The image of Chichikov in the poem “Dead Souls”: description of appearance and character with quotes. Did Chichikov fulfill his father's wishes? (based on N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”) Who is Chichikov

The image of Chichikov - the so-called "throughout hero" - is the most complex and multifaceted in the poem. First of all, Chichikov stands out from the general background with activity and activity. This figure of the entrepreneur is new in Russian literature.

Compositionally, this image is constructed in such a way that first, having become acquainted with him and forming our opinion about him, we get the opportunity to find out how his character was formed. This compositional feature of the poem and its meaning is very accurately commented by Yu.V. Mann: “Although we understand from the very beginning that we are witnessing a scam, what its specific purpose and mechanism is becomes completely clear only in the last chapter. From the same chapter, another, not announced at the beginning, but no less important, “secret” becomes clear: what biographical, personal reasons led Chichikov to this scam. The story of a case turns into a story of character."

The image of Chichikov is deliberately complicated: every now and then features appear in him that would seem alien to him. The author's reflections often turn out to be not only the author's, but also Chichikov's, as, for example, about balls, about Sobakevich, about the governor's daughter... In Chichikov, the unpredictability and inexhaustibility of a living soul is most clearly revealed - even if it is not God knows how rich, even if it is dwindling , but alive.

The eleventh chapter is devoted to the history of Chichikov’s soul. His biography begins from the moment of birth, when life immediately looked at the man who was born “sourly and unpleasantly, through some muddy, snow-covered window: no friend, no comrade in childhood!” And then the poor material and spiritually poor life of a boy is briefly described, doomed to repeat the inconspicuous, meaningless path of his father and sink into obscurity. Is it not from this inferiority that Chichikov’s furious protest, his desire to ensure the material well-being of his future children at all costs, so that they do not despise their father, so that they remember him with gratitude?!

The only thing his father could give Pavlusha was half a piece of copper and an instruction presented as a spiritual covenant: “See, Pavlusha, study, don’t be a fool and don’t hang around, but most of all please your teachers and bosses. If you please your boss, then even If you don't have time in science, and God didn't give you talent, you'll use everything and get ahead of everyone. Don't hang out with your comrades, they won't teach you any good; and if it comes to that, hang out with those who are richer, and most of all, take care and "Save a penny: this is the most reliable thing in the world. A comrade or friend will deceive you and in trouble he will be the first to betray you, but a penny will not betray you, no matter what trouble you are in. You will do everything, you will ruin everything in the world with a penny."

That's it - short and clear. And the reasoning of Chichikov Sr. reminds us of something? Well, of course! - Molchalina:

My father bequeathed to me:

First, please all people without exception -

The owner, where he will live,

The boss with whom I will serve,

To his servant who cleans dresses,

To the doorman, janitor, to avoid evil,

To the janitor's dog, so that it is affectionate.

Just like Molchalin, Chichikov actively seeks material well-being, trying to please all bosses with “moderation and accuracy.” And how the “bosses” respond to these talents! Remember, for example, the teacher Pavlushi: “It should be noted that the teacher was a great lover of silence and good behavior and could not stand smart and sharp boys...”

But despite all the closeness to the “Molchalin” type, Chichikov is much deeper and more complex than his predecessor: “It cannot be said, however, that the nature of our hero was so harsh and callous and his feelings were so dulled that he knew neither pity nor compassion; he felt both, he would even like to help, but only so that it would not involve a significant amount, so as not to touch the money that was supposed not to be touched; in a word, his father’s instructions: take care and save a penny - gone for future use."

The peculiarity of Molchalin is that he is completely devoid of moral principles. Gogol deepens the analysis of the “Molchalin type”. Chichikov is not unprincipled, in his own way he is capable of sympathy, in his own way he worries that stupidity and injustice triumph. But the basis of the tragedy and, at the same time, the comedy of this image is that all of Chichikov’s human feelings exist insofar as, and he sees the meaning of life in acquisition, in accumulation. This is not yet Plyushkin’s mania for getting rich for the sake of getting rich. For Chichikov, money is a means, not a goal. He wants prosperity, a worthy free life. But this is precisely the trap: with moral illegibility, money very soon turns into an end in itself, and a person only deceives himself, considering it a means. There will never be enough of them, you need to accumulate more and more - this is a direct path to Plyushkin...

