, Pavel Ivanovich “teared off a poster nailed to a post so that when he came home, he could read it thoroughly,” and after reading it, “he folded it neatly and put it in his little chest, where he used to put everything he came across.” This is reminiscent of the habits of Plyushkin, who collected and stored various kinds of rags and toothpicks. The colorlessness and uncertainty that accompany Chichikov until the last pages of the first volume of the poem make him similar to Manilov. That is why officials of the provincial city are making ridiculous guesses, trying to establish the true identity of the hero. Chichikova's love for neatly and pedantically arranging everything in his little chest brings him closer to Korobochka. Nozdryov notices that Chichikov looks like Sobakevich. All this suggests that in the character of the main character, as in a mirror, the traits of all landowners were reflected: Manilov’s love for meaningless conversations and “noble” gestures, and Korobochka’s pettiness, and Nozdryov’s narcissism, and Sobakevich’s rudeness, and Plyushkin’s hoarding.

And at the same time, Chichikov differs sharply from the landowners shown in the first chapters of the poem. He has a different psychology than Manilov, Sobakevich, Nozdryov and other landowners. He is characterized by extraordinary energy, business acumen, and determination, although morally he does not rise at all above the owners of serf souls. Many years of bureaucratic activity left a noticeable imprint on his demeanor and speech. Evidence of this is the warm welcome given to him in the provincial “high society”. Among officials and landowners, he is a new person, an acquirer who will replace the Manilovs, Nozdrevs, Sobakeviches and Plyushkins.

Chichikov's soul, just like the souls of landowners and officials, became dead. The “brilliant joy of life” is inaccessible to him; he is almost completely devoid of human feelings. In order to achieve his practical goals, he pacified his blood, which “played strongly.”

Gogol sought to understand the psychological nature of Chichikov as a new phenomenon, and for this, in the last chapter of the poem he talks about his life. Chichikov's biography explains the formation of the character revealed in the poem. The hero's childhood was dull and joyless, without friends and maternal affection, with constant reproaches from his sick father, and could not but affect his future fate. His father left him an inheritance of half a copper and a covenant to study diligently, please teachers and bosses, and, most importantly, save a penny. Pavlusha learned his father’s instructions well and directed all his energy towards achieving his cherished goal - wealth. He quickly realized that all lofty concepts only interfere with the achievement of his goal, and began to make his own way. At first, he acted childishly and straightforwardly - he pleased the teacher in every possible way and thanks to this he became his favorite. As he grew up, he realized that you can find a special approach to each person, and began to achieve more significant success. Promising to marry the daughter of his boss, he received a position as a military officer. While serving at customs, he managed to convince his superiors of his integrity, and later established contacts with smugglers and made a huge fortune. All of Chichikov’s brilliant victories ultimately ended in failure, but no failures could break his thirst for profit.

However, the author notes that in Chichikov, unlike Plyushkin, “there was no attachment to money for the sake of money, he was not possessed by miserliness and stinginess. No, it was not they who moved him - he imagined life ahead in all its pleasures, so that finally later, over time, he would certainly taste all this, that’s why the penny was saved.” Gogol notes that the main character of the poem is the only character capable of manifesting the movements of the soul. “Apparently the Chichikovs also turn into poets for a few minutes,” says the author, when his hero stops “as if stunned by a blow” in front of the governor’s young daughter. And it was precisely this “human” movement of the soul that led to the failure of his promising venture. According to the author, sincerity, sincerity and selflessness are the most dangerous qualities in a world where cynicism, lies and profit reign. The fact that Gogol transferred his hero to the second volume of the poem suggests that he believed in his spiritual revival. In the second volume of the poem, the writer planned to spiritually “cleanse” Chichikov and put him on the path of spiritual resurrection. The resurrection of the “hero of the time,” according to him, was supposed to be the beginning of the resurrection of the entire society. But, unfortunately, the second volume of “Dead Souls” was burned, and the third was not written, so we can only guess how Chichikov’s moral revival took place.

All topics in the book “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol. Summary. Features of the poem. Essays":

Summary of the poem “Dead Souls”:

The poem Dead Souls is one of the most famous works of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. The key character in it is the adventurer Chichikov. The image of the main character, masterfully drawn by the author, often becomes the subject of discussion among both professional critics and ordinary readers. To understand what this character did to deserve such attention, you need to look at the plot of the work.

