The images of landowners in the work Dead Souls. Images of landowners in Dead Souls

1. The most interesting place in the poem is the chapters on the five landowners.
2. The image of Manilov.
3. The image of the Box.
4. The image of Sobakevich.
5. Image of Nozdryov!
6. The image of Plyushkin.
7. The role of images of landowners in the novel.

The most interesting place in IV Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is the chapters dedicated to five landowners: Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich and Plyushkin. It is easy to see that the chapters are arranged in a special sequence: from the least to the greatest degree of character degradation.

The surname of the landowner Manilov is formed from the verb "to attract". The main features of this character are daydreaming, sentimentality and laziness. Gogol describes his hero as follows: "... a man so-so, neither this nor that, not in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan." Manilov's house is located on the Jura, which is blown by all the winds, which speaks of his frivolity and inability to think realistically. The landowner loves to lend himself to his dreams in the gazebo, on which the inscription flaunts: "The Temple of Solitary Reflection." This is the only secluded place for Manilov, where he can calmly dream about some completely unrealistic projects. But, as it seems to him, digging an underground passage from the house or erecting a stone bridge over a pond are quite normal ideas. Housekeeping is not Manilov's part. Everything goes awry in his estate, and the hero doesn't even care about it.

Gogol says that Manilov's hospitality and cuteness are too luscious: “In the first minute of a conversation with him, you cannot but say: good person! " In the next ... you won't say anything, but in the third you will say: "The devil knows what this is!" - and you will move away! .. ". This manifests itself not only in the manners of the landowner, but also in his relationship with his wife. They lisp with each other all the time, and this makes the author very funny.

The image of this hero has become one of the key for literature. From him came the name of such a phenomenon as "manilovism", which means the unnaturalness of a person.

Another no less striking character in the story is the landowner Korobochka. Her surname was not chosen by Gogol by chance. By nature, the landowner is immensely economical and superstitious. The box belongs to the type of women who can cry about a crop failure, but still always save themselves a pretty penny. Her chest of drawers, besides all the nonsense, is filled with bags of money. The box is very petty, she only cares about housekeeping, in which she sees the meaning of life. Gogol endows her with "animal" surnames: Bobrov and Svinin, which once again emphasizes that the heroine is only carried away by her estate. The author distinguishes, among other "advantages" of his character, cudgel-headedness. Korobochka shows this quality in a situation when Chichikov is trying to negotiate with her about the sale of "dead souls". The heroine thinks that her interlocutor is going to dig from the graves dead peasants... She does not rush to sell her "wealth", and instead tries to slip hemp and honey. Korobochka agrees to Chichikov's proposal only after he mentions the devil.

The next landowner who was visited by Chichikov was Sobakevich. His image was compiled by N. V. Gogol from everything big: big boots, cheesecakes "much larger than a plate", "a turkey the size of a calf." Even the health of this character is heroic. Thanks to such descriptions, the author achieves a comic effect. Parading the great deeds of the heroes, Gogol thereby emphasizes the true essence of Sobakevich himself, whose main qualities can be called rudeness and clumsiness. All objects in the house are as bulky and unwieldy as their owner: a table, chairs, a wooden bureau - everything seems to be shouting: "And I am Sobakevich too!" In his opinion, everyone around is liars and the latest scammers. He doesn't care at all human soul, Sobakevich is only interested in money.

From all of the above, we can conclude that Sobakevich is one of the most "dead souls" of the poem. There is nothing spiritual for him. Only money and things are valuable for this hero. He is only interested in "earthly" affairs.

Most bright character, in my opinion, is Nozdryov. This is the image of an inveterate buffoon. The author is ironic about his character, speaking of him as a "historical" person. In relation to his hero, Gogol uses the figurative meaning of this word. Nozdryov's "historicism" is that he always gets into some kind of stories: either he gets drunk in the buffet, or mercilessly lies about the allegedly acquired horse. Like any rake, he adores women. But the most important feature of the Nozdrev character is a great desire to "make a mess of one's neighbor." Not once did he commit vile deeds. For example, he told fictional stories, disrupted a wedding, upset a trade deal, etc. But the most outstanding thing in his character is that, after all his tricks, he, without a twinge of conscience, continued to consider himself a friend of the victim.

According to tradition, in the poem, the atmosphere in the house of each landowner corresponds to the character of his owner. So the dwelling of Nozdryov is imbued with the spirit of passion and boasting. According to Nozdryov himself, in his possession there was once "a fish of such a size that two people could hardly pull it out." The walls of his chorus are randomly flooded with paint, as the men whitewash them. His office is filled with weapons instead of books and papers. Nozdryov likes to change one thing for another, only not because of money or some other material interest, but simply because he is carried away by this process. Since all sorts of tricks are main passion character, it is not difficult for him to circle around his finger and Chichikov, whom Nozdryov solders and tries to deceive when playing checkers.