Let us give one more judgment about the main character of the poem, in which, it seems to us, the nature of the Chichikov phenomenon is deeply revealed. These are the thoughts of V. Nabokov from his essay “Nikolai Gogol” (New World. 1987. No. 4.)

“Dead Souls provides the attentive reader with a collection of bloated dead souls that belonged to vulgarities and vulgar women and are described with purely Gogolian gusto and a wealth of eerie details that raise this work to the level of a gigantic epic poem,” it was not for nothing that Gogol gave “Dead Souls” such an apt subtitle. In vulgarity there is some kind of gloss, some kind of plumpness, and its gloss, its smooth outlines attracted Gogol as an artist. The colossal spherical vulgarity Pavel Chichikov, who pulls a fig out of milk with his fingers to soften his throat, or dances in his nightgown, causing things on the shelves shudder to the rhythm of this Spartan jig (and in the end, in ecstasy, he hits himself on his plump bottom, that is, on his real face, with his bare pink heel, thereby as if pushing himself into the real paradise of dead souls) - these visions reign over the smaller the vulgarities of wretched provincial life or petty little officials... But a vulgarity, even of such a gigantic caliber as Chichikov, certainly has some kind of flaw, a hole through which a worm is visible, a miserable shriveled fool who lies huddled in the depths of a vacuum saturated with vulgarity. From the very beginning, there was something stupid in the idea of ​​​​buying up dead souls - the souls of serfs who died after the next census: the landowners continued to pay a poll tax for them, thereby endowing them with something like an abstract existence, which, however, was very concretely encroaching on the pocket their owners and could have been just as “specifically” used by Chichikov, the buyer of these phantoms. A small, but rather disgusting stupidity was hidden for some time in a tangle of complex manipulations. By trying to buy dead people in a country where living people were legally bought and pawned, Chichikov hardly sinned seriously from a moral point of view. Despite Chichikov's unconditional irrationality in an unconditionally irrational world, the fool in him is visible because from the very beginning he makes one mistake after another. It was stupid to trade dead souls with an old woman who was afraid of ghosts, and it was unforgivable recklessness to offer such a dubious deal to the braggart and boor Nozdryov.<…>Since Chichikov’s guilt is purely conditional, his fate is unlikely to touch anyone’s heartstrings. This once again proves how ridiculously wrong Russian readers and critics were, who saw in “Dead Souls” a factual depiction of life at that time. But if you approach the legendary vulgar Chichikov as he deserves, that is, see in him an individual created by Gogol, who moves in a special, Gogol whirlwind, then the abstract idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe fraudulent trade in serfs will be filled with a strange reality and will mean much more than what we would see if we consider it in the light of the social conditions that prevailed in Russia a hundred years ago. The dead souls he buys are not just a list of names on a piece of paper. These are dead souls that fill the air in which Gogol lives with their creaking and fluttering, the absurd animuli (little souls (Latin)) of Manilov or Korobochki, ladies from the city of NN, countless gnomes jumping out of the pages of this book. And Chichikov himself is just a low-paid agent of the devil, a hellish traveling salesman<…>The vulgarity that Chichikov personifies is one of the main distinguishing properties of the devil, in whose existence, it must be added, Gogol believed much more than in the existence of God. The crack in Chichikov’s armor, this rusty hole, from which comes a vile stench (like from a broken can of crabs, which some scumbag mutilated and left in the closet) is an indispensable chink in the devil’s visor. This is the original idiocy of worldwide vulgarity.

Chichikov is doomed from the very beginning and is sliding towards his death, wobbling slightly with his backside, with a gait that only to the vulgar and vulgar people of the city of NN could seem delightfully secular. At the decisive moments, when he bursts into one of his moralizing tirades (with a slight interruption in the sweet-voiced speech - a tremolo on the words "beloved brothers"), intending to drown his true intentions in pompous molasses, he calls himself the pathetic worm of this world. Oddly enough, his insides are actually gnawed by a worm, and if you squint a little, looking at its roundness, you can distinguish this worm. I remember a pre-war European poster advertising tires; it showed what looked like a human being made entirely of rubber rings; So the rounded Chichikov seems to me like a tight, ringed, flesh-colored worm.”

