Lyrical digression by dead souls. Lyrical digressions in Gogol's poem Dead Souls. Statements about estates and ranks

The genre uniqueness of Dead Souls lies in the fact that it is a fairly large piece of work - in poem in prose. The genre of the novel did not satisfy NV Gogol, since the novel is an epic work that reveals the history of the fate of a particular person, and the author's intention was to show “all of Russia”.

In Dead Souls, Gogol combines lyrical and epic principles. The poetry of the work is given by the lyrical digressions, which are in each chapter of the poem. They introduce the image of the author, add depth, breadth and lyricism to the work. The topics of lyrical digressions are varied. The author reflects on the gentlemen of the "middle hand", "on youth and youth", on city people, the fate of the writer in Russia. Particularly interesting are reflections on the upbringing of a well-aimed Russian word, about Russia, about the "thick and thin".

In the second chapter, which tells the story of Manilov and his wife, N.V. Gogol writes, in particular, about the kind of education girls receive in boarding schools. The ironic tone of the narrative (“... in boarding houses ... three main subjects form the basis of human virtues: French, which is necessary for the happiness of family life; piano, for giving pleasant moments to the spouse, and ... the household part itself: knitting purses and other sur-prizes ") makes it clear to the reader that the author does not consider this method of education correct. The proof of the uselessness of such upbringing is the image of Manilova: in their house “something was always lacking: there was beautiful furniture in the living room, covered with a dandy silk fabric ... but two armchairs were not enough, and the chairs were just covered with mat ... . "," In the evening a very smart candlestick made of dark bronze with three antique graces, with a mother-of-pearl dandy shield was served on the table, and next to it was put some kind of simple copper invader, lame, curled up on the side and all salé ... ". The pastime of the spouses consists in long and languid kisses, preparing surprises for their birthday, etc.

In the fifth chapter, the word "patched", which a simple peasant called Plyushkin, makes the author think about the accuracy of the Russian word: "And where is everything that came out of the depths of Russia, where there are no German, no Chukhons, or any other ple-man, and everything is a nugget himself, a lively and lively Russian mind that does not go into his pocket for a word, does not incubate him like a hen of chickens, but sticks it in at once, like a passport on an eternal sock, and there is nothing to add later, which your nose or lips - you are drawn from head to toe with one line! " The author plays up a well-known proverb: "What is spoken aptly, is the same as what is written, is not cut out with an ax." Thinking about the peculiarities of other languages, Gogol sums up: “The word of a Briton will respond to the study of heart and the wise knowledge of life; the short-lived word of the Frenchman will flash and scatter with an easy dandy; the German will intricately invent his own, not accessible to everyone, a cleverly thin word; but there is no word that would be so ambitious, boldly, so it would burst out from under the very heart, would boil and live like a well-spoken Russian word. "

The author's reflections on the subtlety of treatment expose sycophants who have a fantastic ability to determine their line of behavior, the manner in which people of different social status are treated (and this feature he notes exclusively among Russians). A striking example of such chameleonism is the behavior of Ivan Petrovich, the "ruler of the chancellery", who, when he is "among his subordinates, but simply out of fear you cannot utter a word!" pride and nobility ... Pro-metey, resolute Prometheus! He looks out for an eagle, acts smoothly, measuredly. " But, approaching the chief's office, he is already "in such a hurry like a partridge with paper magicians under his arm ...". And if he is in society and at a party, where people are a little higher than his rank, then “such a transformation will take place with Prometheus, which Ovid cannot imagine: a fly, even less than a fly, has been destroyed into a grain of sand!”.

At the end of the first volume, the author's words about Russia are heard with a hymn to the glory of Rodina. The image of an unattainable troika, rushing along the road, personifies Russia itself: "Isn't it so you, Russia, that a brisk, unstoppable troika rushing?" Genuine pride and love resound in these lines: “Rus, where are you rushing? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer. The bell is filled with a wonderful ringing; air ripped into pieces thunders and becomes the wind; everything that is on the earth flies by, and looking sideways, other peoples and states give way to it. "

In lyrical digressions, Gogol turns to the people and his homeland, expresses his thoughts in them, to the events, phenomena and heroes depicted in the poem, or reflects on life in general, on youth, on human virtues. There are over twenty lyrical digressions in the poem.

