The image of the provincial society in dead souls. Provincial Society in Gogol's poem “Dead Souls. Essay on literature on the topic: Provincial Society in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"

The male society are the provincial officials. Undoubtedly, the theme of bureaucracy is one of the central themes in Gogol's work. The writer devoted many of his works, such as, for example, the story "The Overcoat" or the comic play "The Inspector General", to various aspects of bureaucratic life. In particular, in "Dead Souls" we are presented with the provincial and higher Petersburg officials (the latter in "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin").
Denouncing the immoral, vicious, flawed natures of officials, Gogol uses the method of typification, because even in vivid and individual images (such as the police chief or Ivan Antonovich), common features inherent in all officials are revealed. Already creating portraits of officials using the technique of reification, the author, without saying anything about their spiritual qualities, character traits, only described “wide heads, tailcoats, provincial cut frock coats ...” of clerical officials or “very thick eyebrows and a slightly winking left eye” of the prosecutor, spoke of the death of souls, moral underdevelopment and baseness. None of the officials bother themselves with worries about public affairs, and the concept of civic duty and public good is completely alien to them. Idleness and idleness reign among the officials. Everyone, starting with the governor, who “was a great kind-hearted man and sewed on tulle,” spend their time senselessly and unproductively, not caring about fulfilling their official duties. It is no coincidence that Sobakevich notes that "... the prosecutor is an idle person and, probably, sits at home, ... the inspector of the medical board is also, probably, an idle person and went somewhere to play cards ... Trukhachevsky, Bezushkin - they all burden the earth for nothing ..." Mental laziness, insignificance of interests, stupid inertia form the basis of the existence and character of officials. Gogol speaks ironically about the degree of their education and culture: “... the chairman of the chamber knew Lyudmila by heart, ... the postmaster went into ... philosophy and made extracts from the Key to the Mysteries of Nature, ... who read Moskovskie vedomosti, who even completely read nothing ”. Each of the provincial governors strove to use his position for personal purposes, seeing in it a source of enrichment, a means to live freely and carelessly, without spending any work. This explains the bribery and embezzlement of the state in official circles. For bribes, officials are even capable of committing the worst, according to Gogol, crime - to inflict an unfair trial (for example, they “hushed up” the case of merchants who “went to death” during a feast). Ivan Antonovich, for example, knew how to profit from every business, being an experienced bribe-taker, he even rebuked Chichikov that he “bought peasants for a hundred thousand, and for his labors he gave one little white one”. Solicitor Zolotukha - “the first grabber and visited the guest house as if he were in his own storeroom”. He had only to blink, and he could receive any gifts from the merchants, who considered him a “benefactor,” for “even though he would take, he would never betray you”. For his ability to take bribes, the police chief was known among his friends as a “magician and wonderworker”. Gogol says with irony that this hero “managed to acquire a modern nationality”, for the writer more than once denounces the anti-nationality of officials who absolutely do not know the hardships of peasant life, who consider the people “drunkards and rioters”. In the opinion of officials, the peasants are “a wasteful and worthless people” and “they must be kept in tight hands”. It is no accident that the story of Captain Kopeikin is introduced, for in it Gogol shows that anti-nationality and anti-nationality are also characteristic of the highest Petersburg officials. Describing bureaucratic Petersburg, the city of “significant persons”, the highest bureaucratic nobility, the writer denounces their absolute indifference, cruel indifference to the fate of the defender of the homeland, doomed to certain death from hunger ... So officials, indifferent to the life of the Russian people, indifferent to the fate of Russia, official duty, use their power for personal gain and are afraid of losing the opportunity to recklessly use all the “benefits” of their position, therefore the provincial governors observe peace and friendship in their circle, where an atmosphere of nepotism and friendly agreement reigns: “... they lived in harmony with each other, were treated in a completely friendly manner, and their conversations bore the stamp of some special innocence and meekness ... "Officials need to maintain such relations in order to collect their" income "without any fear ...
This is the male society of the city of NN. If we characterize the ladies of the provincial town, then they are distinguished by external sophistication and grace: “many ladies are well dressed and in fashion”, “there is an abyss in their outfits ...”, but internally they are as empty as men, their spiritual life is poor, interests are primitive. Gogol ironically describes the "good tone" and "presentability" that distinguish ladies, in particular, their manner of speaking, which is characterized by extraordinary caution and decency in expressions: they did not say "I blew my nose", preferring to use the expression "I lightened my nose with a handkerchief", or in general the ladies spoke French, where "words appeared much harder than those mentioned." The speech I will give, a true "mixture of French with Nizhny Novgorod", is extremely comical.
Describing the ladies, Gogol even at the lexical level characterizes their essence: “... a lady flew out of the orange house ...”, “... the lady flew up the steps ... not only physical, but also spiritual, inner emptiness and underdevelopment. Indeed, outfits constitute the largest part of their interests. So, for example, a lady in all respects, pleasant and simply pleasant, carries on a meaningless conversation about the “cheerful chintz” from which the dress of one of them is made, about the material, where “the stripes are narrow, narrow, and eyes and paws pass through the entire strip ...”. In addition, gossip plays an important role in the lives of ladies, as in the life of the whole city. So, Chichikov's purchases became the subject of conversation, and the “millionaire” himself immediately became the subject of ladies' adoration. After suspicious rumors spread about Chichikov, the city split into two “opposite parties”. “The woman was engaged exclusively in the abduction of the governor’s daughter, and the man’s, the most stupid, drew attention to the dead souls” ... This is the pastime of the provincial society, gossip and empty talk is the main occupation of the city residents. Undoubtedly, Gogol continued the traditions laid down in the comedy "The Inspector General". Showing the inferiority of the provincial society, immorality, baseness of interests, spiritual callousness and emptiness of the townspeople, the writer "collects everything bad in Russia", with the help of satire denounces the vices of Russian society and realities contemporary writer reality, so hated by Gogol himself.