What else can you say about Nozdryov? His description will tell everything much better: “... he sometimes returned home with only one sideburn, and that was rather liquid. But his healthy and full cheeks were so well created and contained so much plant power that the sideburns soon grew again, even better than before. "

And the final image in the gallery of Russian "dead souls" is a landowner named Plyushkin. As you know, all surnames in the poem are speaking. Only "Plyushkin" is given in a figurative sense. It looks more like not a bun, but a completely dried biscuit. The image of the landowner Plyushkin is very sloppy. Gogol mentions his double chin, which has to be constantly covered, as well as a greasy dressing gown, which causes nothing but disgust in the reader. The author gives his hero a very capacious definition: "a hole in humanity." This character is a symbol of a decadent mood and decay of all living things. And again the house speaks for its owner: the bread in the pantries is rotting, the gates and the fence are covered with mold, and the roofs in the huts are completely leaking. Gogol adds a short story about the fate of his hero, whose wife first died, and after that his daughter fled with the headquarters captain. These events became for Plyushkin last moments real life. After that, time stopped for the hero.

All images of N.V. Gogol are very bright and unique in their own way. But there is one the main idea that unites them. The author, showing vivid examples of the degradation of humanity, urges readers not to become “ dead soul", But always remain" alive ".

At the beginning of his work on the poem, N. V. Gogol wrote to V. A. Zhukovsky: "What a huge, what an original plot! What a diverse heap! All Russia will appear in it." This is how Gogol himself defined the scope of his work - the whole of Russia. And the writer was able to show both negative and positive sides life of Russia of that era. Gogol's plan was grandiose: like Dante, to depict Chichikov's path first in "hell" - volume I of "Dead Souls", then "in purgatory" - volume II of "Dead Souls" and "in paradise" - volume III. But this plan was not fully implemented; only volume I, in which Gogol shows negative sides Russian life.

The most widely represented on the pages of the poem are images of landowners contemporary to the author.

In Korobochka, Gogol introduces us to another type of Russian landowner. Household, hospitable, hospitable, she suddenly becomes "club-headed" in the scene of the sale of dead souls, fearing to sell out. This is the type of person on your mind.

In Nozdryov, Gogol showed a different form of corruption of the nobility. The writer shows us 2 essences of Nozdryov: at first he is an open, daring, straight face. But then you have to make sure that Nozdryov's sociability is an indifferent familiarity with everyone he meets and crosses, his liveliness is the inability to concentrate on some serious subject or matter, his energy is a waste of energy in revelry and debauchery. His main passion, in the words of the writer himself, is "to screw up your neighbor, sometimes for no reason at all."

Sobakevich is akin to Korobochka. He, like her, is a storage device. Only, unlike Korobochka, this is an intelligent and cunning hoarder. He manages to deceive Chichikov himself. Sobakevich is rude, cynical, uncouth; no wonder he is compared with an animal (bear). By this, Gogol emphasizes the degree of man's savagery, the degree of mortification of his soul.

Completing this gallery of "dead souls" is "a hole in humanity" Plyushkin. It's eternal in classical literature the image of the stingy. Plyushkin is an extreme degree of economic, social and moral decay of the human personality.

The provincial officials also adjoin the gallery of landowners, who are essentially "dead souls".

Whom can we call living souls in the poem, and are they really there? I think that Gogol was not going to oppose the life of the peasantry to the stifling atmosphere of the life of officials and landowners. On the pages of the poem, the peasants are not depicted in pink colors. Lackey Petrushka sleeps without undressing and "always carries with him some special smell." The coachman Selifan is not a fool to drink. But it is precisely for the peasants that Gogol has both kind words and warm intonation when he speaks, for example, about Pyotr Neumyvay-Koryto, Ivan Koleso, Stepan Probka, the resourceful peasant Eremey Sorokoplekhin. These are all people whose fate the author thought about and asked himself the question: "What have you, my dear ones, been doing in your lifetime? How did you interrupt?"

But in Russia there is at least something light that does not corrode under any circumstances, there are people who make up the "salt of the earth." Gogol himself, this genius of satire and singer of the beauty of Russia, came from somewhere? There is! It must be! Gogol believes in this, and therefore at the end of the poem appears artistic image Russia-troika, rushing into the future, in which there will be no nostrils, plushiny. A bird-three rushes forward. "Russia, where are you rushing? Give an answer. Does not give an answer."

In 1852, after the death of Gogol, Nekrasov wrote a wonderful poem that can be an epigraph to all of Gogol's work:

Feeding my chest with hatred

Armed mouth with satire,

He goes through a thorny path

With her avenging lyre

These lines seem to be given precise definition satire by Gogol, after all, satire is an evil, sarcastic ridicule not only of universal human shortcomings, but also of social vices. This laughter is not kind, sometimes "through tears invisible to the world," because (as Gogol believed) it is the satirical ridicule of the negative in our life that can serve to correct it.