Many digressions, although in sharp contrast to the comic narrative tone of the poem, are always closely related to its ideological content.
Along with small digressions, such as the reflection that “everyone has their own fervor” (in the chapter about Manilov) or “It’s not something wonderfully arranged in the world ...” (in the chapter about Korobochka), the poem contains more extensive digressions, representing complete reasoning or poems in prose.

The former include, for example, the interpretation of "the ability to address" (in the second chapter) and the shortcomings of public meetings in Russia (in the tenth chapter); to the second - a reflection on the power and accuracy of the Russian word (at the end of the fifth chapter). Lyrical passages dedicated to the homeland and people are marked with a special power of feelings. Gogol's address is imbued with ardent love for his native country: “Rus! Russia! I see you from my wonderful, beautiful far away ... ”(in the eleventh chapter). The immense expanses of Russia capture and enchant the author, and he is full of pride in his wonderful homeland, with which he is bound by a strong bond ..

In a lyrical digression "What a strange and alluring, and carrying, and wonderful in the word: road!" Gogol paints pictures of Russian nature with love. Wonderful designs and poetic dreams are born in his soul when he looks at his native paintings.
Gogol bows before the sharp mind of the Russian man and before the accuracy of his words: “The short-lived word of the Frenchman will flash and scatter like a light dandy; the German will intricately come up with his own, not accessible to everyone, cleverly thin word; but there is no word that would be so ambitious, boldly, so it would burst out from under the very heart, it would swell and flutter like a well-spoken Russian word. "
The lyrical appeal of Gogol to Russia, rushing forward, like a brisk and unrestricted troika, sounds solemnly, closing the first volume of the poem: “The bell is filled with a wonderful ringing; air ripped into pieces thunders and becomes the wind; everything that is on the earth flies by, and, looking sideways, other peoples and states give way to it ”.

In addition to these, the poem contains many other passages imbued with deep patriotism. Often Gogol puts his thoughts into the mouths of one of his heroes. Such lyrical digressions included, for example, Chichikov's meditation on the lists of "dead souls" he had bought. In this reflection, Gogol reflected his sympathy for the Russian people, who were then languishing under the yoke of serfdom.
The special significance of the lyrical digressions in the poem is that they balance individual passages of the poem: the terrible present that Gogol saw in life, they oppose the wonderful future of Russia.
The abundance of lyrical passages helps to understand why Gogol called his work not a story or a novel, but a poem.

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Analysis of lyrical digressions in the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls"

Lyrical digression is an extra-plot element of the work; compositional and stylistic technique, which consists in the author's retreat from the direct plot narration; author's reasoning, reflection, utterance expressing a relation to the depicted person or having an indirect relation to it. Lyrically digressions in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" bring a life-giving, refreshing beginning, set off the content of life pictures that arise before the reader, and reveal the idea. The topics of lyrical digressions are varied.
"On the fat and thin officials" (1 ch.); the author resorts to generalizing the images of civil servants. Self-interest, bribery, reverence for dignity are their characteristic features. Seeming at first glance, the opposition of thick and thin actually reveals common negative features of both.
"On the shades and subtleties of our appeal" (3 chap.); it speaks of currying favor with the rich, respect for rank, self-humiliation of officials before the authorities and an arrogant attitude towards subordinates.
"On the Russian people and their language" (5 chap.); the author notes that the language, the speech of the people reflects its national character; the peculiarity of the Russian word and Russian speech is an amazing accuracy.
“About two types of writers, about their destinies and destinies” (7 ch.); the author contrasts a realist writer with a romantic writer, indicates the characteristic features of the work of a romantic writer, speaks of the wonderful lot of this writer. With bitterness, Gogol writes about the lot of a realist writer who dared to portray the truth. Reflecting on the realist writer, Gogol defined the significance of his work.
“Much has happened in the world of delusions” (10 ch.); lyrical digression about the world chronicle of mankind, about his delusions is a manifestation of the Christian views of the writer. All of humanity has gone from the straight road and is standing on the edge of an abyss. Gogol points out to everyone that the direct and bright path of mankind consists in following the moral values \u200b\u200binherent in Christian teaching.
"About the vastness of Russia, national character and the bird troika"; the final lines of Dead Souls are connected with the theme of Russia, with the author's reflections on the Russian national character, on the Russia-state. The symbolic image of the bird-three expressed Gogol's faith in Russia as a state to which a great historical mission is destined from above. At the same time, the idea of \u200b\u200bthe originality of Russia's path is traced, as well as the idea of \u200b\u200bthe difficulty of foreseeing specific forms of Russia's future development.