Chichikov builds his well-being on the misfortunes of others: he insulted an old dying teacher, deceived the police officer and his daughter, takes bribes, uses government money, indulges in scams at customs... We do not like the teacher, the old police officer is unpleasant, we understand that the state has not become impoverished especially from the Chichikov customs "negotiations". But that’s not the point; it is important that the essence of his actions is the same - deception, betrayal, fraud. And one can neither imagine Chichikov as Robin Hood, taking away the loot, nor excuse his actions by the unsympathetic nature of the victims. The end does not justify the means - and Chichikov violates this basic moral law, allows himself to do mean things, justifying himself: “I didn’t make anyone unhappy: I didn’t rob a widow, I didn’t let anyone go around the world, I used it from excess, I took where everyone would take ..."

It is clear that this is a very convenient philosophy: it simplifies life so much! A criminal robbed a widow. But you robbed the treasury and took it “from the surplus,” so you’re a shrewd business man. Chichikov creates for himself a special system of moral values, opposed to Christian morality, creates a system of self-justification - all this is degradation, the path of spiritual impoverishment, for a person constantly facilitates his conversation with his own conscience and ultimately justifies his crime. This is the path to the abyss - Gogol warns against it.

The city, living on gossip, considers Chichikov to be the kidnapper of the governor’s daughter, Napoleon, the Antichrist, and Captain Kopeikin. This characterizes the life of the city, the way of thinking of officials and their wives. In their own way, these projections also characterize Chichikov. This is a petty, small, vulgar Napoleon, achieving his goal by any means; he is a de-romanticized robber “like Rinalda Rinaldin”; This is not the Antichrist, but a petty demon...

Special mention must be made of the projection of the image of Chichikov onto the image of Captain Kopeikin. At the very beginning we said that censorship banned the “story”. For Gogol, this was a terrible blow: “... I admit, the destruction of Kopeikin confused me a lot. This is one of the best places. And I am not able to patch up this hole that is visible in my poem.” And Gogol decides to rework the “story”. In the censored version, Kopeikin receives a small amount to survive until the issue of benefits is resolved. But amidst the temptations of the capital, he instantly spends this money and comes to demand new ones. It was then that he was expelled from St. Petersburg, and he went to rob. As you can see, Gogol completely removed the motive of a person forced to die of hunger: in the new edition, Kopeikin does not need money for his daily bread: “I need, he says, to eat a cutlet, a bottle of French wine, to entertain myself, too, to the theater, you know.” That is, there is no direct exposure, the hero turns out to be almost an impudent extortionist. Why did Gogol still leave the “story”?

First of all, let's pay attention to the style of the "story". It is told by the postmaster, and this hero explains himself in his style. And in his presentation everything takes on a special look. Yu.V. brilliantly analyzes this aspect. Mann: “The awkwardly comical manner of narration ... casts a shadow on what is being said - on the subject of the story. Not the high commission, but “in some way the high commission.” Not the board, but “the board, you know, sort of” The difference between the nobleman and Captain Kopeikin was transferred to the money account: “ninety rubles and zero!” Through such and such a dense network of words “in a way,” “sort of,” “can you imagine,” etc., the royal capital is seen. And on her monumental face (and on everything that happens in the “story”) some kind of motley, wavering ripples fall. By making the reader laugh, Gogol deprived the royal institutions and institutions of the priesthood.

The question arises: could anything like this be in the thoughts of the postmaster, the narrator of the “story”? But that’s the point: his tongue-tied manner of narration is so naive, so sincere that admiration in it is inseparable from evil mockery. And if so, then this manner is capable of conveying the caustic mockery of the author of “Dead Souls” himself.

It is in this manner that the changes in the characterization of the “boss” and captain Kopeikin that the writer was forced to make are neutralized and nullified” (Yu. Mann. The Courage of Invention. M., “Children’s Literature”, 1979, pp. 110-111) .

So, “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” introduces the theme of the capital and the highest circles of power into the poem. Researchers noted that it is one of Gogol’s St. Petersburg stories, as if “inserted” into Dead Souls. This is true, but there is a feeling of foreignness of the story in the fabric of the poem. Is it really needed only for the “St. Petersburg theme”? No, of course, not only for this, although Gogol’s very goal - “to show all of Rus'” - required the inclusion of this topic.

And yet the story is mainly connected with the deep layers of the poem.

Look how the postmaster's version compares with all the other versions: it is just as ridiculous as they come. This creates a general atmosphere of madness, the inconsistency of everything with everything, total blindness and stupidity. And finally, the most important thing. The story contains one of the main motives of Gogol’s work: the motive of revenge, or rather, the motive of the immorality of revenge.

