The image of Chichikov in N. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls"

The poem by N. V. Gogol "Dead Souls" was an important stage in the development of the Russian critical realism and was the pinnacle artistic creativity writer. In his work, Gogol ridiculed the vices of feudal Russia from top to bottom: from the provincial wilderness to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Gogol, according to Herzen, "flaunted Russia noblemen, serf-owners, whom we saw coming out of palaces and houses without masks..."

The central character of Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. The story about him runs through the whole poem, and all other characters are characterized through his attitude towards them. It is about him that the author writes in Chapter XI: “Here he is the complete master, and wherever he pleases, we must drag ourselves there.” Of course, the writer did not reduce his work to the story of one person; he saw his task in analyzing the various phenomena of life. However, Chichikov is the main character of the poem, holding the whole story together.

Chichikov, revolving in the circle of landowners, is a person with other life principles. Before us Gogol creates typical image representative of the emerging bourgeoisie. By origin, he also belongs to the nobility, but the estate, where he could do farming, does not bring him income. Chichikov's father was not rich, and he left four worn sweatshirts, two old frock coats and an insignificant amount of money as a legacy to his son. Chichikov, unlike other landowners, made his own way in life. Even during his time at school, he showed an amazing resourcefulness in terms of making money. Practicality, prudence, roguery were already inherent in the character of Chichikov. His fantasy briskly worked on the invention of various kinds of commercial operations. In addition, he deftly knew how to gain confidence in school mentors, and therefore was at school "on an excellent account" and upon graduation he received a book "with golden letters for exemplary diligence and trustworthy behavior." However, Chichikov early years I learned to evaluate my relationships with people in terms of real benefit. So, for example, he refuses to help the school mentor, although earlier (as a student) he fawned over him. Indifference to other people's beams is another trait in the character of this character.

All the low spiritual qualities of Chichikov manifest themselves with special force when he embarks on the path of independent life activity. The desire to make an “increment to half a ruble”, which led him from early childhood, has now turned into a passionate thirst for hoarding. Chichikov was greatly impressed by the paintings of the rich, luxurious life. “When a rich man rushed past him on a flying beautiful droshky, on trotters in a rich harness, he stopped in his tracks as if rooted to the spot and then, waking up, as after a long sleep, said: “But there was a clerk, he wore his hair in a circle!”

Having set as his goal to become by all means a rich man, he shows exceptional perseverance, tremendous energy and ingenuity. Chichikov embarks on any scam and speculation, if they promise profits.

Appearing in a provincial town under the guise of a landowner for his own needs, Chichikov extremely quickly not only enters the “chosen society”, but also wins universal sympathy, because as a result of long life practice he brilliantly developed in himself the ability to adapt. He knows how to show himself as a man of good secular education, with a great and versatile cult. But the main strength of his influence was that he knew how to find his own approach to everyone. With the dexterity of a virtuoso, Chichikov could play on weak strings. human soul. All officials, and the governor himself, were pleased with the arrival of a new interesting person.

Gogol shows that Chichikov very easily "reincarnates", quickly passes from one manner of behavior to another, without changing, however, in anything either himself or his goals. So, for example, in a conversation with Manilov, he easily catches his manner of behavior. Pael Ivanovich is also gallant and courteous, has a penchant for "high" matters, full of sentimental sensitivity. But with Korobochka, Chichikov does not show gallantry. The conversation with her is of a completely different nature. The highly experienced hero quickly deciphers the essence of the character of the landowner and therefore acts very unceremoniously. He does not consider it necessary to be particularly shy - after all, delicacy cannot achieve a concession in acquiring dead souls.

When meeting with Nozdryov, Chichikov diligently adapts to the free and unceremonious style of behavior of a new acquaintance. Nozdryov does not recognize other relationships than "friendly" (what he considers them to be), therefore Chichikov behaves as if they are friends with this landowner. When Nozdryov begins to brag, Chichikov prefers to remain silent, but he vigilantly watches so as not to fall into the nets set by his newfound "friend".

Chichikov's directness and spontaneity completely disappear when he meets Sobakevich and is replaced by a search for the right forms of behavior with this "clumsy bear." Sobakevich is a businessman who knows how to keep his own advantage in everything. In conversation with him main character shows himself to be a wise businessman who knows all sorts of ways to influence a partner. "You won't knock him down, you're unyielding!" Sobakevich thinks to himself.