"Dead Souls" is a lyric-epic work - a prose poem that combines two principles: the epic and the lyrical. The first principle is embodied in the author's intention to draw "the whole of Russia", and the second - in the author's lyrical digressions related to his intention, which constitute an integral part of the work. The epic narrative in Dead Souls is continually interrupted by the lyrical monologues of the author, who assesses the behavior of the character or reflects on life, art, about Russia and its people, and also touching upon topics such as youth and old age, the appointment of the writer, which help to learn more about the spiritual world of the writer, about his ideals. The lyrical digressions about Russia and the Russian people are of the greatest importance. Throughout the entire poem, the author's idea of \u200b\u200ba positive image of the Russian people is affirmed, which merges with the glorification and glorification of the homeland, which expresses the author's civil-patriotic position.

So, in the fifth chapter, the writer glorifies the "lively and lively Russian mind", his extraordinary ability for verbal expressiveness, that "if he rewards it with a word, then it will go to his family and posterity, he will take him with him to the service and to retirement. , and to Petersburg, and to the ends of the world. " Chichikov's reasoning was led by his conversation with the peasants, who called Plyushkin "patched" and knew him only because he poorly fed his peasants.

Gogol felt the living soul of the Russian people, their daring, courage, hard work and love for a free life. In this respect, the author's reasoning, put into the mouth of Chichikov, about serfs in the seventh chapter is of deep significance. What appears here is not a generalized image of Russian peasants, but specific people with real features, detailed in detail. This is the carpenter Stepan Probka - "a hero that would be suitable for a guard", who, according to Chichikov's assumption, traveled all over Russia with an ax in his belt and boots on his shoulders. This is the shoemaker Maxim Telyatnikov, who studied with a German and decided to get rich at once, making boots from rotten leather, which crawled two weeks later. On this he abandoned his work, started drinking, blaming everything on the Germans, who did not give life to the Russian people.

Then Chichikov reflects on the fates of many peasants bought from Plyushkin, Sobakevich, Manilov and Korobochka. But the idea of \u200b\u200bthe "rampant life of the people" did not coincide so much with the image of Chichikov that the author himself takes the floor and, on his own behalf, continues the narrative, the story of how Abakum Fyrov walks on the grain pier with barge haulers and merchants, like Russia, a song. " The image of Abakum Fyrov indicates the love of the Russian people for a free, riotous life, festivities and fun, despite the hard life of serfs, the oppression of landowners and officials.

Lyrical digressions depict the tragic fate of an enslaved people, downtrodden and socially humiliated, which was reflected in the images of Uncle Mityai and Uncle Minay, the girl Pelageya, who could not distinguish between right and left, Plyushkin's Proshki and Mavry. Behind these images and pictures of folk life lies the deep and wide soul of the Russian people. Love for the Russian people, for the homeland, patriotic and lofty feelings of the writer were expressed in the image of the troika created by Gogol, rushing forward, personifying the mighty and inexhaustible forces of Russia. Here the author thinks about the future of the country: “Rus, where are you rushing? “He looks to the future and does not see it, but as a true patriot he believes that in the future there will be no manilovs, sobachevichs, nostrils, Plyushkins, that Russia will rise to greatness and glory.

The image of the road in lyrical digressions is symbolic. This is the road from the past to the future, the road along which the development of each person and Russia as a whole goes. The work ends with a hymn to the Russian people: “Eh! troika! Bird three, who invented you? You could have been born with a lively people ... ”Here the lyrical digressions fulfill a generalizing function: they serve to expand the artistic space and to create a holistic image of Russia. They reveal the author's positive ideal - People's Russia, which is opposed to landowner-bureaucratic Russia.