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Essay on literature on the topic: Provincial Society in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"

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Provincial society in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"

Provincial society.

Drawing a broad picture of the noble-landlord Russia of his time, Gogol, in addition to the local nobility, also depicts the provincial officials. In his notes to the first volume of the poem, Gogol wrote: “The idea of \u200b\u200ba city is a vacuum to the highest degree. Empty talk. Gossip that has gone beyond. How all this arose out of idleness and took on the expression of the highest ridiculous, how smart people get to the point of doing complete stupid things.

This is the life of the provincial society and its representatives and shows Gogol.

This is also the kingdom of "dead souls", idleness and inner squalor. The provincial officials are essentially no different from the uyezd ones previously drawn by Gogol in The Inspector General. Like the governor, the "miracle worker-police chief" visited the shops and the guest house as if he were in his own storeroom. " The inclination of the "free-thinker" Lyapkin-Tyapkin to read Masonic books was shared by the postmaster of the city, who "went more into philosophy and read very diligently, even at night," the books of the mystics. Khlopov's timidity was inherited by the “morgun” prosecutor, who “died with fright” from the rumors that went around the city in connection with Chichikova's purchase of dead souls. The appointment of a new governor-general frightened the provincial officials just as much and deprived them of their sanity, as the expected arrival of the inspector - uyezd. Here the same nepotism reigns, the same corruption and the same arbitrariness as in the district town; the same bribery flourishes (which is only Ivan Antonovich - "a pitcher's snout"!), the same ignorance and vulgarity. Like the heroes of The Inspector General, the officials of the provincial city are cut off from the people, from their needs and demands.

Gossip, idleness and idle talk, pettiness of interests, the pursuit of entertainment characterize the provincial ladies.

Gogol caustically ridicules the emptiness of the life of the provincial society, balls and parties, the eternal game of cards, the absurd proposals of officials about Chichikov, showing the extraordinary wretchedness of their thoughts. He scoffs at the "etiquette and many decencies of the most subtle", which the provincial ladies strictly observed both in their behavior and in words. "They never said: I blew my nose, I sweated, I spat, and they said: I relieved my nose, I got along with a handkerchief." The ladies' desire to emphasize their "culture" led them to an arrogant disregard for the Russian language. “To further refine the Russian language, almost half of the words were completely thrown out of the conversation, and therefore very often it was necessary to resort to the French language,” which, however, they were very distorted.

Such is the landlord-bureaucratic Russia as portrayed by Gogol, the Russia of “dead souls”. The writer draws it satirically. He morally destroys landlords and officials with his stunning laughter, seeing them as enemies of social progress, idlers who have cut themselves off from the people, and destroyers of the country. This is how the progressive Russian public took Gogol's poem.