Chichikov finds an approach to Plushkin, taking the form of a generous well-wisher who wants to help a lonely and defenseless old man. Only in this way it was possible not to arouse suspicion in the hoarder, who is most afraid of being robbed. Having completed all these metamorphoses, the hero again acquires the appearance of a pleasant person in the circle of provincial society, causing noisy enthusiasm. The ease of reincarnation reveals the extraordinary energy and resourcefulness of Chichikov. We understand that behind the imaginary courtesy and gentleness of Chichikov lies a prudent and predatory nature. On his face is the mask of a pious and well-behaved person.

Chichikov does not recognize anything and does not believe in anything except money. Appearing in society in the form of a decent person, he is not in the least inclined to virtue. His mask of good nature and benevolence is only a tool that helps him turn things around.

Obsessed with a passion for wealth, Chichikov does not look like a selfless player who loses his sense of proportion. He is prudent and meticulous. He is able to wait, long and patiently prepare what promises him profits. He does not think about the immorality of his actions, he is only interested in profit. Gogol sharply emphasizes the absence of any moral principles in his hero. Referring to the biography of Chichikov, the writer declares: "No, it's time to harness the scoundrel." So, acquisitiveness, predation and immorality in the guise of Chichikov are merged into one.

Comparing Chichikov with the landlords, Gogol showed those new features that are characteristic of the heroes who were formed outside the atmosphere of the manor estate. Life tenacity, unusual resourcefulness, adventurism come to the fore here. In an effort to achieve his goals, Chichikov does not know peace. He is in constant motion. The contemplativeness of Manilov is alien to him, but at the same time he is far from the innocence of Korobochka. Cunning and enterprising, he sees through people and knows how to get their hands on them. But at the same time, he is not characterized by revelry and the desire to burn life, which are an integral feature of Nozdryov's appearance. If all the numerous undertakings of Nozdryov lead to nothing, then everything that Chichikov undertakes bears the stamp of practical ingenuity and efficiency. In turn, this efficiency is not like the rough and straightforward prudence of Sobakevich. Courtesy and the ability to win over people give Chichikov great advantages over Sobakevich.

Thus, Chichikov is both better and worse than all the landowners bred by Gogol in the poem. He, the representative of the new predatory entrepreneurship, does not oppose Manilov or Sobakevich. He grows together with them, gains unity with the noble environment, but at the same time pursues his own interests. Chichikov absorbs all the most viable features of the outgoing relationship, discarding those that cannot serve the purpose of enrichment. As for morality and morality, Chichikov does not burden himself with these concepts, like those landowners with whom he meets.

Gogol shows the reasons for the mortification of the human soul in the image of Chichikov. A joyless childhood, a service where bribery flourishes, a society of immoral people - all this formed a prudent scoundrel out of him. If you look closely, Chichikov is bolder than Nozdryov and callouser than Sobakevich. Yes, he differs from the landowners in his enterprise, energy and intelligence. It gives people very accurate characteristics. However, Chichikov is a "dead soul" because he values ​​nothing in life but money. In the image of Chichikov, Gogol shows the emergence of a new man in Russian society, a representative of the emerging bourgeoisie. All high feelings, including love, are evaluated by him only from the point of view of material gain.

>Characteristics of heroes Dead Souls

Characteristics of the hero Chichikov

Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich - the main character of N.V. Gogol's work "Dead Souls", a former official, and now a schemer. He owns the idea of ​​a scam with the dead souls of peasants. This character is present in all chapters. He travels all the time in Russia, gets acquainted with wealthy landowners and officials, enters into their confidence, and then tries to pull off all sorts of frauds. Chichikov is the new kind adventurer-inventor in Russian literature. The author himself partially justifies Chichikov's actions, as he sees that he is not hopeless.

Outwardly, this character is not bad. He is not very fat, but not thin, does not look old, but no longer young. The main features of the hero are mediocrity and enterprise. His averageness is manifested not only in appearance, but also in the manner of communicating. He always says “neither loudly nor quietly, but exactly as it should”, he knows how to find an approach to everyone, everywhere he is known as “his own person”. There is a little bit of everything in Chichikovo. He is enterprising, but does not display the brusque businesslike nature of Sobakevich. He does not have the daydreaming of Manilov, the innocence of Korobochka and the riotousness of Nozdryov. This person is active and active, he saves every penny, he does not even waste the received inheritance, but increases it. At the same time, he is not prone to unbridled greed like Plyushkin. Money for Chichikov is not a goal, but a means. He just wants to secure a decent existence for himself.