But, in addition to lyrical digressions glorifying Russia and its people, the poem also contains reflections of the lyrical hero on philosophical topics, for example, about youth and old age, the vocation and purpose of a true writer, about his fate, which are somehow connected with the image of the road in the work ... So, in the sixth chapter, Gogol exclaims: “Take away with you on the road, leaving the mild youthful years into severe hardening courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on the road, do not pick them up later! .. "Thus, the author wanted to say that all the best in life is connected precisely with youth and one should not forget about it, as the landowners described in the novel did, the stasis of" dead souls ". They do not live, they exist. Gogol, on the other hand, calls for preserving a living soul, freshness and fullness of feelings and staying that way as long as possible.

Sometimes, reflecting on the transience of life, on the change in ideals, the author himself appears as a traveler: “Before, long ago, in the years of my youth ... it was fun for me to drive up to an unfamiliar place for the first time .... Now I indifferently drive up to any unfamiliar the village and look indifferently at its vulgar appearance; it is unpleasant to my chilled gaze, it is not funny to me .... and my motionless lips keep indifferent silence. Oh my youth! Oh my freshness! »To recreate the completeness of the author's image, it is necessary to say about the lyrical digressions in which Gogol discusses two types of writers. One of them "never changed the lofty structure of his lyre, did not descend from his top to his poor, insignificant brothers, and the other dared to call out everything that is in front of his eyes every minute and which indifferent eyes do not see." The lot of a real writer, who dared to truly recreate the reality hidden from the eyes of the people, is such that, unlike the romantic writer, absorbed in his unearthly and sublime images, he is not destined to achieve fame and experience joyful feelings when you are recognized and praised. Gogol comes to the conclusion that the unrecognized writer-realist, the writer-satirist will be left without participation, that “his field is harsh, and he bitterly feels his loneliness”. The author also speaks of "connoisseurs of literature" who have their own idea of \u200b\u200bthe purpose of a writer ("You better present to us the beautiful and fascinating"), which confirms his conclusion about the fate of the two types of writers.

All this recreates the lyrical image of the author, who for a long time will still go hand in hand with “a strange hero, look around the entire immensely rushing life, look at it through the laughter visible to the world and invisible, unknown to him tears! "

So, lyrical digressions occupy a significant place in Gogol's poem "Dead Souls". They are remarkable in terms of poetics. They discern the beginnings of a new literary style, which would later take on a vivid life in the prose of Turgenev and especially in the work of Chekhov.

The author's thoughts and feelings about an ideal Russia are expressed in lyrical digressions filled with a sense of deep patriotism and love for the Motherland and a feeling of hatred for injustice. In lyrical digressions, the writer's thought goes far from the events in the life of the protagonist and embraces the entire subject of the depiction, "the whole of Russia", and even reaches the human level. The author's thoughts about the high purpose of man, about the fate of the Motherland and the people are contrasted with the gloomy pictures of Russian life.

Lyrical digressions scattered throughout the poem are organically woven into the narrative and sound like a cry of pain, indignation and delight. They touch upon issues that are relevant for all times and enhance the impression of the paintings depicted. In the digressions, the reader is introduced to persons who do not act directly in the poem. These are gentlemen "fat" and "thin", gentlemen of the "big hand" and "medium hand", the ruler of the chancellery Ivan Petrovich, the wretched fellows, drunkards and brawlers and others. These episodic faces are drawn by the author with two or three strokes, but they play an important role. They never meet with the main character - Chichikov, but help the author in creating the image of a united Russia.

The narration of the poem is interrupted more than once by upbeat-lyrical road sketches, sincere conversations with the reader. In one of the most poetic passages of the work, which precedes the story of the life and formation of the protagonist's personality, the theme of the road and the future of Russia merge. In this lyrical digression, folk-colloquial speech is intertwined with a lofty tone of speech, and the reader, together with the author, is imbued with the charm and music of the word "road" and a sense of delight in front of nature: "What a strange, and alluring, and carrying, and wonderful in the word: road ! and how wonderful it is, this road: a clear day, autumn leaves, cold air ... "

The author speaks of “churches with ancient domes and blackening buildings”, “dark log and stone houses”, “fields and steppes”, “huts scattered on a slope”, heartfeltly conveys the feelings of a man rushing in a troika: “God! how good you are sometimes, distant, distant road! How many times, like a perishing and drowning man, have I grasped at you, and each time you generously endured and saved me! And how many wonderful ideas, poetic dreams were born in you, how many wonderful impressions were felt! .. "