Laughter is a weapon, a sharp, military weapon, with the help of which the writer fought all his life against the “abominations of Russian reality.” The great satirist began his creative way from a description of the way of life, manners and customs of Ukraine, dear to his heart, gradually moving on to a description of the entire vast Russia. Nothing escaped the artist's attentive eye: neither the vulgarity and parasitism of the landlords, nor the meanness and insignificance of the inhabitants. "Mirgorod", "Arabesques", "Inspector General", "Marriage", "Nose", "Dead Souls" are a caustic satire on existing reality. Gogol became the first Russian writer in whose work the negative phenomena of life were most vividly reflected. Belinsky called Gogol the head of the new realistic school: "With the publication of Mirgorod and The Inspector General, Russian literature took a completely new direction." The critic believed that "the perfect truth of life in Gogol's stories is closely connected with the simplicity of fiction. He does not flatter life, but does not slander it; he is happy to expose everything that is beautiful, human in it, and at the same time does not hide and her ugliness ".

A satirist writer, referring to the "shadow of trifles", to "cold, fragmented, everyday characters", must have a subtle sense of proportion, artistic tact, passionate love for nature. Knowing about the difficult, harsh career of the satirist writer, Gogol still did not renounce him and became one, taking the following words as the motto of his work: "Who, however much the author, should tell the holy truth!" Only true son homeland, in the conditions of Nicholas Russia, he could dare to bring to light the bitter truth in order to contribute to the shaking of the feudal-serf system with his creativity, thereby contributing to the movement of Russia forward.

In "The Inspector General" Gogol "gathered everything bad in Russia into one heap", brought out a whole gallery of bribe-takers, embezzlers, ignoramuses, fools, liars, etc. Everything in "The Inspector" is ridiculous: the plot itself, when the first person of the city takes for an inspector from the capital a chatterbox, a man "with extraordinary ease in thoughts, "Khlestakov's transformation from a cowardly" elistress "into a" general "(after all, those around him take him for a general), a scene of Khlestakov's lies, a scene of a declaration of love to two ladies at once, and, of course, a denouement and a silent comedy scene.

Gogol did not bring in his comedy " goodie". The positive beginning in" The Inspector General ", which embodied the high moral and social ideal of the writer, underlying his satire, was" laughter ", the only" honest face "in the comedy. It was laughter, wrote Gogol," the bright nature of man ... because at the bottom of it there is an eternally gushing spring of it, which deepens the object, makes what would have slipped brightly, without the penetrating power of which the trifle and emptiness of life would not frighten man so much. "

The work of N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls" has rightfully earned recognition in all world literature. In it, the author vividly presents us with a whole gallery psychological portraits... Gogol reveals the characters of people, drawing their words and deeds.
The writer reveals the human essence of his heroes by the example of the landowners of the county town N. the main character poems Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov for the implementation of his plan - the purchase of dead revision souls.

Chichikov pays visits to the landlords in a certain sequence. It is no coincidence that the landowner Manilov was the first on his way. There is nothing special in Manilov, he is, as they say, "neither fish nor meat." Everything about him is sterile, vague, even in the features of his face there is no concreteness.
The first impression of pleasantness that Manilov made on Chichikov turns out to be deceiving: “It seemed that sugar was too much transferred into this pleasantness. In the first minute of a conversation with him, you cannot but say: "What a nice and kind person!" In the next minute you won't say anything, but in the third you will say: "The devil knows what this is!" - and you will move away; if you don’t leave, you will feel mortal boredom ”.

Things, interior, Manilov's dwelling, description of the estate characterize their owner. In words, this landowner loves his family, peasants, but in reality he does not care about them at all. Against the background of the general disorder of the estate, Manilov indulges in sweet dreams in the "temple of solitary reflection." His pleasantness is nothing more than a mask that covers the spiritual emptiness. Idle dreaminess, with an apparent culture, allows us to classify Manilov as an "idle unshakable" who gives nothing to society.

Collegiate secretary Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka is next on Chichikov's path. She is completely mired in petty life interests and hoarding. Korobochka's indifference combined with stupidity looks ridiculous and ridiculous. Even in the sale of dead souls, she is afraid of being deceived, cheapening: "... I'd rather wait a little longer, maybe the merchants will run over, but I will apply to the prices."

Everything in this landowner's house is like a box. And the very name of the heroine - Korobochka - conveys her essence: the limitations and narrowness of interests. In a word, this is a heroine - "cudgel-headed", as Chichikov himself called her.

In search of the landowner Sobakevich, Chichikov ends up in Nozdryov's house. Nozdrev - complete opposite stingy little box. This is a reckless nature, a gambler, a revelry. He is endowed with an amazing ability to lie unnecessarily, cheat at cards, change for anything and let everything go. All his activities have no purpose, his whole life is continuous revelry: “Nozdryov was in some respects a historical person. Not a single meeting he attended was complete without history. "

At first glance, Nozdryov may seem like a living, active person, but in fact he turns out to be empty. But there is one feature of both him and the Korobochka, which unites these people, different in their nature. As senselessly and uselessly the old woman hoarding her wealth, just as senselessly and uselessly wasting his fortune Nozdryov.