Herzen wrote: “Thanks to Gogol, we finally saw them (“ noblemen ”) leaving their palaces and houses without masks, without embellishments, always drunk and overeating: slaves of power without dignity and tyrants without the compassion of their serfs, sucking the life and blood of the people with the same naturalness and naivety with which a child feeds on his mother's breast. "Dead Souls" shook the whole of Russia.

Such an accusation was necessary modern Russia... This is a case history written in a masterful hand. Gogol's poetry is a cry of horror and shame that a person who has humiliated himself from a vulgar life emits, when suddenly he notices his deserted face in the mirror.

People

Russia in the times of Gogol was ruled by landowners and officials like the heroes of Dead Souls. It is clear in what position the people, the serf peasantry, should have been.

Following Chichikov on his journey from one landlord estate to another, we observe a bleak picture of the life of the serf peasantry; his lot is poverty, disease, hunger, terrible mortality. The landowners treat the peasants as their slaves: they sell them one by one, without families; they dispose of them as things: “Perhaps I’ll give you a girl,” says Korobochka to Chichikov, she knows my way, just look! Do not bring it, the merchants have already brought one to me. In the seventh chapter, Chichikov reflects on the list of peasants he bought. And before us a picture of the life and overwork of the people, their patience and courage, violent outbursts of protest is revealed. Especially attractive are the images of Stepan Probka, endowed with heroic strength, a wonderful carpenter-builder, and Uncle Mikhei, who meekly replaced the dead Stepak in his dangerous work,

In the soul of the enslaved peasantry, there is a striving for freedom. When the peasants no longer have the strength to endure serf bondage, they run away from the landlords. However, flight did not always lead to freedom. Gogol tells the ordinary life of a fugitive: life without a passport, without work, almost always arrest, prison. But the courtyard Plyushkina Popov still preferred life in prisons to returning under the yoke of his master. Abakum Fyrov, fleeing serf bondage, went to the barge haulers.

Gogol also talks about cases of mass indignation, and the episode of the murder of assessor Drobyazhkin shows the struggle of the serf peasantry against their oppressors.

The great writer-realist, Gogol figuratively speaks of the downtroddenness of the people: with the police captain, although you don't go yourself, but only go to your place of your own cap, this cap alone will drive the peasants to the very place of their residence.

In a country where the peasants were ruled by cruel and ignorant Korobochki, Nozdryov and Sobakevichn, it was no wonder to meet stupid uncle Mityai and uncle Minay, and the yard girl Pelageya, who did not know where the right and where the left were. But Gogol sees at the same time the mighty force of the people, crushed, but not killed by serfdom. It manifests itself in Mikheev's talent. Stepan Probka, Milushkin, in the hard work and energy of the Russian man, in his ability not to lose heart under any circumstances. “A Russian person is capable of anything and gets used to any climate. Send him even to Kamchatka, but give him only warm mittens, he claps his hands, an ax in his hands, and went to chop a new hut for himself, ”officials say, discussing the resettlement of Chichikov's peasants to the Kherson province. Gogol also speaks of the high qualities of the Russian man in his remarks about the "lively people", about the "smart Yaroslavl peasant", about the wonderful ability of the Russian people to accurately describe a person in one word.

So, depicting feudal-serf Russia, Gogol showed not only landlord-bureaucratic Russia, but also people's Russia, with its staunch and freedom-loving people. He expressed his faith in the living, creative forces of the laboring masses. A vivid image of the Russian people is given by the writer in his famous assimilation of Russia to the "bird-three", personifying the essence of the national Russian character.

Provincial society in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"

