The compositional basis of Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is Chichikov's journey through the cities and provinces of Russia. According to the author's intention, the reader is invited to "travel the whole of Rus' with the hero and bring out a wide variety of characters." In the first volume of Dead Souls, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol introduces the reader to a number of characters that represent " dark kingdom”, familiar from the plays of A. N. Ostrovsky. The types created by the writer are relevant to this day, and many proper names eventually became common nouns, although in Lately are used less and less in colloquial speech. Below is a description of the heroes of the poem. In "Dead Souls" the main characters are the landlords and the main adventurer, whose adventures are the basis of the plot.

Chichikov, main character"Dead Souls", travels around Russia, buying documents for the dead peasants, who, according to the audit book, are still considered alive. In the first chapters of the work, the author tries in every possible way to emphasize that Chichikov was a completely ordinary, unremarkable person. Knowing how to find an approach to every person, Chichikov, without any problems, was able to achieve location, respect and recognition in any society that he had to face. Pavel Ivanovich is ready for anything to achieve his goal: he lies, impersonates another person, flatters, uses other people. But at the same time, he seems to readers to be a completely charming person!

Gogol masterfully showed a multifaceted human personality, which combines depravity and the desire for virtue.

Another hero of the work "Dead Souls" by Gogol is Manilov. Chichikov comes to him first. Manilov gives the impression of a carefree person who does not care about worldly problems. Manilov found his wife to match - the same dreamy young lady. Servants took care of the house, and teachers come to their two children, Themistoclus and Alkid. It was difficult to determine the character of Manilov: Gogol himself says that at the first minute you might think “what an amazing person!”, A little later - be disappointed in the hero, and after another minute make sure that nothing can be said about Manilov at all. It has no desires, no life itself. The landowner spends his time in abstract thoughts, completely ignoring everyday problems. Manilov easily gave the dead souls to Chichikov without asking about the legal details.

If we continue the list of heroes of the story, then the next will be Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna, an old lonely widow who lives in a small village. Chichikov came to her by chance: the coachman Selifan lost his way and turned onto the wrong road. The hero was forced to stop for the night. External attributes were an indicator internal state landowners: everything in her house was done sensibly, firmly, but nevertheless there were a lot of flies everywhere. Korobochka was a real entrepreneur, because in every person she was used to seeing only a potential buyer. Nastasya Petrovna was remembered by the reader for the fact that she did not agree to the deal in any way. Chichikov persuaded the landowner and promised to give her several blue papers for petitions, but until he agreed to order flour, honey and lard from Korobochka next time, Pavel Ivanovich did not receive several dozen dead souls.

Next on the list was Nozdryov- a reveler, a liar and a merry fellow, a playboy. The meaning of his life was entertainment, even two children could not keep the landowner at home for more than a few days. Nozdryov often got into various stories, but thanks to his innate talent to find a way out of any situation, he always got out of the water dry. Nozdryov communicated easily with people, even with those with whom he managed to quarrel, after a while he talked like with old friends. However, many tried not to have anything in common with Nozdryov: the landowner invented various fables about others hundreds of times, telling them at balls and dinner parties. It seemed that Nozdryov was not at all worried about the fact that he often lost his property in cards - he certainly wanted to win back. The image of Nozdryov is very important for the characterization of other heroes of the poem, in particular Chichikov. After all, Nozdryov was the only person with whom Chichikov did not make a deal and, in general, did not want to meet with him anymore. Pavel Ivanovich barely managed to escape from Nozdryov, but Chichikov could not even imagine under what circumstances he would see this man again.

Sobakevich was the fourth seller of dead souls. His appearance and in behavior he resembled a bear, even the interior of his house and household utensils were huge, out of place and cumbersome. From the very beginning, the author focuses on Sobakevich's thriftiness and prudence. It was he who first offered Chichikov to buy documents for the peasants. Chichikov was surprised by this course of events, but did not argue. The landowner was also remembered for the fact that he filled the price of the peasants, despite the fact that the latter were long dead. He talked about their professional skills or personal qualities, trying to sell documents at a higher price than Chichikov offered.

Surprisingly, it is this hero who has much more chances for a spiritual rebirth, because Sobakevich sees how small people have become, how insignificant they are in their aspirations.