Little is known about the hero's childhood and youth. Parents were nobles. His father urged him to hang out only with the rich and always please his superiors. He did not say anything about such things as a sense of duty, honor and dignity, so Pavel grew up like that. He himself quickly realized that such high values ​​hinder the achievement of his cherished goal, which is why he fought his way through his own efforts, drowning out the voice of conscience. At school, he was a diligent student, but without talents. The only thing he knew how to do was to sell something to his comrades and show tricks for money. After graduation, he entered the service in the Treasury. Then he changed more than one job and wanted to cash in everywhere. When once again it was necessary to start all over again, he came up with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bdead souls. Despite the fact that Chichikov is a rogue and a swindler, the stubbornness and ingenuity of the hero do not go unnoticed.

The poem "Dead Souls" is one of the most wonderful works Russian literature. The great realist writer N.V. Gogol showed the whole hall modern Russia, satirically depicting the local nobility and provincial bureaucracy. But in the poem there is absolutely new hero in Russian literature, a representative of the emerging class of "acquirers". In the image of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov, Gogol brought to public view the features of the “knight of the penny”.

Chichikov at first glance gives the impression of a slippery, many-sided person. This is emphasized by appearance: “The gentleman was sitting in the britzka, not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin, one cannot say that he was old, but not so that he was too young.”

Chichikov, like a chameleon, is constantly changing. He is able to give his face the right expression to seem like a pleasant conversationalist. Speaking with officials, the hero of the poem "very skillfully knew how to flatter everyone." Therefore, he quickly gains the necessary reputation in the city. Chichikov also finds a common language with the landowners, from whom he buys dead peasants. With Manilov, he looks like a particularly amiable and courteous person, which charms the owner. At Korobochka, Noz-tree, Sobakevich and Plyushkin, Chichikov behaves in accordance with the situation and knows how to find an approach to everyone. Only he did not catch Nozdryov in his nets. But this was Chichikov's only failure.

He uses all his ability to charm a person to achieve a result. And he has one goal - wealth, and for this Pavel Ivanovich is ready to be hypocritical, practicing for hours at the mirror. The main thing for him is money. The hero of the poem needs them not by themselves, but as a means of further accumulation. Even as a child, Chichikov well learned his father's order to please the bosses, to be friends "with those who are richer" and to save "penny". Father's words sunk into the boy's soul: "You will do everything and break everything in the world with a penny."

Possessing a great mind "from the side of practice," Chichikov began to save money at school, profiting from his comrades and being especially stingy. Already in those years, the soul of this “acquirer” manifested itself. By deceit, toadying, Chichikov fought his way through, stopping at nothing. He is cunning, robs the state, "inflates" his colleagues. Bribery becomes his element.

Gradually, Chichikov's scams gained more and more scope. From a modest clerk to a customs official, Gogol traces the path of his hero. By any means he seeks to increase the state. The hero immediately grabs the idea of ​​​​buying "dead souls". Chichikov's entrepreneurial talent is not consistent with moral standards. There are no moral principles for him. Chichikov concludes with joy: “But now the time is convenient, not long ago there was an epidemic, the people died out, thank God, a lot.” On human grief, on other people's deaths, he builds his well-being.

Chichikov is the same product of time as Onegin or Pechorin. Belinsky wrote about this, noting that "Chichikov, as an acquirer, no less, if not more than Pechorin, is a hero of our time." This hero, with all the power of his skill, is shown by Gogol in the wonderful poem "Dead Souls", which has become an example of accusatory satire. The image of Chichikov should serve as a warning to those who are trying to get rich in any way, turning into a ruthless predator

The image of Chichikov is the leading image of the poem "Dead Souls"

.
“It is very doubtful,” writes Gogol, “that the hero we have chosen will be liked by the readers.” In appearance, this person is very pleasant and courteous. He knows how to talk to everyone, to say a pleasant compliment to a person, to throw a good word into the conversation in time and appropriately, to charm a person with his behavior and good manners, and, finally, to show off his intelligence and experience. However, all this is only the external guise of a notorious rogue and swindler, a clever businessman.

From childhood, Chichikov embarked on the path of acquisition and from the school bench steadily followed the advice of his father: "Take care of everything and save a penny, this thing is the most reliable thing in the world." As a child, he quickly made an increment to the fifty given by his father: “he molded a bullfinch out of wax, painted it and sold it very profitably,” and then embarked on other speculations. Having accumulated one bag of money, he began to accumulate another.
At the school, "having comprehended" the spirit of his superiors, Chichikov groveled and kowtowed before the teachers; in his assessment, he always had a mark of "exemplary diligence and trustworthy behavior." Ahead of him, he imagined life “in all contentment, with all sorts of prosperity, carriages, a house perfectly arranged, delicious dinners ...”