“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” was written around the same time as “The Overcoat” - one of Gogol’s most important stories, one of the central ones in Russian literature. Remember the words of Dostoevsky: “We all came out of Gogol’s “Overcoat”! The little official Akaki Akakievich cuts himself in everything in order to sew a new overcoat. For him, this overcoat is something immeasurably more than just warm, comfortable clothes. It is a symbol of his human dignity, his "independence". And in the very first days on the street, robbers took off his overcoat! Having not achieved justice, Akaky Akakievich despairs and dies. And then on the outskirts of St. Petersburg a terrible ghost appears, pulling off people's coats, especially their overcoats. What is this story about? Let's think about it , after all, Akaki Akakievich could take revenge precisely on the robbers who took his overcoat. Why doesn’t he limit himself to this? That’s the point - and this is one of Gogol’s fundamental ideas - that the measure of revenge will always exceed the measure of the offense inflicted. In revenge, it is never justice triumphs - revenge blinds, makes you see enemies in everyone around you. Protest is also the awakening of a living soul, the measure of patience of which is not limitless. But protest, pushing for revenge, inciting violence, is a terrible path of awakening, leading to the abyss, to destruction.

In both the first and second versions of “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin,” the main thing is preserved: power is always late with justice. The defender of the fatherland (after all, Captain Kopeikin is a hero of the war of 1812) turns into an enemy of the fatherland.

Of course, Chichikov is not Captain Kopeikin. But what brings them together is that Russia will not allow its citizens to become virtuous and improve themselves. All abilities are channeled into bad channels, turned into evil in this country of absurdity, distorted moral values, triumphant stupidity and vulgarity.

“The Tale of Captain Kopeikin” is a terrifying picture of the rapid transformation of the defender of Rus', who shed blood for his cause, into her adversary. This is Gogol’s warning to his contemporaries, a call to wake up, to awaken from their sleepy march into the abyss.

Bibliography

Monakhova O.P., Malkhazova M.V. Russian literature of the 19th century. Part 1. - M., 1994.

Nabokov V.V. Nikolai Gogol // New World. 1987. No. 4

To prepare this work, materials from the site http://www.gramma.ru were used

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“It is very doubtful that the readers will like the hero we have chosen... No, it’s time to finally hide the scoundrel too. So, let’s harness the scoundrel.” This is how Gogol characterized his hero. Come on, is Chichikov really a scoundrel? What's wrong with a person wanting to get rich all his life? But no, the wise connoisseur of human hearts, the great satirist, is not mistaken. Pavel Ivanovich did not want to get rich by honest means, not by enriching the fatherland and increasing its industry, like Kostan - a scoundrel, but by deception, cunning and deceit. Let's take a closer look

On him. Here he is sitting in the chaise! “Not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin; I can’t say that I’m old, but I can’t say that I’m too young.”

His appearance speaks of his ability to adapt to a variety of circumstances.

All his life Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov saved money. It started from childhood. He received a good commandment from his father. “Look, Pavlusha,” he said to him, sending him to school, “don’t be stupid and don’t hang around, but most of all please the teachers and bosses... hang out with those who are richer, so that on occasion you can be useful. Do not treat or regale anyone, but

Behave in such a way that you will be treated, and most of all, take care and save a penny; this thing is the most reliable... You will do everything, and you will lose everything with a penny.”

We can say that Chichikov's life was the fulfillment of this covenant. That’s why we say that he is a “knight of a penny.” After all, he remained faithful to her to the end.

Having left the school and betrayed his teacher, Chichikov begins more difficult things. He has been courting his boss’s ugly daughter for a long time, pretending that he is going to marry her. But when the overjoyed father helps his imaginary son-in-law become a petty boss, Chichikov cleverly deceives him. Pavel Ivanovich quickly walks up the hill. Now he is already on the commission that is going to build a state building. But the members of this commission are only engaged in theft. Chichikov is not asleep either. However, the thieves are caught. Still, our hero does not give up. He becomes a customs officer and deftly exposes smugglers. And then a new scam. And it failed. Our knight has 10 - 20 thousand left and some of his former luxury. But he is stubborn: “Crying will not help the grief, we need to do something.”

And he begins a new business, brilliant in its simplicity and the possibility of making money at public expense. He buys up dead peasants who are still listed as alive in the census in order to pledge them to the Guardian Council. His desire for enrichment makes him an experienced psychologist. Everyone (even Sobakevich) speaks of him in the best possible way. He has many faces in his relationships with people, adapting to the interests and character of those he needs. His very appearance, neat, beautiful clothes, good manners - everything speaks of his elusiveness.