This list of characteristics of the heroes of "Dead Souls" contains the most important characters for understanding the plot, but do not forget about coachman Selifane, and about Pavel Ivanovich's servant, and about good-natured landowner Plyushkin. Being a master of words, Gogol created very vivid portraits of heroes and their types, which is why all descriptions of the heroes of Dead Souls are so easy to remember and immediately recognizable.

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We often say that happiness is not in money, but at the same time we always note that a person with money is in a better position, can afford more than a poor person. A bunch of works of art on the theme of a wedding with an unloved, but rich, or the resulting injustice associated with bribery, leads to another well-known phrase: money rules the world. Perhaps that is why a person with little capital often seeks to improve his business at any cost. financial situation. Not always these methods and methods are legal, they often contradict the principles of morality. N. Gogol tells about one of these acts in the poem "Dead Souls".

Who is Chichikov and why does he come to the city of N

The protagonist of the story is a retired official Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. He is “not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; one cannot say that he is old, but it is not so that he is too young. He considers himself a man of pleasant appearance, he especially liked his face "which he sincerely loved and in which, as it seems, he found the chin most attractive of all, for he very often boasted of it before one of his friends."

This man travels through the villages of Russia, but his goal is by no means as noble as it seems at first glance. Pavel Ivanovich buys " dead Souls» that is, documents for the right of ownership of people who have died, but have not yet been listed as deceased. The census of peasants was carried out every few years, so these very “dead souls” hung up and were documented as living. They represented a lot of trouble and waste, since it was necessary to make payments for them until the next census (revision tales).

Chichikov's offer to sell these people to the landowners sounds more than tempting. Many people find the item to be bought very strange, it sounds suspicious, but the desire to get rid of the “ dead souls"takes its toll - one by one the landowners agree to the sale (the only exception was Nozdrev). But why does Chichikov need "dead souls"? He himself says this about it: “Yes, if I buy all these who have died out, have not yet filed new revision tales, get them, let’s say, a thousand, yes, let’s say, the board of trustees will give two hundred rubles per capita: that’s two hundred thousand capital ". In other words, Pavel Ivanovich plans to resell his "dead souls", passing them off as living people. Of course, it is impossible to sell serfs without land, but he finds a way out here too - buying land in a remote place, "for a penny." Naturally, such a plan is not dictated by good living conditions and financial situation, but, whatever one may say, this is a dishonorable act.

Surname Meaning

It is difficult to judge unequivocally about the etymology of the name of Pavel Ivanovich. It is not as prosaic as the names of other characters in the poem, but the very fact that the names of other characters are their characteristics (pay attention to moral or physical flaws) suggests that there should be a similar situation with Chichikov.

And so, it is likely that this surname came from the word "chichik". In Western Ukrainian dialects, this was the name of a songbird of small size. N. Gogol was associated with Ukraine, so it can be assumed that he had in mind exactly this meaning of the word - Chichikov, like a bird, sings beautiful songs to everyone. There are no other meanings fixed by dictionaries. The author himself does not explain anywhere why the choice fell on this particular word and what he wanted to say by awarding Pavel Ivanovich with such a surname. Therefore, this information should be taken at the level of a hypothesis, it should be argued that this absolutely correct explanation is impossible due to the small amount of information on this subject.

Personality and character

Arriving in the city of N, Pavel Ivanovich gets acquainted with the local landowners, the governor. He makes a good impression on them. This beginning of a trusting relationship contributed to Chichikov's further purchases - they spoke of him as a man of high morals and excellent education - such a person cannot be a swindler and a deceiver. But, as it turned out, it was just a tactical move, allowing you to cleverly deceive the landowners.

The first thing that surprises in Chichikov is his attitude to hygiene. For many of his new acquaintances, this has become a sign of a person from high society. Pavel Ivanovich “woke up very early in the morning, washed himself, dried himself from head to toe with a wet sponge, which was done only on Sundays.” He "rubbed both cheeks with soap for an extremely long time", when he washed himself, "plucked out two hairs that had come out of his nose." As a result, the people around decided that “the newcomer turned out to be such attentiveness to the toilet, which is not even seen everywhere.”