Then Chichikov gets to Sobakevich. In contrast to Nozdrev, who is on a friendly footing with everyone, Sobakevich seems to Chichikov to look like average size bear "with a characteristic feature - to scold everyone and everything. Sobakevich is a strong owner, a "fist", suspicious and gloomy, going ahead. He doesn't trust anyone. This is clearly evidenced by the episode in which Chichikov and Sobakevich pass money and lists of dead souls into each other's hands.

Everything that surrounded Sobakevich "was solid, awkward to the highest degree and had some strange resemblance to the owner of the house himself ... Every chair, every object seemed to say:" And I, too, Sobakevich! " It seems to me that in essence Sobakevich is a petty, insignificant, clumsy person with an inner desire to step on everyone's heels.

And the last on the way of Chichikov meets the landowner Plyushkin, whose avarice is taken to the extreme, to the last line of human degradation. He is "a hole in humanity", personifying the complete disintegration of the personality. Having met Plyushkin, Chichikov could not even think that he had met the owner of the estate, he first takes him for a housekeeper.

The image of Manilov in the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls"

The gallery of landowners in the poem "Dead Souls" opens with the image of Manilov. This is the first character to whom Chichikov turns with a request for dead souls. What determines Manilov's “primacy”? Gogol's statement is known that his heroes follow one more vulgarly than the other. It turns out that Manilov in the poem represents the first, the smallest, degree moral degradation... However, modern researchers interpret the order of appearance of landowners in “ Dead souls"In a different sense, matching the first volume of Gogol's poem to the first part" Divine Comedy"Dante (" Hell ").

The daydreaming and romanticism of Manilov already at the very beginning of the poem creates a sharp contrast to Chichikov's immoral adventure.

There is one more reason here. According to I. Zolotussky, “whenever Chichikov meets with any of the landowners, he examines his ideals. Manilov is family life, wench, kids ... "This" part "of Chichikov's ideal is exactly the best thing that is in the hero's" grossly material "dream of contentment and comfort. Therefore, the history of Chichikov's adventures begins with Manilov.

This image in the poem is static - no internal changes occur with the hero throughout the entire narrative. The main qualities of Manilov are sentimentality, dreaminess, excessive complacency, courtesy and courtesy. This is what apparently lies on the surface. It is these features that are emphasized in the description of the hero's appearance. Manilov “was a prominent man, his features were not devoid of pleasantness, but this pleasantness seemed to have been too much transferred to sugar; in his methods and turns there was something ingratiating in his disposition and acquaintance. He smiled alluringly, was blond, with blue eyes. "

However, Gogol goes on to describe inner peace Manilov, and the reader gets rid of the first impression of the "pleasantness" of the landowner. “In the first minute of a conversation with him you can't help but say: 'What a pleasant and kind person!' , you will feel mortal boredom. You won't get any lively or even arrogant word from him, which you can hear from almost everyone if you touch an object that is bullying him. " With a grain of irony, the author lists the traditional "interests" of landowners: passion for greyhounds, music, gourmet food, promotion. Manilov is not interested in anything in life, he has no "enthusiasm". He speaks very little, he often thinks and reflects, but about what - "unless God ... knows." Thus, several more characteristic properties of this landowner are clearly distinguished - uncertainty, indifference to everything, inertia and infantilism of life perception. “There is a kind of people,” writes Gogol, “known by the name: people are so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan ...” Manilov belongs to this type of people.

The writer emphasizes the "lack of shape, vagueness" of the hero's inner world with a characteristic landscape. So. the weather on the day when Chichikov arrived at Manilov was highly uncertain: "The day was not that clear, not that gloomy, but a kind of light gray color, which happens only on the old uniforms of garrison soldiers ..."

In the description of the master's estate, new features of Manilov are revealed to us. Here we already see a person who claims to be "educated", "cultured", "aristocratic", but all the hero's attempts to appear as an educated and refined aristocrat are vulgar and absurd. So, Manilov's house stands “alone in the Jura, that is, on a hill open to all winds,” but the mountain on which the estate stands is “dressed with trimmed sod”, on it “scattered in English are two or three flowerbeds with bushes of lilacs and yellow acacia ". Nearby you can see a gazebo "with wooden blue columns" and the inscription "Temple of Solitary Meditation". And next to the “temple” there is an overgrown pond covered with greenery, along which, “having picked up their dresses in a picturesque way and poked themselves on all sides,” wander two women, dragging tattered nonsense behind them. In these scenes, Gogol's parody of sentimental stories and novels is guessed.