Out-of-plot, inserted episodes, scenes, pictures, and the author's reasoning are organically included in the poem. For example, Gogol casually sketches portraits of "thin" and "fat" officials. "Alas! Fat people know how to manage their affairs better in this world than thin ones, ”Gogol writes. Or a satirical portrait of a certain ruler of the office. Among his subordinates, the ruler is "Prometheus, the resolute Prometheus! ... and a little higher than him, with Prometheus, such a transformation will take place, which Ovid would not imagine: a fly, even smaller than a fly, is destroyed into a grain of sand!"

In the last chapter, which tells about the formation of Chichikov's character, the reader again plunges into the world of vulgarity and evil. Using the life of his hero as an example, the author very accurately formulates the principles prevailing in the modern world: "most of all, take care of and save a penny", "deal with those who are richer", "please the bosses." With undisguised irony, the writer speaks of a system of upbringing in which abilities and talents have no value, and eternal truths are hammered into the heads of young men with the help of flogging and other punishments. The spirit of huckstering and profit, which reigned in the world of the serf nobility, penetrated into educational institutions and destroyed everything pure and poetic in the souls of young people.

However, once again plunging into the world of self-interest and profit, Gogol again returns us to the positive principles of the Russian character, instills confidence in the bright future of his people. In a lyrical digression that concludes the story, he talks about the giftedness of the Yaroslavl man, who made a road carriage with a chisel and a hammer, about a bird-three that arose from a lively people “in that land that does not like to joke, but scattered smoothly into the middle of the world”, about courage and daring of a simple Russian person. The poem concludes with a grandiose in its expressiveness image of rushing Rus - a bird of three. In the last lyrical digression, the author emphasizes the doom of the world of officials and landowners and the belief in the boundless possibilities of the Russian people.

Throughout the story, the author draws our attention to the Chichikov troika, more than once indicating the names of the horses harnessed to it. Chichikov's troika is one of the main and expressive characters in the work. At the end of the poem, we again see Chichikov's troika: Selifan slaps Chubary on the back, after which he starts at a trot. The movement of the triplet gradually accelerates, and the image of the triplet changes its inner meaning. Instead of the Chichikov troika, the Russian troika appears, and at the same time the intonation of the narrative changes. An image of our native land appears before us, and the horses are rushing in a whirlwind, separated from the earth and turning into lines flying through the air, and instead of the three, Russia appears in all its rapid movement. The author's speech is melodious, filled with emotional epithets and synonyms, metaphors and exclamations: “Rus, where are you rushing? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer. " This digression contains the result of Gogol's many years of reflections on the fate of Russia, on the present and future of its people. After all, it is the people who oppose the world of officials, landowners, businessmen, like a living soul - a dead one.

All themes of the book "Dead Souls" by N.V. Gogol. Summary. Features of the poem. Works ":

A summary of the poem "Dead Souls": Volume one. Chapter first

Features of the poem "Dead Souls"

Analyzing Gogol's Dead Souls, Belinsky noted the "deep, all-embracing and humane subjectivity" of the poem, a subjectivity that does not allow the author "with apathetic indifference to be alien to the world he draws, but makes him conduct through his soul the phenomena of the external world, and through I live in them too ... ”.

It was not by chance that Gogol considered his work a poem. Thus, the writer emphasized the breadth and epic nature of the narrative, the meaning of the lyrical beginning in it. The same was noted by the critic K. Aksakov, who saw in the poem "the ancient, Homeric epic." "It may seem strange to some that Gogol's faces change for no particular reason ... It is epic contemplation that allows this calm appearance of one face after another without external connection, while one world embraces them, linking them deeply and inextricably with internal unity," he wrote critic.

The epic narrative, inner lyricism - all this was the result of Gogol's creative ideas. It is known that the writer planned to create a large poem similar to Dante's Divine Comedy. The first part (volume 1) of it had to correspond to "Hell", the second (volume 2) - "Purgatory", the third (volume 3) - "Paradise". The writer thought about the possibility of a spiritual revival of Chichikov, about the appearance in the poem of characters who embodied the "untold wealth of the Russian spirit" - "a husband endowed with divine virtues", "a wonderful Russian girl." All this gave the narration a special, deep lyricism.