Upon leaving the school, he zealously set to work and tried to please his superiors in everything. Having become a clerk, he immediately began to take bribes, but soon a “much more extensive” field of activity opened up before him: he ended up on a commission to build a “very capital” building. Here Chichikov quickly enriched himself, but unexpectedly his thieves' tricks were discovered, and he lost everything. Tirelessly and energetically, Chichikov again sets about creating a career and gets a job at the customs, where he earns himself over five hundred thousand rubles. Having been wrecked here too, he decided on a new adventure: to acquire "dead souls".

His new enterprise was based on the fact that it was beneficial for the landowners to get rid of taxes for peasants who died after the revision, since they had to pay these taxes until the next revision, which brought significant damage to the “owners of souls”. The peasants, who died between revisions, were officially considered alive, and therefore they could be put on the board of trustees and thus receive a lot of money.

In order to buy dead souls, Chichikov arrives in the provincial town of N.
With greater caution and prudence, he embarks on the implementation of a far-fetched plan and, at the very first steps, shows an exceptional ability to orient himself. “He asked with extreme accuracy who the governor was in the city, who was the chairman of the chamber, who was the prosecutor, in a word, he did not miss a single significant official, but with even greater accuracy, if not even with participation, he asked about all the significant landowners: how many people have souls peasants, how far he lives from the city, even what character and how often he comes to the city; asked carefully about the state of the region: were there any diseases in their province, epidemic fevers, any murderous fevers, smallpox, and the like, and all this and with such accuracy that showed more than one simple curiosity. Chichikov learned in detail how to get to all government places, and made visits to "all city dignitaries", deftly flattering everyone. In the meantime, he had already outlined the landowners whom he needed to visit.

In the city of N, he makes acquaintance with precisely those officials who, in his opinion, can be useful in preparing documents for " dead Souls". In order to ensure complete success in the upcoming business, he seeks to arouse the trust and appreciation of officials, which he achieves without much difficulty.
Chichikov's ability to adapt to any situation is revealed even brighter on a trip to the landowners. With great skill, he recognizes the character of each landowner and deftly determines his attitude towards them: pretending to be a sensitive and dreamy person, he receives “dead souls” from Manilov for free, inclines Korobochka to sell “dead souls” with a promise to buy honey, hemp, flour from her, grits and feathers. He managed to win over even the “fist” of Sobakevich.

And the weight of Chichikov cannot be considered only the personification of a rogue entrepreneur. Chichikov appears before us as a living person, with feelings of joy and grief, love and disappointment inherent in every person. True, these character traits do not make Chichikov attractive. They only create the life fullness of the image. The constant desire for personal gain, narrowly selfish calculations and the absence of any public interests turn Chichikov into a sharply negative type. Giving a generalized description of your hero. Gogol speaks of him not only as an owner-acquirer, but also as a scoundrel.

In the image of Chichikov, Gogol denounced the new hero of Russian life, who imperiously declared the right to his existence - a bourgeois businessman, a clever businessman who set himself the goal of personal enrichment.

Chichikov is the main character in the poem Dead Souls. From childhood, he listened to his father and showed all the meanness of his soul. He tried in any way to earn a pretty penny, which he put in a special bag. When the bag was full, he sewed it up and began to fill a new one. Already, as a child, he used any means to earn money.

Having grown up, and having taken the place of an official, Chichikov understands that this position opens up new prospects for him. He committed one scam after another, and when he was exposed, he skillfully covered his tracks and hid. All his undertakings failed, but he did not lose heart and set about another "case". This suggests that a person has neither conscience nor honor.

Nothing significant can be said about his appearance. His appearance was kind of blurry. Gogol says about Chichikov that he was neither handsome nor ugly, neither old nor young, neither fat nor thin. But he was an excellent psychologist, and skillfully noticed the weak and strengths person. He knew how to please everyone and adapted to each interlocutor. That is why everyone trusted him.

Upon learning of the financial condition of Chichikov, officials and their wives immediately began to respect the hero and bow before him. They believed that such a person should be friends and keep in touch. Chichikov, on the other hand, is happy to try, he has achieved universal disposition towards himself. Like the devil, he changes his appearance and enters into trust. Chichikov is a vile and immoral person, before whom everyone grovels. And society itself is to blame for the appearance of such people.