The same claims to "education" are guessed in the ancient Greek names with which Manilov awarded his children - Alcides and Themistoclus. The superficial education of the landowner turned into sheer stupidity: even Chichikov, hearing these names, experienced some surprise, it is easy to imagine the reaction of the local residents.

However, the ancient Greek names here are not only bright characteristic Manilova. "Alcides" and "Themistoctus" set in the poem the theme of history, the motive of heroism, which is present throughout the entire narrative. Thus, the name "Themistoclus" reminds us of Themistocles, statesman and a general from Athens, who won brilliant victories in battles with the Persians. The life of the commander was very stormy, eventful, full of significant events (against the background of this heroic theme, the inaction, passivity of Manilov becomes even more noticeable).

Manilov's "incompleteness of nature" (nature seemed to have stopped at the "pleasant" appearance of the hero, "not reporting" to him the character, temperament, love of life) is also reflected in the description of his home environment.

In everything, Manilov has an incompleteness that creates disharmony. A number of interior details testifies to the hero's penchant for luxury and sophistication, but in this very inclination there is still the same incompleteness, the impossibility of bringing the matter to the end. In Manilov's living room there is "beautiful furniture, covered with a dandy silk fabric," which is "quite expensive," but two armchairs lack it, and the armchairs are "just covered with mat." In the evening, a "dandy candlestick made of dark bronze with three antique graces" is served on the table, and next to it is "a simple brass invalid, lame, curled up on the side and covered in fat ...". For two years now, the hero has been reading the same book, reaching only the fourteenth page.

All the occupations of the landowner are senseless and absurd, just like his dreams. So, having seen Chichikov off, he dreams of a huge house "with such a high belvedere that you can even see Moscow from there." But the culmination of the image of Manilov is "the slides of ash knocked out of the pipe, arranged, not without effort, in very beautiful rows." Like all "noble gentlemen", Manilov smokes a pipe. Therefore, in his office there is a kind of "cult of tobacco", which is poured into caps, and into a snuff box, and "just a heap on the table." This is how Gogol emphasizes that Manilov's "passing of time" is completely meaningless.

The hero's speech, "delicate", florid, fully corresponds to his internal appearance... Discussing with Chichikov sale of the dead shower, he wonders whether "this negotiation will not be inconsistent with civil regulations and further types of Russia." However, Pavel Ivanovich, who added two or three book turns to the conversation, manages to convince him of the perfect legality of this transaction - Manilov gives Chichikov the dead peasants and even takes over the execution of the deed of sale. Only complete insensitivity can explain what he, wishing to please his friend, decided to give Chichikov dead souls. And the blasphemous phrase, which he utters at the same time: “dead souls are in some way perfect rubbish,” - for Gogol, a deeply religious person, is evidence that Manilov's own soul is dead.

Thus, upon closer examination, the illusory nature of his "positive" qualities - sensitivity and sentimentality - becomes noticeable. His feelings do no good to anyone, they are not real, but only fiction, this is just a manner. Manilov does not evaluate people in terms of the criteria of good and evil. People around you just fall into the general atmosphere of complacency and dreaminess. In fact. Manilov is indifferent to life itself.

Korobochka Nastasya Petrovna - landowner widow, college secretary; the second (after Manilov and before Nozdrev) "saleswoman" of dead souls. Chichikov accidentally comes to her (Ch. 3): the drunk coachman Selifan skips many turns on the return route from Manilov. The night "darkness", the thunderous atmosphere accompanying the arrival to Nastasya Petrovna, the frightening serpentine hiss of the wall clock, Korobochka's constant memories of her dead husband, the confession to Chichikov (already in the morning) that on the third day she dreamed of the "accursed" devil all night - all this makes the reader wary. But the morning meeting between Chichikov and Korobochka completely deceives readers' expectations, separates her image from the fabulous background, dissolves without a trace in everyday life.

The surname Korobochka metaphorically expresses the essence of her nature: thrifty, mistrustful, fearful, poor-minded, stubborn and superstitious.

The little box is “one of those mothers, small landowners who cry for a crop failure, losses and keep their heads a little to one side, and meanwhile they are gaining a little bit of money in variegated bags ... In one ... rubles, in the other half a ruble, in the third quarter ...”. A chest of drawers, where, in addition to linen, night jackets, thread skeins, a ripped cloak, bags of money lie. - analogue of the Box. (Chichikov's box with drawers, partitions, nooks and crannies, a hidden box for money is also identical to the image of Korobochka. Symbolically, the Box opened, revealing Chichikov's secret. double bottom", Thanks to Korobochka he reveals his secret.)