Chichikov is a sucker. “In conversations with these rulers, he very skillfully knew how to flatter everyone.” At the same time, he tried not to tell anything specific about himself, to manage with general phrases, those present thought that he was doing this because of modesty.

In addition, the phrase “he is not a meaningful worm of this world and is not worthy of being cared for a lot, that he experienced a lot in his lifetime, endured in the service of truth, had many enemies who even attempted on his life, and that now, wishing calm down, looking for a place to finally choose a place to live ”caused a certain feeling of pity for Chichikov among those around him.

Soon, all new acquaintances began to speak flatteringly about him, they tried to please "such a pleasant, educated guest."

Manilov, characterizing Chichikov, argued that "he is ready to vouch, as for himself, that he would sacrifice all his estate in order to have a hundredth of the qualities of Pavel Ivanovich."

“The governor said about him that he was a well-intentioned person; the prosecutor - that he is a good person; the gendarmerie colonel said that he was a learned man; the chairman of the chamber - that he is a knowledgeable and respectable person; police chief - that he is a respectable and amiable person; the police chief's wife - that he is the most amiable and courteous person.

As you can see, Pavel Ivanovich managed to infiltrate the trust of the landlords and the governor the best way.

He managed to keep a fine line and not go too far with flattery and praise in the direction of the landlords - his lies and sycophancy were sweet, but not so much that the lies were conspicuous. Pavel Ivanovich knows how not only to present himself in society, but also has the talent to convince people. Not all landowners were willing to say goodbye to their families without question. dead souls". Many, like Korobochka, were very doubtful about the legality of such a sale. Pavel Ivanovich manages to achieve his goal and convince that such a sale is not unusual.

It should be noted that Chichikov has developed intellectual abilities. This manifests itself not only when thinking about a plan to get rich on “dead souls”, but also in the manner of conducting a conversation - he knows how to keep the conversation up to the mark, without having sufficient knowledge in this or that issue, it is unrealistic to look smart in the eyes of others and no flattery and sycophancy unable to save the situation.

In addition, he is very friendly with arithmetic and knows how to quickly perform mathematical operations in his mind: “Seventy-eight, seventy-eight, thirty kopecks per soul, it will be ... - here our hero for one second, no more, thought and said suddenly: - it will be twenty-four rubles ninety-six kopecks.”

Pavel Ivanovich knows how to adapt to new conditions: “he felt that the words “virtue” and “rare properties of the soul” can be successfully replaced by the words “economy” and “order”,” although he cannot always quickly figure out what to say: “Already Plyushkin stood for several minutes without saying a word, but Chichikov still could not start a conversation, entertained both by the sight of the owner himself and by everything that was in his room.

Having acquired serfs, Pavel Ivanovich feels awkward and anxious, but these are not pangs of conscience - he wants to quickly finish the job and is afraid that something might go wrong “still, the thought came: that the souls are not quite real and that in such cases such a burden is always needed quickly from the shoulders.

However, his deceit was revealed - Chichikov in an instant turns from an object of worship and a desired guest into an object of ridicule and rumors, he is not allowed into the governor's house. “Yes, it’s just you alone who are not ordered to let in, everyone else is allowed,” the doorman tells him.

The others are also not happy to see him - they mumble something indistinct. This confuses Chichikov - he cannot understand what happened. Rumors about his scam reach Chichikov himself. As a result, he leaves home. In the last chapter, we learn that Pavel Ivanovich was of humble origin, his parents tried to provide him better life, so sending it to independent life, gave him such advice that, as parents thought, would allow him to take a good place in life: “Pavlusha, study ... please teachers and bosses most of all. Don't hang out with your comrades, they won't teach you good things; and if it comes to that, then hang out with those who are richer, so that on occasion they can be useful to you. Do not treat or treat anyone, but behave better so that you are treated, and most of all, take care and save a penny ... You will do everything and break everything in the world with a penny.

Thus, Pavel Ivanovich, guided by the advice of his parents, lived in such a way that he would not spend money anywhere and save money, but earning considerable capital in an honest way turned out to be an unrealistic matter, even with strict economy and acquaintance with the rich. The plan to buy "dead souls" was supposed to provide Chichikov with fortune and money, but in practice everything turned out to be wrong. The stigma of a swindler and a dishonest person firmly stuck to him. Whether the hero himself learned the lesson of their current situation is a rhetorical question, it is likely that the second volume should reveal the secret, but, unfortunately, Nikolai Vasilievich destroyed him, so the reader can only guess what happened next and whether Chichikov should be blamed for such an act or it is necessary to mitigate his guilt, referring to the principles to which society is subject.