The work tells about a certain official by the surname Chichikov. This man really wanted to get rich and gain weight in society. He decided to achieve his goal by buying up the so-called dead souls, that is, serfs who are owned by the landowner according to papers, although in fact they are no longer alive. Both the seller and the buyer benefited from this. Chichikov thus acquired fictitious property, against which he could take out a bank loan, and the landowner was freed from the obligation to pay taxes for the dead peasant.

The work is compulsorily studied in school. In literature classes, students are often asked to write an essay on the topic: Dead Souls. Image of Chichikov. Of course, in order to write a competent work, you need to carefully read the source and form your own idea of ​​its main character. But if for some reason this is not possible, you can find detailed information about the character. This information will be useful when writing an essay, creating comparison tables for different characters, or preparing a presentation.

Text analysis allows you to reveal all the main features image Chichikov in the poem Dead Souls. A brief summary of the character’s actions and deeds, revealing his nature, begins with an acquaintance with Chichikov.

The author briefly described the hero’s appearance at the beginning of the work. Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is a somewhat ordinary character who may meet in any historical era and at any geographical point. There is nothing remarkable in his portrait:

• his appearance is not beautiful, but not ugly either;
• physique is neither plump nor thin;
• he is no longer young, but not yet old.

Thus, in all respects, this venerable collegiate adviser maintains the “golden mean”.

Arrival of the character in “city N”

Chichikov begins your adventure from arrival in a city not named by the author. A smart man, who is also characterized by hypocrisy, he begins his activities by paying visits to the following officials:

• to the prosecutor;
• to the governor and his family;
• to the vice-governor;
• the chief of police;
• the chairman of the chamber.

Of course, a subtle calculation was visible under such behavior of Pyotr Ivanovich. The hero’s intentions are well revealed by his own quote: “Don’t have money, have good people to work with.”

Gain the favor of those who had rank and influence in the city, it was very useful for the implementation of the plan. And he succeeded to perfection. Chichikov knew how to impress the people he needed. Belittling his dignity and demonstrating his insignificance in every possible way, he demonstrated impeccable speech manners, made skillful compliments to the rulers: he admired the success of their activities and called them such unjustifiably high titles as “your excellency.” He spoke little about himself, but from his story one could conclude that he had to go through an extremely difficult life path and experience a lot for his own honesty and justice.

They began to invite him to receptions, where he maintained a favorable first impression of himself with his ability to take part in a conversation on any topic. At the same time, he behaved very decently and showed extensive knowledge about the subject of conversation. His speech was meaningful, his voice was neither quiet nor loud.

At this moment one can already catch a hint that this integrity is only a mask under which lies true character and the hero's aspirations. Chichikov divides all people into fat and thin. At the same time, fat people have a strong position in this world, while thin people only serve as executors of other people’s orders. The main character himself, of course, belongs to the first category, since he intends to firmly take his place in life. The author himself speaks about this, and this information begins to reveal another, true face of the character.

Start of activity

Chichikov begins his scam with an offer to buy non-existent peasants from the landowner Manilov. The master, burdened by the need to pay taxes for his dead servants, gave them away for free, although he was surprised at the unusual deal. In this episode, the main character is revealed as an easily addicted person, for whom success can quickly turn his head.

Having decided that the activity he has invented is safe, he heads for a new deal. His path lies to a certain Sobakevich, but the long road forces the hero to make a stop at the landowner Korobochka. As a quick-witted person, he wastes no time there either, acquiring almost two dozen more desired dead souls.

Only after escaping from Korobochka does he visit Nozdryov. The main feature of this person was the desire to ruin the lives of everyone around him. But Chichikov did not immediately understand this and carelessly decided to try his luck in a deal with this landowner. Nozdryov led the swindler by the nose for a long time. He agreed to sell souls only together with real goods, for example, a horse, or offered to win them at dominoes, but in the end Pyotr Ivanovich was left with nothing. This meeting showed that the hero of the poem is a frivolous person, unable to calculate his own actions.

Chichikov finally got to Sobakevich and outlined his proposal to him. However, the landowner turned out to be no less cunning than the buyer. His benefits he didn't want to miss out. Realizing that Pyotr Ivanovich’s actions were not entirely legal, he skillfully played on this, driving up the price of non-existent peasants. This made Chichikov very tired, but he showed determination. Ultimately, the seller and buyer reached a compromise and the deal was completed.

While Sobakevich was bargaining, he said a few words about a certain Plyushkin, and the hero went to visit this landowner. The master's household did not evoke positive emotions among the newcomer. Everything there was in disrepair, and the owner himself had a dirty, unkempt appearance. The landowner was not poor, but turned out to be a real miser. He kept all the money and things of any value hidden in chests. The painful stinginess of this character, whose name became a household name, helped Chichikov conclude a successful deal. Plyushkin was wary of this sale, but he was pleased with the opportunity to get rid of the need to pay taxes on dead peasants.