Denouncing the immoral, vicious, flawed natures of officials, Gogol uses the method of typification, because even in vivid and individual images (such as the police chief or Ivan Antonovich), common features inherent in all officials are revealed. Already creating portraits of officials using the technique of reification, the author, without saying anything about their spiritual qualities, character traits, only described "wide heads, tailcoats, provincial-style frock coats ..." of clerical officials or "very thick eyebrows and a slightly winking left eye" prosecutor, talked about the death of souls, moral underdevelopment and baseness. None of the officials bother themselves with worries about public affairs, and the concept of civic duty and public good is completely alien to them. Idleness and idleness reign among the officials. Everyone, starting with the governor, who “was a great kind-hearted man and sewed on tulle,” spend their time senselessly and unproductively, not caring about fulfilling their official duties. It is no coincidence that Sobakevich notes that “... the prosecutor is an idle person and, probably, sits at home, ... the inspector of the medical board is also, probably, an idle person and went somewhere to play cards, ... Trukhachevsky, Bezushkin - they are all burden the earth for nothing ... ”. Mental laziness, insignificance of interests, stupid inertia form the basis of the existence and character of officials. Gogol speaks with irony about the degree of their education and culture: “... the chairman of the chamber knew 'Lyudmila' by heart, ... the postmaster went into ... philosophy and made excerpts from The Key to the Mysteries of Nature, ... who read ' Moskovskie vedomosti "who even read nothing at all." Each of the provincial governors strove to use his position for personal purposes, seeing in it a source of enrichment, a means to live freely and carelessly, without spending any work. This explains the bribery and embezzlement of the state in official circles. For bribes, officials are even capable of committing the worst, according to Gogol, crime - to inflict an unfair trial (for example, they “hushed up” the case of merchants who “went to death” during a feast). Ivan Antonovich, for example, knew how to profit from every business, being an experienced bribe-taker, he even rebuked Chichikov that he “bought peasants for a hundred thousand, and for his labors he gave one little white one”. Solicitor Zolotukha - “the first grabber and visited the guest house as if he were in his own storeroom”. He had only to blink, and he could receive any gifts from the merchants, who considered him a “benefactor,” for “even though he would take, he would never betray you”. For his ability to take bribes, the police chief was known among his friends as a "magician and miracle worker." Gogol says with irony that this hero “managed to acquire a modern nationality”, for the writer more than once denounces the anti-nationality of officials who absolutely do not know the hardships of peasant life, who consider the people “drunkards and rioters”. In the opinion of officials, the peasants are “a wasteful and worthless people” and “they must be kept in tight hands”. It is no coincidence that the story of Captain Kopeikin is introduced, for in it Gogol shows that anti-nationality and anti-nationality are also characteristic of the highest Petersburg officials. Describing bureaucratic Petersburg, the city of "significant persons", the highest bureaucratic nobility, the writer denounces their absolute indifference, cruel indifference to the fate of the defender of the homeland, doomed to certain death from hunger ... So officials, indifferent to the life of the Russian people, indifferent to the fate of Russia who neglect their official duty, use their power for personal gain and are afraid of losing the opportunity to recklessly use all the “benefits” of their position, therefore, the provincial governors observe peace and friendship in their circle, where an atmosphere of nepotism, friendly agreement reigns: “... they lived between themselves in harmony, treated in a completely friendly way, and their conversations bore the stamp of some special innocence and meekness ... "Officials need to maintain such relations in order to collect their" income "without any fear ...

This is the male society of the city of NN. If we characterize the ladies of the provincial town, then they are distinguished by outward sophistication and grace: “many ladies are well dressed and in fashion”, “there is an abyss in their outfits ...”, but internally they are as empty as men, their spiritual life poor, interests are primitive. Gogol ironically describes the "good tone" and "presentability" that distinguish ladies, in particular, their manner of speaking, which is characterized by extraordinary caution and decency in expressions: they did not say "I blew my nose", preferring to use the expression "I lightened my nose with a handkerchief", or in general the ladies spoke French, where "words appeared much harder than those mentioned." The speech I will give, a true "mixture of French with Nizhny Novgorod", is extremely comical.

Describing the ladies, Gogol even at the lexical level characterizes their essence: “... a lady fluttered out of the orange house ...”, “... a lady flew up the folded steps ...” With the help of metaphors, the writer “flew up” and “flew out” shows the “lightness” characteristic of a lady, not only physical, but also spiritual, inner emptiness and undevelopment. Indeed, outfits constitute the largest part of their interests. So, for example, a lady in all respects, pleasant and simply pleasant, carries on a meaningless conversation about the “cheerful chintz” from which the dress of one of them is made, about the material where “the stripes are narrow, narrow, and eyes and paws pass through the entire strip ... ”. In addition, gossip plays an important role in the lives of ladies, as in the life of the whole city. So, Chichikov's purchases became the subject of conversation, and the “millionaire” himself immediately became the subject of ladies' adoration. After suspicious rumors spread about Chichikov, the city split into two “opposite parties”. “The woman was engaged exclusively in the abduction of the governor’s daughter, and the man’s, the most stupid, drew attention to the dead souls” ... This is the pastime of the provincial society, gossip and empty talk is the main occupation of the city residents. Undoubtedly, Gogol continued the traditions laid down in the comedy "The Inspector General". Showing the inferiority of the provincial society, immorality, baseness of interests, spiritual callousness and emptiness of the townspeople, the writer “collects all that is bad in Russia,” with the help of satire denounces the vices of Russian society and the realities of contemporary reality to the writer, so hated by Gogol himself.