Our article presents the characteristics of Chichikov - the central character of the poem "Dead Souls". N.V. Gogol created the main character, far from ideal, in order to reveal the whole variety of characters of similar characters to him and reveal the vices of the century.

Art to please

The first impression that the main character makes on others is always extremely positive. The author describes Chichikov as a middle-aged man of pleasant appearance, he is plump, round, but in moderation. As a child, the boy learned to notice many things that others do not pay attention to. He had a special flair, some special talent to create an impression good man, to please, to please. As an adult, Chichikov acquired an incomparable skill to gain confidence in people, to see their weaknesses, to use authority, which rests only on appearance and charm.

Gogol deliberately mentions that his character is not particularly handsome, although he considers himself very attractive. He draws attention to the “averageness” of the protagonist in everything “not too fat, but not thin”, “not handsome, but not bad-looking”, not old and not young. Throwing dust in the eyes is one of the many talents of Pavel Ivanovich. He did not have a good education and aristocratic upbringing, but the hero's manners favorably differed from those around him. His timbre of voice, friendliness, neatness and grooming, external gloss enchanted any interlocutor and opened all doors. In the eyes of the ladies secular society Pavel Ivanovich is an extremely interesting figure, for them he is handsome, majestic and even aristocratic. The fact that Chichikov is a new figure in the city makes his personality mysterious and creates a kind of halo.

A bully with a complex personality

The special attitude of the hero to appearance and clothing conquers everyone without exception, no one notices deceit and duplicity behind gloss and manners. Chichikov can be called a dandy, because he does not just love good clothes: it serves as his tool to achieve his goals and gives confidence to the hero. He adheres to red-brown shades in clothes, follows fashion, is clean-shaven, perfumed with cologne. In the text of the work there are references to the fact that Pavel Ivanovich pays such serious attention to the toilet and wardrobe that for many provinces this is an unprecedented phenomenon. One gets the impression that such diligence and concern for appearance are aimed at carefully hiding inner world Pavel Ivanovich, who is far from ideal.

The character of Chichikov is rather complicated: he is restrained, thorough, distinguished by self-control, perseverance, purposefulness. Chichikov's patience and restraint, respect and tact are extremely relative: he rots, humiliates or ignores his servants and people who are not useful to him. As a host, he is rude and even hysterical, but as a person he is a real scoundrel (this is how the author himself characterizes him).

Dead Soul Possessor

The image of the central character is very complex and multi-layered, for example, he is tight-fisted in money, knows how to save money and manage small things, but he loves his person so much that he dresses in the best clothes, buys expensive fabrics, perfume, foreign soap, has more than a decent crew. The habit of pleasing, adapting to the situation and people, the ability to be "one's own" in any company made Chichikov an unprincipled, deceitful and insensitive person. His perseverance and movement towards the goal is worthy of imitation, if not for the methods that the hero uses.

The protagonist takes care of his health, at the same time avoiding unnecessary expenses and maintaining his authority at a high level. He does not smoke, does not take a drop in his mouth, Pavel Ivanovich is not interested in gambling, because they are not able to bring a stable income. A dodgy mind tells Chichikov that giving up these bad habits will play into his hands, a sober mind and prudence - best friend our character.

The pursuit of money, an empty immoral race for a penny, replaced Chichikov real life. Despite the fact that his image is much deeper than other characters, Chichikov's soul is just as dead as those dead serfs whose lists he buys. Detailed characteristics image of Chichikov may be useful for writing essays or other creative works based on the work of N.V. Gogol.

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The image, character, characteristics of the official Chichikov in the poem Dead Souls

If, drawing images of landowners. ( This material will help to correctly write on the topic The image, character, characteristics of the official Chichikov in the poem Dead Souls. Summary does not make it clear the whole meaning of the work, so this material will be useful for a deep understanding of the work of writers and poets, as well as their novels, short stories, stories, plays, poems.) Gogol gave a picture of the economic collapse of a subsistence serf economy and the moral degeneration of the ruling class, then in the image of Chichikov he showed the typical features of a predator, a "scoundrel", an "acquirer" of the bourgeois fold, generated by the initial stage, capitalist accumulation.