Chichikov loves all the delights of life, dreams of marrying a pretty “grandmother”, taking a dowry of 100 - 200 thousand, living on a grand scale. But in order to achieve a goal, he can deny himself many things for a long time. He is not Plyushkin or a stingy knight rejoicing in his wealth. He needs money to become the master of life, in order to “break through everything” with its help. Gogol satirically castigates his hero - a “scoundrel”, a representative of those predators who appeared in large numbers in the 30s of the last century. Patriarchal Russia was already becoming a thing of the past, and similar entrepreneurs - acquirers - began to enter the arena. This was noted by V. G. Belinsky, who said that “Chichikov, as an acquirer, is no less, if not more than Pechorin, a hero of our time.” There are many Chichikovs in our lives too!

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This story, in his eyes, explains a lot about the hero’s character and makes him treat many things more leniently. That is why he talks in detail about. This childhood was hopeless, desolate: poverty, lack of love and affection, the immorality of a callous, unloving father, external and internal dirt - this was the environment in which he grew up, loved by no one, needed by no one. But fate endowed Chichikov with iron energy and the desire to arrange his life “more decently” than his loser father, unclean both in the moral and physical sense. This “dissatisfaction with reality” inspired the energy of little Chichikov. From his early encounters with poverty and hunger, from his father’s complaints about lack of money, from his instructions to “save money,” since you can only rely on one “money” in life, the boy gained the conviction that money is the basis of earthly happiness. That is why the hero of “Dead Souls” began to see the well-being of life as something that could be obtained with money - a well-fed, luxurious life, comfort... And so Chichikov began to “invent” and “acquire”: penny by penny he saved money, dodging in every possible way in the company of his comrades , revealing extraordinary persistence. While still at school, he began to “make a career” by imitating the teacher’s tastes. While still at school, he developed the talent to peer into human weaknesses, skillfully play on them, slowly and persistently. The ability to adapt to a person helped the main character of “Dead Souls” in the service, but it also developed in Chichikov the desire to sort out the “necessary” people from the “unnecessary”. That is why he reacted coldly to the sad fate of his former teacher, that is why he did not have any feelings of gratitude towards the old tax farmer who helped him get a position. The feeling of gratitude is unprofitable - it requires “giving up something”, giving up “something”, and this was not part of the calculations of the “acquirer” Chichikov. Money, as the only and main goal of life, is an unclean goal, and the paths to it are unclean, and Chichikov went to this goal along the road of fraud and deception, without losing heart, struggling with failures... Meanwhile, having entered the wide expanse of life, he expanded and deepened his ideal. The picture of a well-fed, luxurious life gave way to another - he began to dream of a calm, clean family life, in the company of his wife and children. He felt warm and comfortable when he surrendered to this dream. The hero of “Dead Souls” pictured in his mind a house where complete contentment reigns, where he is an exemplary husband, a respected father and a respectable citizen of his native land. It seemed to Chichikov that when his dreams came true, he would forget the whole past - his dirty, joyless and hungry childhood and the thorny road marked by fraud and trickery. It seemed to him that he would then give up cheating, “correct himself” and leave an “honest name” to his children. If earlier, when cheating, he justified himself with the knowledge that “everyone does it,” now a new justification has been added: “the end justifies the means.”

Chichikov's ideals became broader, but the path to them remained dirty, and he became more and more dirty. And, in the end, he himself had to admit that “cunning” had become his habit, his second nature. “No more disgust from vice! - he complains to Murazov in the second part of “Dead Souls”. - The nature has become coarser; there is no love for good, there is no such desire to strive for good as there is for obtaining property! Several times Chichikov managed to erect the shaky edifice of his well-being on fraudulent tricks of all kinds; Several times he was close to realizing his ideals, and every time everything collapsed, he had to build everything all over again.