In notes to the first volume of Dead Souls, Gogol wrote: “The idea of \u200b\u200ba city. Gossip that has gone beyond the limits of how it all arose out of idleness and took on the expression of the highest ridiculous ... The whole city with all the whirlwind of gossip is the transformation of the inactivity of the life of all mankind in the mass ”. This is how the writer characterizes the provincial town of NN and its inhabitants. It must be said that the provincial society of Gogol's poem, as well as the famus society in Griboyedov's play "Woe from Wit", can be conditionally divided into male and female. The main representatives of the male society are the provincial officials. Undoubtedly, the theme of bureaucracy is one of the central themes in Gogol's work. The writer devoted many of his works, such as, for example, the story "The Overcoat" or the comic play "The Inspector General", to various aspects of bureaucratic life. In particular, in "Dead Souls" we are presented with the provincial and higher Petersburg officials (the latter in "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin").
Denouncing the immoral, vicious, flawed natures of officials, Gogol uses the method of typification, because even in vivid and individual images (such as the police chief or Ivan Antonovich), common features inherent in all officials are revealed. Already creating portraits of officials using the technique of reification, the author, without saying anything about their spiritual qualities, character traits, only described "wide heads, tailcoats, provincial-style frock coats ..." of clerical officials or "very thick eyebrows and a slightly winking left eye" prosecutor, talked about the death of souls, moral underdevelopment and baseness. None of the officials bother themselves with worries about public affairs, and the concept of civic duty and public good is completely alien to them. Idleness and idleness reign among the officials. Everyone, starting with the governor, who “was a great kind-hearted man and sewed on tulle,” spend their time senselessly and unproductively, not caring about fulfilling their official duties. It is no coincidence that Sobakevich notes that “... the prosecutor is an idle person and, probably, sits at home, ... the inspector of the medical board is also, probably, an idle person and went somewhere to play cards, ... Trukhachevsky, Bezushkin - they are all burden the earth for nothing ... ”. Mental laziness, insignificance of interests, stupid inertia form the basis of the existence and character of officials. Gogol speaks with irony about the degree of their education and culture: “... the chairman of the chamber knew 'Lyudmila' by heart, ... the postmaster went into ... philosophy and made excerpts from The Key to the Mysteries of Nature, ... who read ' Moskovskie vedomosti "who even read nothing at all." Each of the provincial governors strove to use his position for personal purposes, seeing in it a source of enrichment, a means to live freely and carelessly, without spending any work. This explains the bribery and embezzlement of the state in official circles. For bribes, officials are even capable of committing the worst, according to Gogol, crime - to inflict an unfair trial (for example, they “hushed up” the case of merchants who “went to death” during a feast). Ivan Antonovich, for example, knew how to profit from every business, being an experienced bribe-taker, he even rebuked Chichikov that he “bought peasants for a hundred thousand, and for his labors he gave one little white one”. Solicitor Zolotukha - “the first grabber and visited the guest house as if he were in his own storeroom”. He had only to blink, and he could receive any gifts from the merchants, who considered him a “benefactor,” for “even though he would take, he would never betray you”. For his ability to take bribes, the police chief was known among his friends as a "magician and miracle worker." Gogol says with irony that this hero “managed to acquire a modern