If in the image of Manilov Gogol exposed the myth of the enlightened master, then in the image of Korobochka the writer dispelled the idea of ​​a thrifty and businesslike landowner who wisely manages the household, takes care of the peasants, and keeps the family hearth. The patriarchal nature of this landowner is not at all the careful preservation of traditions, about which Pushkin wrote: "They kept in a peaceful life / The habits of dear old times." The box seems to be simply stuck in the past, time seems to have stopped for her and began to move in a vicious circle of petty household worries that consumed and killed her soul. Indeed, unlike Manilov, she is always busy with the housework. Sown vegetable gardens, a bird house filled with “all kinds of domestic creatures,” and peasant huts, which are “properly maintained”, speak of this. Her village is well-groomed, and the peasants living in it do not suffer from poverty. Everything speaks about the accuracy of the hostess, her ability to manage the estate. But this is not a manifestation of a lively economic mind. The box simply follows a kind of "action program", that is, it grows, sells and buys. And only in this plane can she think. There can be no question of any spiritual requests here.

Metonymic transfer characteristic of Gogol - a stuffed animal on a long pole in the hostess's cap, reinforcing the impression of the comic absurdity of the frugality of a lonely widow who is hoarding for no one knows for whom and cannot see beyond her nose. The things in Korobochka's house, on the one hand, reflect Korobochka's naive notions of lush beauty; on the other, her hoarding and home entertainment (fortune-telling, darning, embroidery and cooking): “the household room is hung with old striped wallpaper; paintings with some kind of birds: between the windows there are old small mirrors with dark frames in the form of curled leaves: behind every mirror were laid either a letter, or an old deck of cards, or a stocking: a wall clock with painted flowers on the dial ... ”.

The Korobochka House with old small mirrors, hissing clocks and pictures, behind which something is sure to be laid, lush feather beds and hearty food informs us about the patriarchal way of life of the hostess. But this simplicity borders on ignorance, unwillingness to know at least something that goes beyond the circle of her concerns. In everything, she thoughtlessly follows the usual patterns: a newcomer means a merchant, a thing from Moscow means a good job, and so on. Korobochka's thinking is limited, as is the vicious circle of her life - even in a city located not far from the estate, she got out only a couple of times.

The way Korobochka communicates with Chichikov betrays her stupidity, which is in no way hindered by practical acumen, the desire not to miss out on profit. This is most clearly seen in the scene of the sale and purchase of dead souls. The box appears to be extremely stupid, unable to grasp the essence of Chichikov's "advantageous" offer. She understands him literally: "Something you want to dig them out of the ground?" - the landowner asks. Korobochka's fear of selling dead souls is absurd and ridiculous, since she is not so much afraid of the object of trade itself, but more worries about how not to sell too cheap, and suddenly dead souls will come in handy for some reason in the household. Even Chichikov cannot stand Korobochka's impenetrable stupidity. His opinion of her amazingly agrees with the author's: this is a "club-headed" landowner. Korobochka decides to sell the “souls” out of fear and out of superstition, for Chichikov dry the devil with her and almost cursed (“Yes, perish and roundabout with all your village!”), Especially since the devil dreamed of her in her dream: “disgusting, but horns- that is longer than bulls. "

Fear of cheap prices forces Korobochka to go to town to find out the price of “dead souls” by equipping a tarantass “rather like a thick-cheeked bulging watermelon, set on wheels ... , skins, quick-thinking and choux pastry pretzels. " Watermelon-tarantass Korobochki is another analogue of her image, along with a chest of drawers, a casket and variegated bags full of money.

Gogol shows readers that people like her are incapable of any movement - neither external nor internal, because the soul in them is dead and can no longer be reborn.

The very location of the village of Korobochki (away from the high road, on a side branch of life) indicates its "hopelessness", "hopelessness" of any hopes for its possible correction and revival. In this she is similar to Manilov - and occupies one of the lowest places in the “hierarchy” of the heroes of the poem.

The main character traits of Nozdryov are arrogance, bragging, a tendency to rowdy, energy and unpredictability. Gogol notes that people of this type are always “talkers, revelers, reckless men,” in their faces you can always see “something open, direct, daring,” they are desperate gamblers, lovers of walking. They are sociable and ceremonial, "they seem to make friends forever: but it almost always happens that a friend will fight them that very evening at a friendly feast."

Revealing the image of Nozdryov. Gogol skillfully uses various artistic means... First of all, the portrait of the hero is expressive. Something can be traced in his portrait that resembles a folklore good-fellow: “He was of average height, a very well-built fellow, with full ruddy cheeks, teeth white as snow and black as pitch whiskers. He was fresh as blood and milk; health seemed to spill over his face. " Of course, there is a clear irony in this description. It is not for nothing that the author, talking further about the fights in which Nozdryov is constantly getting involved, notes that “his full cheeks were so well created and contained so much plant power that the sideburns soon grew again” when they were pretty much pulled out to him in the next mess. There is in this hero and something of the animal (remember, he was among the dogs "just like a father among the family"), but the definition of "historical man" was not given to him in vain. In the author's description of this landowner, not only irony and mockery sounds, but also another motive - the motive of the unrealized possibilities contained in this nature

It is characteristic that Nozdryov has an attractive appearance, physical strength, he laughs "with that ringing laugh, which only a fresh, healthy person is filled with ..." The contrast between his appearance and his internal appearance is enormous: the hero's life is meaningless, the “heroic deeds” of this “hero” do not go further than card cheating or a fight quieted down at a fair. Nozdryov is just “the semblance of a broad nature. He is insolent, a drunkard, a liar, he is at the same time a coward and a completely insignificant person.