In the eleventh chapter of the first volume, Gogol talks in detail about life path Chichikov from birth to the moment when this "hero" started buying up dead souls; how Chichikov's character developed, what vital interests formed in him under the influence environment guided his behavior.

Even as a child, he received instructions from his father on how to break into people: “most of all please teachers and bosses ... hang out with those who are richer so that they can be useful to you on occasion ... and most of all, take care and save a penny, this thing is more reliable than anything in the world ... You will do everything and break everything in the world with a penny. This testament of the father and put Chichikov at the basis of his relationship with people, even from the school bench. To save a penny, but not for its own sake, but as a means to achieve material well-being and a prominent position in society, became the main goal of his whole life.

Already at the school, he quickly achieved the location of the teacher and, having a "great mind on the practical side", successfully accumulated money.

Service in various institutions developed and polished his natural data in Chichikovo - a practical mind, deft ingenuity, hypocrisy, patience, the ability to “comprehend the spirit of the boss”, find a weak chord in a person’s soul and skillfully influence it for personal purposes, energy and perseverance in achieving conceived, complete promiscuity in means and heartlessness.

Having received the post of assistant, Chichikov “became a noticeable person. Everything turned out to be in him that is necessary for this world: both pleasantness in turns and actions, and glibness in business affairs. All this distinguished Chichikov in his further service; this is how he appears before us during the purchase of dead souls.

“Irresistible strength of character”, “quickness, insight and clairvoyance”, all his ability to charm a person, Chichikov puts into play in order to achieve the desired enrichment.

Widely applying all his practical intelligence, courtesy and resourcefulness, Chichikov managed to charm both the provincial town and the estates. Having quickly guessed the person, he knows how to approach everyone in a special way, subtly calculating his moves and adapting the manner of address and the very tone of speech to the character of the landowner. One has only to follow how Chichikov behaves and speaks with Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin to be convinced of this and be amazed at the inexhaustible variety of "all the shades and subtleties of his manner."

This internal "many-sidedness" of Chichikov, elusiveness is also emphasized by his appearance, given by Gogol in indefinite tones. “In the britzka sat a gentleman who was not handsome, but not bad-looking either, neither too fat nor too thin, one cannot say that he was old, but not so much that he was too young.”

Chichikov's facial expression is constantly changing, depending on who and what he is talking about. Going to the governor's ball, he spends an hour in front of the mirror, studying various facial expressions and mannerisms in order to apply them at the ball. “I tried to tell him (his face) a lot of different expressions: sometimes important and sedate, sometimes respectful, but with a certain smile, sometimes simply respectful without a smile; several bows were made in the mirror, accompanied by indistinct sounds, partly similar to French ones, although Chichikov did not know French at all.

Gogol constantly emphasizes the external neatness of his hero, his love for cleanliness, a good, fashionable suit. Chichikov is always carefully shaved and perfumed; he always wears clean underwear and a fashionable dress of "brown and reddish colors with a spark" or "the color of Navarino smoke with flames."

And this outward neatness and cleanliness of Chichikov, strikingly contrasting with the internal dirt and uncleanliness of this hero, fully completes the image of a “scoundrel”, “acquirer”-predator, who uses everything to achieve his main goal - profit, acquisition.

Gogol satirically castigates his hero - a "scoundrel", a representative of those predators, of which there were many in the 30s, when the bourgeois-capitalist forces had already begun to develop even within the framework of the feudal-serf system. This was noted by Belinsky, who said that "Chichikov, as an acquirer, is no less, if not more than Pechorin, a hero of our time."

Belinsky and Chernyshevsky noted that Chichikov was typical for the bourgeois world.

Belinsky wrote that “the same Chichikovs are found abroad, only in a different dress: in France and England they do not buy up dead souls, but bribe living souls in free parliamentary elections! The whole difference is in civilization, not in essence. Chernyshevsky wrote that in England "the Chichikovs ... are busy with stock exchange and factory tricks."