Chichikov - the main character of Gogol's "Dead Souls"

Chichikov's willpower and intelligence

The main character of Dead Souls is distinguished by considerable willpower. “Your destiny is to be a great man,” Murazov tells him, reproaching him for the fact that the great power of his soul, his energy, was always directed towards an impure goal. Gogol also speaks about Chichikov’s energy more than once in “Dead Souls,” at least when telling his arduous “odyssey” when he had to organize his life all over again. In addition to willpower, Chichikov is endowed with a great mind, not only a practical one - intelligence, ingenuity, cunning and resourcefulness, but also that contemplative, “philosophical” mind that puts him above all other heroes of the poem. No wonder Gogol puts deep thoughts into his head about the fate of the Russian man (reading the list of bought men). In addition, Chichikov talks sensibly about the vulgarity of the life of a prosecutor, about the upbringing that spoils a girl in Russia. It is not for nothing that he understands not only human weaknesses, but also virtues; it is not without reason that, when faced with honest people (Governor General, Murazov), he turns out to be able, precisely at the moment of his humiliation, to rise morally. In their society, he is portrayed not only as a resourceful and crafty rogue, but as a fallen man who understands the depth and shame of his fall. “He never respected a single person for their intelligence,” says Gogol, until fate brought him together with Kostanzhoglo, Murazov and others. He did not respect him because he himself was smarter than everyone he had met before.

In the practical rogue hero of Dead Souls, Gogol noted another characteristic feature - a tendency towards poetry and daydreaming. Chichikov’s momentary infatuation with a young lady he met on the way, his pure infatuation with the governor’s daughter, his mood in the Platonovs’ house, his pleasure in the evening at the Rooster’s estate, in the spring in the village of Tentetnikov, his very dreams of quiet, beautiful family happiness are full of real poetry...

At the same time, Chichikov has a very high opinion of himself: he respects himself for his energy, for his intelligence, for his ability to live. He loves himself for his “pure dreams,” which he zealously serves; he loves himself for his good looks, for his elegant suit, for his noble manners - in a word, for the fact that, having come out of a dirty hole, from the dirty company of his father, he managed to become, in his opinion, a “decent man.”

Chichikov in society

Gogol's image of Chichikov immediately becomes vulgar when he finds himself in a society of vulgar people. This happens because he always adapts to the people with whom he deals: he even speaks and behaves differently in the company of Manilov, Sobakevich and Korobochka. With the first, Chichikov becomes sentimental, dreams, rubs into his sensitive heart; with the second he is businesslike, and responds to the owner’s distrust with the same distrust (scene with money and receipt); He shouts at the harmless, stupid Korobochka, promising her “damn.” When Chichikov finds himself in “society”, he imitates the “tone” of this society, adopts those manners that are considered “decent” here - and therefore for the crowd he will always be “decent”, “well-intentioned”, “pleasant”... He will not go, like Chatsky in Griboedov’s “Woe from Wit,” against the whole of Moscow—Molchalin’s policy is more convenient and easier for him.

Chichikov understands people and knows how to make a favorable impression - in the second part of “Dead Souls” he charms even the smart Kostanzhoglo, and wins the distrustful brother Platonov in his favor. In addition, he is careful - even when tipsy, he knows how to keep his tongue from being too talkative: life, obviously, has taught him caution. However, sometimes Chichikov makes mistakes: he made a mistake in Nozdryov, and he made a mistake with Korobochka. But this mistake is explained by the fact that these two characters in “Dead Souls” also have such unique characters that even Chichikov did not immediately comprehend.

The complexity and contradictory nature of Chichikov

The passion for “acquisition” has left a certain stamp of “pettiness” on the protagonist of “Dead Souls” - he even collects old posters in his box - a trait worthy of Plyushkin. The structure of his box, with drawers and secret compartments, is reminiscent of Korobochka's chest of drawers, with its bags for ten-kopeck, two-kopeck coins. At school, Chichikov saved money using the Korobochka method. Chichikov’s pettiness is also expressed in his curiosity: he always questions the sex workers, servants, collects all kinds of information “just in case,” just as Plyushkin collected various objects in his office.

Not without irony, Gogol casually notes in “Dead Souls” another feature of Chichikov - his “compassion” - he always gave pennies to the poor. But this compassion is “penny” - it is far from the ability of self-sacrifice, renunciation of some benefits in favor of one’s neighbor. Chichikov has no love for his neighbor at all. He did not rise beyond the ideals of family love, which were essentially selfish.

If Gogol really wanted to show in Chichikov the revival of a vicious person for good, then we must admit that he made a successful choice of the hero of Dead Souls. Chichikov's complex nature is rich in a wide variety of qualities. His amazing energy was combined with intelligence, common sense, cunning, great flexibility and tirelessness.