The landscape surrounding the episode of Chichikov's visit to the landowner is also characteristic. “Nozdryov led his guests over a field, which in many places consisted of hummocks. The guests had to make their way between the fallows and the raised fields ... In many places their legs squeezed out the water under them, to such an extent the place was low. At first they were careful and stepped over carefully, but then, seeing that this was of no use to anything, they walked straight ahead, not distinguishing where there was more and where less dirt ”. This landscape speaks of the disorganized economy of the landowner and at the same time symbolizes the carelessness of Nozdryov.

So, already the hero's way of life is devoid of any orderliness. The landlord's economy has completely fallen into disrepair. It was empty in the stable, a water mill without flutters, in the house it was a mess and neglect. And only his kennel is in good condition. “Among dogs, Nozdryov ... is exactly like a father among a family,” notes Gogol. This comparison sets in the narration the theme of the "slander" of the hero. As S. Shevyrev notes, Nozdryov "is very similar to a dog: for no reason at the same time he barks, and nibbles, and caresses."

The hero is prone to lies, deceit, idle chatter. He can easily slander, slander a person, dissolve gossip about him, "a fable, which is more stupid than it is difficult to invent." It is characteristic that Nozdryov is lying for no apparent reason, "out of love for art." So, having come up with a story with the governor's daughter, he continues to lie further, entangling himself in this story. The reason for this is simple: Nozdryov understood that “he could have caused trouble in this way, but he couldn’t hold his tongue any longer. However, it was also difficult, because such interesting details presented themselves by themselves, which cannot be denied ... "

The tendency to deception and cheating is manifested in him and during the card game. Therefore, the game often ends in a fight: "they beat him with their boots, or they asked him overexposure to thick and very good sideburns ..."

The character of the hero, his interests and lifestyle are reflected in the interior of his house. In Nozdryov's office there are no books and papers, but sabers, rifles, Turkish daggers and pipes of various kinds - “wooden, clay, foam, stoned and unstuffed, covered with suede and not covered”, are hanging. In this interior, one object is symbolic - a barrel organ, in which there is "one pipe, very lively, which did not want to calm down." This expressive detail symbolizes the character of the hero, his restlessness, irrepressible energy.

Nozdryov is unusually "active", energetic, briskness and agility of character push him to new and new "enterprises". So, he loves to change: a gun, a dog, horses - everything instantly becomes an object of exchange. If he has money, then at the fair he immediately buys up "all sorts of things": clamps, smoking candles, raisins, tobacco, pistols, herring, paintings, pots, etc. he can lose everything on the same day.

Nozdryov is very consistent in his behavior and during the sale and purchase of dead souls. He tries to sell Chichikov a stallion, dogs, a hurdy-gurdy, then starts an exchange of chalets, a game of checkers. Noticing the trickery of Nozdryov. Chichikov refuses to play. And then the “historical” person starts a scandal, a fight, and only the appearance of the police chief in the house saves Chichikov.

Nozdryov's speech and manner are also characteristic. He speaks loudly, emotionally, often crying out. His speech is very motley and varied in its composition.

In addition, it is worth noting the static nature of this image. Gogol gives the character of Nozdryov already established, ready, the prehistory of this character is closed to the reader, during the narrative the hero does not undergo any internal changes.

Thus, the character created by Gogol - a braggart, a chatterbox, a reckless man, a kick-ass, a player, a rowdy and a disputant, a lover to drink and add something - is colorful and easily recognizable. The hero is typical, and at the same time, thanks to a number of details, special trifles, the writer was able to emphasize his individuality.

The image of Sobakevich in N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls"

Sobakevich is fourth in the gallery of Gogol's landowners. The main traits of Sobakevich are intelligence. efficiency, practical acumen, but at the same time he is characterized by tight-fistedness, some kind of ponderous stability in his views. character, lifestyle. These features are already noticeable in the very portrait of the hero, who looks like a "medium-sized" bear. And his name is Mikhail Semenovich. “To complete the resemblance, the dress coat on him was completely bearish, the sleeves were long, the pantaloons were long, he stepped with his feet at random and sideways and stepped incessantly on other people's legs. His complexion was red-hot, hot, which is what happens on a copper penny. "

In the portrait of Sobakevich, one can feel the grotesque motive of the hero's rapprochement with an animal, with a thing. Thus, Gogol emphasizes the limited interests of the landowner in the world of material life.