Lyrical digressions in the poem are very diverse in their themes, pathos and moods. So, describing Chichikov's journey, the writer draws our attention to many details that characterize the life of the Russian province in the best possible way. For example, the hotel in which the hero stayed was "of a certain kind, that is, exactly the same as there are hotels in provincial cities, where for two rubles a day people who pass by get a quiet room with cockroaches looking out like prunes from all corners."

The "common hall" where Chichikov goes is well known to every traveler: "the same walls painted with oil paint, darkened at the top from the pipe smoke", "the same smoked chandelier with many hanging pieces of glass that jumped and tinkled whenever the floor was running on worn oilcloths "," the same pictures on the whole wall, painted with oil paints. "

Describing the governor's party, Gogol talks about two types of officials: "fat" and "thin". "Thin" in the author's presentation - dandies and dandies, hovering around the ladies. They are often prone to extravagance: "for three years a thin one does not have a single soul that is not put in a pawnshop." The fat ones are sometimes not very attractive, but they are “solid and practical”: they never “occupy indirect places, but all direct ones, and if they sit somewhere, they will sit securely and firmly ...”. Fat officials are the "true pillars of society": "having served God and the sovereign," they leave the service and become glorious Russian bars, landowners. In this description, the author's satire is obvious: Gogol perfectly understands what this "bureaucratic service" was, which brought a person "universal respect."

Often the author accompanies the narrative with general ironic remarks. For example, talking about Petrushka and Selifan, Gogol notices that he is uncomfortable with engaging the reader with people of a low class. And further: "Such is the Russian person: a strong passion to conceal himself with someone who at least one rank was his higher, and a nodding acquaintance with a count or a prince for him is better than any close friendship."

In lyrical digressions, Gogol also talks about literature, about writing, about various artistic styles. In these arguments, there is also the author's irony, the hidden polemic of the realist writer with romanticism is guessed.

So, portraying the character of Manilov, Gogol ironically notes that it is much easier to portray characters of a large size, generously throwing paints on the canvas: “black scorching eyes, overhanging eyebrows, a forehead cut with a wrinkle, a cloak thrown over his shoulder black or scarlet like fire - and a portrait ready ... ". But it is much more difficult to describe not romantic heroes, but ordinary people, "who look very similar to each other, and yet, as you look closely, you will see many of the most elusive features."

Elsewhere, Gogol discusses two types of writers, meaning a romantic writer and a realist satirist. "Enviable is a wonderful lot" of the first, who prefers to describe the sublime characters, which are "the high dignity of man." But this is not the fate of the second, "who dared to call out all the terrible, amazing mud of little things that enmeshed our life, the whole depth of the cold, fragmented, everyday characters that teemed with our earthly, sometimes bitter and boring road." "His field is harsh," and he cannot escape the modern court, which considers his works "an insult to humanity." There is no doubt that Gogol is also talking about his own destiny here.

Gogol satirically describes the way of life of Russian landowners. So, talking about the pastime of Manilov and his wife, Gogol, as it were in passing, remarks: “Of course, one might notice that there are many other activities in the house, besides prolonged kisses and surprises ... Why, for example, is it stupid and useless to cook in the kitchen ? Why is the pantry pretty empty? Why is a housekeeper thief? ... But all these subjects are low, and Manilova is well brought up. "

In the chapter on Korobochka, the writer discusses the "extraordinary ability" of a Russian person to communicate with others. And here there is a frank author's irony. Noting Chichikov's rather unceremonious treatment of Korobochka, Gogol notes that the Russian man has surpassed the foreigner in his ability to communicate: "It is impossible to count all the nuances and subtleties of our treatment." Moreover, the nature of this communication depends on the size of the state of the interlocutor: "we have such wise men who will speak to a landowner who has two hundred souls quite differently than to one who has three hundred ...".

In the chapter on Nozdrev, Gogol touches on the same topic of "Russian communication", but in a different, more positive aspect of it. Here the writer notes the originality of the character of the Russian person, his good nature, easygoingness, gentleness.