But, besides all this, Gogol noted in him a “man-inventor”, capable of inventing something “new”, telling a society mired in inertia his new, albeit criminal, word. Chichikov has no inertia - his mind is free and his imagination is winged. But all these qualities are, so to speak, “neutral” - they can be equally aimed at evil and good. But Gogol emphasized the presence of consciousness in the soul of this hero of “Dead Souls” - Chichikov knows that he is doing evil, but consoles himself with the thought that “doing evil” in his life is only a “transitional moment.” In this ability to distinguish between “good” and “evil” lies the source of Chichikov’s revival. It is all the easier for him because, in essence, his life ideals (“pure family happiness”) were, if not particularly high, then, nevertheless, impeccable. Moreover, in his soul there are soft elements of poetry and dreaminess. Probably, on all these positive qualities of Chichikov, Gogol wanted to further development of the action of “Dead Souls” build its revival.

The story of Plyushkin and Tentetnikov in the second part of “Dead Souls”, the life story of Russian peasants (see Chichikov’s reading of the list of names of the peasants he bought). He puts into Murazov’s mouth an explanation of why a person’s history is interesting. Murazov says to the stern Governor General: “...If you don’t take into account a person’s previous life, if you don’t ask about everything in cold blood, but shout the first time, you’ll only scare him, and you won’t even achieve real recognition; and if you ask him with his participation, like a brother of a brother, he will express everything himself... The human situation is difficult, your Excellency, very, very difficult. It happens that it seems that a person is to blame all around... but when you come in, it’s not even him... Gogol recommends such a humane attitude towards each person in a letter to “who occupies an important place” (“Selected passages from correspondence with friends”). He condemned the lack of this humane attention in “) they were finishing reading old novels - obviously very pleasant. More educated people, Tentetnikov, Platonov, were only amazed by it. However, in a conversation with Murazov, Chichikov does not resort to this “poetic” style, which so favored Manilov and the provincial ladies.

From ancient times to the present day, there have been fierce debates about what money is: good or evil.

The famous American businessman Robert Kiyosaki, author of the game “Cash Flow,” wrote: “The first lesson we must learn is that money itself is not evil. It's just a tool, like a pencil. The pencil can be used to write a beautiful love letter or a complaint that will get you fired. It’s not about the object itself, but about the motivation of the person holding a pencil or money in his hands.”

In this statement, he touches on the problem of money as a tool in the hands of a person to achieve certain goals.

These days, this problem is very relevant, because a huge number of people living below the poverty line do not know how to increase their earnings or convert a penny into a ruble. It’s easier, of course, to scold money, say that it causes all the troubles, and do nothing to get out of poverty. But starting your own small business, falling and making mistakes, but moving forward is not easy. However, every person makes his own choice in life, this is his world and his right.

There are many heroes in fiction in whose lives money plays an important role. For example, Khlestakov, the main character of N.V. Gogol’s immortal comedy “The Inspector General,” receives a certain amount from the priest every month, and his servant Osip tells how he manages it: “.. the priest will send money, something to hold it with - and where !.. went on a spree: he drives a cab, every day you get a ticket to the hospital, and then a week later, lo and behold, he sends him to the flea market to sell a new tailcoat. Sometimes he'll take everything down to the last shirt, so all he'll be wearing is a little coat and an overcoat... By God, it's true! And the cloth is so important, English! One hundred and fifty rubles will cost him one tailcoat, but in the market he will sell it for twenty rubles; and there’s nothing to say about the trousers - they don’t suit them at all. Why? - because he’s not involved in business: instead of taking office, he goes for a walk around the precinct, plays cards.”

As we see, the available funds for the hero would be quite enough for a comfortable existence, and with a certain diligence he could achieve career growth and prosperity in life, but, having received the money, he immediately spends it on entertainment, expensive clothes, delicious food, and loses at cards . When the money runs out, he sells his last pants. And why? Yes, because he is an empty person, he has no purpose in life. Apart from entertainment, he is not interested in anything. Money for him is neither good nor evil, just pieces of paper that help him get through his life.

He doesn't know how to manage personal finances,
knows how to control his expenses.

Left penniless, Khlestakov does not repent at all. “And with all that fear, I would like to fight it again!” - he exclaims.

The hero dreams: “It would be nice, damn it, to come home in a carriage, to ride like a devil,” but he is inactive, does not think about how to improve his financial situation.