nationality”, for the writer more than once denounces the anti-nationality of officials who absolutely do not know the hardships of peasant life, who consider the people “drunkards and rioters”. In the opinion of officials, the peasants are “a wasteful and worthless people” and “they must be kept in iron gloves”. It is no coincidence that the story of Captain Kopeikin is introduced, for in it Gogol shows that anti-nationality and anti-nationality are also characteristic of the highest Petersburg officials. Describing bureaucratic Petersburg, the city of “significant persons”, the highest bureaucratic nobility, the writer denounces their absolute indifference, cruel indifference to the fate of the defender of the homeland, doomed to certain death from hunger ... So officials, indifferent to the life of the Russian people, indifferent to the fate of Russia who neglect their official duty, use their power for personal gain and are afraid of losing the opportunity to recklessly use all the “benefits” of their position, therefore, the provincial governors observe peace and friendship in their circle, where an atmosphere of nepotism, friendly agreement reigns: “... they lived between themselves in harmony, treated in a completely friendly way, and their conversations bore the stamp of some special innocence and meekness ... "Officials need to maintain such relations in order to collect their" income "without any fear ...
This is the male society of the city of NN. If we characterize the ladies of the provincial town, then they are distinguished by outward sophistication and grace: “many ladies are well dressed and in fashion”, “there is an abyss in their outfits ...”, but internally they are as empty as men, their spiritual life poor, interests are primitive. Gogol ironically describes the "good tone" and "presentability" that distinguish ladies, in particular, their manner of speaking, which is characterized by extraordinary caution and decency in expressions: they did not say "I blew my nose", preferring to use the expression "I lightened my nose with a handkerchief", or in general the ladies spoke French, where "words appeared much harder than those mentioned." The speech I will give, a true "mixture of French with Nizhny Novgorod", is extremely comical.
Describing the ladies, Gogol even at the lexical level characterizes their essence: “... a lady fluttered out of the orange house ...”, “... a lady flew up the folded steps ...” With the help of metaphors, the writer “flew up” and “flew out” shows the "lightness" characteristic of a lady, not only physical, but also spiritual, inner emptiness and undevelopment. Indeed, outfits constitute the largest part of their interests. So, for example, a lady in all respects, pleasant and simply pleasant, carries on a meaningless conversation about the “cheerful chintz” from which the dress of one of them is made, about the material where “the stripes are narrow, narrow, and eyes and paws pass through the entire strip ... ”. In addition, gossip plays an important role in the lives of ladies, as in the life of the whole city. So, Chichikov's purchases became the subject of conversation, and the “millionaire” himself immediately became the subject of ladies' adoration. After suspicious rumors spread about Chichikov, the city split into two “opposite parties”. “The woman was engaged exclusively in kidnapping the governor’s daughter, and the man’s, the most stupid, drew attention to the dead souls” ... This is the pastime of the provincial society, gossip and empty talk is the main occupation of the city residents. Undoubtedly, Gogol continued the traditions laid down in the comedy "The Inspector General". Showing the inferiority of the provincial society, immorality, baseness of interests, spiritual callousness and emptiness of the townspeople, the writer “collects everything bad in Russia,” with the help of satire denounces the vices of Russian society and the realities of the contemporary reality to the writer, so hated by Gogol himself.