The character of Nozdryov is quite recognizable - this is a "broken guy", a reckless driver, a bootie, a player and a rowdy. He has a habit of cheating while playing cards, for which he is repeatedly beaten. “And what is the strangest thing,” Gogol notes, “that can only happen in Russia alone, after a while he already met again with those friends who were playing with him, and met as if nothing had happened, and he, as they say, nothing and they are nothing. "

In the author's digressions, the writer also discusses the Russian nobility, shows how far these people are from everything Russian, national: from them "you will not hear a single decent Russian word", but French, German, English "will be endowed in such an amount that you want. " High society worships everything foreign, having forgotten their original traditions and customs. The interest of these people in the national culture is limited to the construction of a “hut in the Russian style” at the dacha. In this lyrical digression, the author's satire is obvious. Gogol here calls on compatriots to be patriots of their country, to love and respect their native language, customs and traditions.

But the main theme of the lyrical digressions in the poem is the theme of Russia and the Russian people. Here the author's voice becomes agitated, the tone - pathetic, irony and satire recede into the background.

In the fifth chapter, Gogol glorifies the "lively and lively Russian mind", the extraordinary talent of the people, "aptly spoken Russian word." Chichikov, asking a peasant he met about Plyushkin, receives an exhaustive answer: “... patched, patched! - exclaimed the man. He also added a noun to the word "patched", very successful, but not used in small talk ... ". “The Russian people are expressing themselves strongly! - exclaims Gogol, - and if he rewards someone with a word, then it will go to his family and posterity, he will drag him with him to the service, and to retirement, and to Petersburg, and to the end of the world. "

The image of the road running through the entire work is very important in lyrical digressions. The theme of the road appears already in the second chapter, in the description of Chichikov's trip to the Manilov estate: “As soon as the city went back, they began to write nonsense and game according to our custom on both sides of the road: bumps, spruce forest, low liquid bushes of young pines, burnt trunks old, wild heather and the like nonsense. " In this case, this picture is the background against which the action takes place. This is a typical Russian landscape.

In the fifth chapter, the road reminds the writer of the joys and sorrows of human life: “Everywhere, across whatever sorrows from which our life is woven, a shining joy will rush merrily, like sometimes a brilliant carriage with golden harness, picture horses and sparkling glitter of glass suddenly will sweep past some deafened poor village ... "

In the chapter on Plyushkin, Gogol discusses the susceptibility of people of different ages to life experiences. The writer here describes his childhood and youthful feelings associated with the road, with the journey, when everything around him aroused keen interest and curiosity. And then Gogol compares these impressions with his present indifference, his cooling to the phenomena of life. The author's meditation ends here with a sad exclamation: “O my youth! oh my freshness! "

This reflection of the author imperceptibly turns into the idea of \u200b\u200bhow a person's character, his inner appearance, can change with age. Gogol talks about how a person can change in old age, to what "insignificance, pettiness, disgusting" he can reach.

Both author's digressions here echo the image of Plyushkin, with the history of his life. And so Gogol's thought ends with a sincere, agitated appeal to readers to preserve in themselves the best that is characteristic of youth: “Take away with you on the journey, leaving your soft youthful years into severe hardening courage, take with you all human movements, do not leave them on road, don't pick it up later! The old age coming ahead is terrible, terrible, and nothing gives back and back! "

The first volume of "Dead Souls" ends with a description of the troika that is rapidly flying forward, which is a real apotheosis of Russia and the Russian character: "And what Russian does not like driving fast?" Is it his soul, striving to spin, take a walk, say sometimes: "Damn it all!" - should his soul not love her? ... Eh, three! bird three, who invented you? to know, you could have been born to a lively people, in that land that does not like to joke, but scattered across the world ... Russia, where are you rushing? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer. The bell is filled with a wonderful ringing; air ripped into pieces thunders and becomes the wind; everything that is on the earth flies by, and, looking sideways, other peoples and states move away and give it a way. "

Thus, the lyrical digressions in the poem are varied. These are Gogol's satirical sketches, and pictures of Russian life, and the writer's reasoning about literature, and ironic observations of the psychology of the Russian person, the peculiarities of Russian life, and pathetic thoughts about the future of the country, about the talent of the Russian people, about the breadth of the Russian soul.