At first glance, Plyushkin did not play a big role in the plot of the work, but if you compare this character with the main character, there is something in common between them. Being a landowner and a nobleman, they were supposed to be a support for the state and an example to follow, while in reality both turned out to be useless to society as people trying to line their own pockets.

Trying to leave the city

Be that as it may, but after the deal with Plyushkin, Chichikov has reached his goal and no longer saw the need to stay in the city. In an effort to leave him as quickly as possible, he went to court to certify the authenticity of the documents. But this procedure required time, which he happily spent at receptions and surrounded by ladies interested in him.

However, the triumph turned into failure. Nozdryov hastened to expose Chichikov’s scam. This message caused a stir in the city. The guest who was accepted everywhere suddenly became unwanted.

Throughout the entire story, the reader, although he understands the dubious good intentions of the protagonist’s actions, does not yet know his full story, according to which a final opinion about Chichikov could be formed. The author talks about the origin and upbringing of the hero, as well as the events preceding his arrival in “city N,” in chapter 11.

The hero grew up in a poor family. Although they belonged to a high class of nobles, they had very few serfs at their disposal. Pavel Ivanovich's childhood was overshadowed by the lack of friends and acquaintances. When the child grew up a little, his father sent him to school. Parting with his son did not upset Ivan, but at parting he gave Pavel one instruction. The instruction spoke of the need to learn and gain the favor of those above him in position. The head of the family called money the most valuable and reliable thing that should be protected.

Chichikov followed this advice all his life. He did not have good academic abilities, but he quickly understood how to earn the love of his teachers. Quiet and meek behavior allowed him to receive a good certificate, but after graduating from college he showed his unsightly quality. His face opened up when one of the mentors who loved him found himself in an extremely difficult financial situation. For the teacher, who was almost dying of hunger, money was collected by hooligan classmates, while the diligent Chichikov stingily allocated an insignificant amount.

Meanwhile, the protagonist's father died, leaving behind a pitiful inheritance. Chichikov, who is not stingy by nature, is forced to starve and look for ways to earn money. He hires out for service and tries to work honestly, but soon realizes that such work will not bring him the desired wealth with a luxurious house, a carriage with a coachman and expensive entertainment.

Wanting to get a promotion, he wins the favor of his boss by marrying his daughter. But as soon as the goal was achieved, he no longer needed the family. While Chichikov was advancing in his career, there was a change in management. Despite all his efforts, the hero could not find a common language with the new leader and was forced to look for other ways to obtain material wealth.

Luck to become a customs official smiled on the hero in the next city. But he decided to improve his financial situation with bribes, for which he soon appeared in court. Always striving to please those in power, Chichikov had some connections that allowed him to avoid punishment for a crime.

His nature was such that he turned this discrediting episode of his life into a story about how he innocently suffered in the service.

Unfortunately, one can only judge such an interesting character as Chichikov by the first volume. The second part of the work was burned by the author himself, and he never began the third. Based on the surviving sketches and drafts, it is known that the hero tried to continue his fraudulent activities. It is unknown how the poem would have ended, but the talentedly created image is still relevant. After all, to this day on the path of life you can meet a person like Chichikov.

Description of the hero by critics

Critics, for the most part deservedly those who appreciated the poem noted this acumen and the fraudulent nature of the character. Experts made the following judgments about the hero:

1. V. G. Belinsky called him a real hero of the modern era, who sought to acquire wealth, without which it was impossible to achieve success in the emerging capitalist society. People like him bought shares or collected donations for charity, but they were all united by this desire.
2. K. S. Aksakov ignored the moral qualities of the hero, only noted his cheating. For this critic, the main thing was that Chichikov was a truly Russian person.
3. A.I. Herzen characterized the hero as the only active person, whose efforts in the end were still worth little, since they were limited to fraud.
4. V. G. Marantsman saw in the hero himself a “dead soul”, full of negative qualities and devoid of morality.
5. P. L. Weil and A. A. Genis saw in Chichikov a “little man,” that is, a simple-minded scoundrel whose activities were neither smart nor large-scale.

The final image of Chichikov is ambiguous. This clearly intelligent person sets goals to arrange his own life, but every time he chooses the wrong means to achieve this. His vigorous activity and determination could have brought him prosperity long ago, but the thirst for wealth and luxury, unavailable to him in childhood, pushes him to commit crimes and fraud.