And then, it would seem, luck smiled on him: officials of the county town mistook him for an auditor and showered him with money. And what about our hero? How did he decide to manage the finances that unexpectedly fell upon him? "Wow! has exceeded a thousand... Come on, now, captain, come on, let me catch you now! Let's see who wins!” - exclaims Khlestakov. And it is clear that he will again lose every penny and will again starve in some provincial town.

In the modern world there are many people like this: an inheritance or a big win suddenly falls on their heads, but they do not know how to spend wisely or manage their money, and therefore they soon lose everything and are left with nothing.

But Plyushkin, the hero of Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls,” has a different attitude towards money: he is greedy to the point of disgrace, every penny counts in his account, but can he be called a prosperous person?

Once upon a time he was a good host, “a neighbor came to have lunch with him, listen and learn from him about housekeeping and wise stinginess. Everything flowed lively and happened at a measured pace: mills, fulling mills moved, cloth factories, carpentry machines, spinning mills worked...” There was prosperity in everything. Plyushkin, as an experienced businessman, skillfully managed his large estate, there were always many guests in the house, his “friendly and talkative hostess was famous for her hospitality.”

This hero was thinking about how to increase his capital, how to earn more: he either sculpted a bullfinch and “sold it profitably”, then bought buns and resold them to hungry comrades (many entrepreneurs are engaged in resale of goods at higher prices in our time), then I trained a mouse, which was not easy, and also sold it. He was a hypocrite, he adapted, he was mean, which, of course, was disgusting, but, in spite of everything, he stubbornly walked towards his goal. What was Pavel Ivanovich trying to achieve? Gogol himself gives us the answer to this question: “But he had no attachment to money for the sake of money; he was not possessed by stinginess and stinginess. No, it was not they who moved him: he imagined a life ahead of him in all comforts, with all sorts of prosperity; carriages, a well-appointed house, delicious dinners - that’s what was constantly running through his head. In order to finally, in time, be sure to taste all this, that’s why the penny was saved, sparingly denied for the time being both to oneself and to others.” This hero not only saved money, but also constantly thought about how to increase his income to such an extent as to make his dreams come true. And, what is very important, he had a calculation. Why didn’t Chichikov achieve what he so strived for? Yes, because he constantly went against the law: he developed a system of bribes, he established relationships with smugglers, and he launched a scam with dead souls. He constantly violated one of the rules of the financier: you cannot enter into dangerous enterprises and transactions, so as not to lose your money. In business you need to be honest. However, what is striking is that every time his business failed and he lost his wealth, the desire for his goal did not fade away. Chichikov, with amazing tenacity, is starting everything over again and will probably come up with some other way to get rich.

What happened to the hero? What kind of person is he?
turned into a spider?

Chichikov sees him completely differently. Plyushkin became stingy and suspicious. When “they came to take away his household goods; the buyers haggled and haggled and finally abandoned him altogether, saying that he was a demon, not a man; hay and bread rotted, luggage and stacks turned into pure manure, even if you planted cabbage on them, flour in the cellars turned into stone, and it was necessary to chop it, it was scary to touch cloth, linens and household materials: they turned to dust.” He stores up both goods and all sorts of rubbish, does not spend a penny, goes hungry himself, brings his children to poverty, not to mention the serfs. Money does not bring him any income, he does not use its opportunities, he does not live himself and does not let others live, this is “dead money”, and the hero himself can be called dead, because the way he lives cannot be called life. Excessive stinginess, reaching the point of absurdity, short-sightedness, fear of selling out, and reluctance to put money into circulation lead him to collapse. What about the main character of the poem Chichikov? What is his attitude towards money? Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, in my opinion, although a swindler, is an interesting person. Dying, his father told him: “Take care and save a penny: this thing is more reliable than anything in the world. A comrade or friend will deceive you and in trouble will be the first to betray you, but a penny will not betray you, no matter what trouble you are in. You will do everything and ruin everything in the world with a penny.” And the hero began to increase his penny. Of course, many of his actions can be called immoral, but “he did not spend a penny of the half-ruble given by his father; on the contrary, in the same year he already added to it, showing almost extraordinary resourcefulness.”

Here are three completely different heroes,everyone had moneyand none of them managed to usethem for the benefit of themselves, not to mention the country.

Thus, it is safe to say that money is just a means to achieve your goals, and in order to use it correctly so that it generates income, you need to learn the lessons of financial literacy.

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

Who is Chichikov

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

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

Passion for accumulating money

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Appearance and character traits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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