In notes to the first volume of Dead Souls, Gogol wrote: “The idea of \u200b\u200ba city. Gossip that has gone beyond, how all this arose out of idleness and took on the expression of the highest ridiculous ... The whole city with all the whirlwind of gossip is the transformation of the inactivity of the life of all mankind in the mass. " This is how the writer characterizes the provincial town of NN and its inhabitants. It must be said that the provincial society of Gogol's poem, as well as the famus society in Griboyedov's play "Woe from Wit", can be conditionally divided into male and female. The main representatives of the male society are the provincial officials. Undoubtedly, the theme of bureaucracy is one of the central themes in Gogol's work. The writer devoted many of his works, such as, for example, the story "The Overcoat" or the comic play "The Inspector General", to various aspects of bureaucratic life. In particular, in "Dead Souls" we are presented with the provincial and higher Petersburg officials (the latter in "The Tale of Captain Kopeikin").

Denouncing the immoral, vicious, flawed natures of officials, Gogol uses the method of typification, because even in vivid and individual images (such as the police chief or Ivan Antonovich), common features inherent in all officials are revealed. Already creating portraits of officials using the technique of reification, the author, without saying anything about their spiritual qualities, character traits, only described "wide heads, tailcoats, provincial-style frock coats ..." of clerical officials or "very thick eyebrows and a slightly winking left eye" prosecutor, talked about the death of souls, moral underdevelopment and baseness. None of the officials bother themselves with worries about public affairs, and the concept of civic duty and public good is completely alien to them. Idleness and idleness reign among the officials. Everyone, starting with the governor, who “was a great kind-hearted man and sewed on tulle,” spend their time senselessly and unproductively, not caring about fulfilling their official duties. It is no coincidence that Sobakevich notes that “... the prosecutor is an idle person and, probably, sits at home, ... the inspector of the medical board is also, probably, an idle person and went somewhere to play cards, ... Trukhachevsky, Bezushkin - they are all burden the earth for nothing ... ”. Mental laziness, insignificance of interests, stupid inertia form the basis of the existence and character of officials. Gogol speaks with irony about the degree of their education and culture: “... the chairman of the chamber knew 'Lyudmila' by heart, ... the postmaster went into ... philosophy and made excerpts from The Key to the Mysteries of Nature, ... who read ' Moskovskie vedomosti "who even read nothing at all." Each of the provincial governors strove to use his position for personal purposes, seeing in it a source of enrichment, a means to live freely and carelessly, without spending any work. This explains the bribery and embezzlement of the state in official circles. For bribes, officials are even capable of committing the worst, according to Gogol, crime - to inflict an unfair trial (for example, they “hushed up” the case of merchants who “went to death” during a feast). Ivan Antonovich, for example, knew how to profit from every business, being an experienced bribe-taker, he even rebuked Chichikov that he “bought peasants for a hundred thousand, and for his labors he gave one little white one”. Solicitor Zolotukha - “the first grabber and visited the seating yard as if he were in his own storeroom”. He had only to blink, and he could receive any gifts from the merchants, who considered him a “benefactor,” for “even though he would take, he would never betray you”. For his ability to take bribes, the police chief was known among his friends as a “magician and wonderworker”. Gogol says with irony that this hero “managed to acquire a modern nationality”, for the writer more than once denounces the anti-nationality of officials who absolutely do not know the hardships of peasant life, who consider the people “drunkards and rioters”. In the opinion of officials, the peasants are “a wasteful and worthless people” and “they must be kept in tight hands”. It is no accident that the story of Captain Kopeikin is introduced, for in it Gogol shows that anti-nationality and anti-nationality are also characteristic of the highest Petersburg officials. Describing bureaucratic Petersburg, the city of “significant persons”, the highest bureaucratic nobility, the writer denounces their absolute indifference, cruel indifference to the fate of the defender of the homeland, doomed to certain death from hunger ... So officials, indifferent to the life of the Russian people, indifferent to the fate of Russia who neglect their official duty, use their power for personal gain and are afraid of losing the opportunity to recklessly use all the “benefits” of their position, therefore, the provincial governors observe peace and friendship in their circle, where an atmosphere of nepotism, friendly agreement reigns: “... they lived between themselves in harmony, treated in a completely friendly way, and their conversations bore the stamp of some special innocence and meekness ... "Officials need to maintain such relations in order to collect their" income "without any fear ...

Describing the ladies, Gogol even at the lexical level characterizes their essence: “... a lady fluttered out of the orange house ...”, “... a lady flew up the folded steps ...” With the help of metaphors, the writer “flew up” and “flew out” shows the "lightness" characteristic of a lady, not only physical, but also spiritual, inner emptiness and undevelopment. Indeed, outfits constitute the largest part of their interests. So, for example, a lady in all respects, pleasant and simply pleasant, carries on a meaningless conversation about the “cheerful chintz” from which the dress of one of them is made, about the material where “the stripes are narrow, narrow, and eyes and paws pass through the entire strip ... ”. In addition, gossip plays an important role in the lives of ladies, as in the life of the whole city. So, Chichikov's purchases became the subject of conversation, and the “millionaire” himself immediately became the subject of ladies' adoration. After suspicious rumors spread about Chichikov, the city split into two “opposite parties”. “The woman was engaged exclusively in kidnapping the governor’s daughter, and the man’s, the most stupid, drew attention to the dead souls” ... This is the pastime of the provincial society, gossip and empty talk is the main occupation of the city residents. Undoubtedly, Gogol continued the traditions laid down in the comedy "The Inspector General". Showing the inferiority of the provincial society, immorality, baseness of interests, spiritual callousness and emptiness of the townspeople, the writer “collects everything bad in Russia,” with the help of satire denounces the vices of Russian society and the realities of the contemporary reality to the writer, so hated by Gogol himself.