Gogol also reveals the qualities of the hero through landscapes, interiors and dialogues. The village of Sobakevich is "quite large". To the left and to the right of it are "two forests, birch and pine, like two covered, one dark, the other lighter." Already these forests speak of the landlord's economy and his practical sense.

Fully corresponds to the external and internal appearance of the owner and his estate. Sobakevich doesn't care about aesthetics at all, external beauty surrounding objects, thinking only about their functionality. Chichikov, driving up to Sobakevich's house, notes that during the construction, obviously, "the architect was incessantly struggling with the taste of the owner." "The architect was a pedant and wanted symmetry, the owner - convenience ..." - says Gogol. This "convenience", concern for the functionality of objects is manifested by Sobakevich in everything. The landlord's yard is surrounded by "a strong and excessively thick wooden lattice", the stables and sheds are made of full-weight, thick logs, even the village huts of the peasants are "cut down like a miracle" - "everything ... fit tightly and properly."

The furnishings in Sobakevich's house reproduce the same "strong, awkward order." The table, armchairs, chairs - all "of the heaviest and most restless quality", in the corner of the living room stands "a pot-bellied walnut bureau on preposterous four legs, a perfect bear." On the walls hang pictures of "Greek generals" - "unusually strong and tall fellows, with such thick thighs and unheard-of mustaches that trembling goes through the body."

It is characteristic that here again the motive of heroism arises, "playing the role of a positive ideological pole in the poem." And this motive is set not only by the images of the Greek generals, but also by the portrait of Sobakevich himself. having "the strongest and most wonderful image." This motive reflected Gogol's dream of Russian heroism, which, according to the writer, is contained not only in physical strength, but also in the “innumerable wealth of the Russian spirit.” The writer captures here the very essence of the Russian soul: “Russian movements will rise ... into the Slavic nature that slipped only through the nature of other peoples. "

However, in the image of Sobakevich, the "wealth of the Russian spirit" is suppressed by the world of material life. The landowner is concerned only with the preservation of his wealth and the abundance of the table. Most of all, he loves to eat well and tasty, not accepting foreign diets. So, Sobakevich's dinner is very “varied”: a stuffed lamb stomach is served with cabbage soup, then “mutton side with porridge”, cheesecakes, stuffed turkey and jam follow. "When I have pork, put the whole pig on the table, lamb - take the whole ram, just goose goose?" - he says to Chichikov. Here Gogol debunks gluttony, one of the human vices that Orthodoxy fights against.

It is characteristic that Sobakevich is far from stupid: he immediately realized what was the essence of Pavel Ivanovich's lengthy speech and quickly appointed his exchange to the dead peasants. The landowner is logical and consistent when bargaining with Chichikov. And he himself looks so that it becomes clear; he is “one of those faces, over the decoration of which nature didn’t for long ... I did it with an ax once - my nose came out, I did it in another - my lips came out, I poked my eyes with a big drill ...” It seems that he is only interested in how to fill my stomach more tightly ... But behind such an appearance is an intelligent, vicious and dangerous predator. No wonder Sobakevich recalls how his father could have overwhelmed the bear. He himself turned out to be able to "overpower" another powerful and terrible predator - Chichikov. The buying and selling scene in this chapter is fundamentally different from all similar scenes with other landowners: here it is not Chichikov, but Sobakevich leading the party. He, unlike the others, immediately understands the essence of a fraudulent transaction, which does not bother him at all, and begins to conduct a real bargaining. Chichikov understands that he is facing a serious, dangerous enemy who should be feared, and therefore accepts the rules of the game. Sobakevich, like Chichikov, is not embarrassed by the unusual and immoral nature of the deal: there is a seller, there is a buyer, there is a product. Chichikov, trying to bring down the price, reminds that "the whole item is just fu-fu ... who needs it?" To which Soba-kevich reasonably remarks: "Why, you are buying, therefore, well-wives."

Sobakevich is shrewd in his own way, endowed with a sober view of things. He does not harbor any illusions about city officials: "these are all swindlers: the whole city is like this: the swindler sits on the swindler and drives them away with the swindler." In the words of the hero here lies the truth of the author, his position.

Sobakevich's mind, his insight and, at the same time, the "wildness", unsociability, uncommunicativeness of the landowner are manifested in his speech. Sobakevich speaks out very clearly, briefly, without excessive "prettiness" and ornateness. So, to Chichikov's lengthy rantings about the burdensome landlord's duty to pay taxes for the revision souls who have “finished their life”, Mikhail Ivanova “reacts” with one phrase: “Do you need dead souls?” When discussing acquaintances, the landowner can scold, use a "strong word".

The image of Sobakevich in the poem is static: readers are not presented with the life story of the hero, any spiritual changes in him. However, the character before us is lively and versatile. As in the chapters devoted to the rest of the landowners, Gogol uses here all the elements of the composition (landscape, interior, portrait, speech), subordinating them to the leitmotif of this image.

The image of Plyushkin in the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls"

The gallery of "dead souls" ends in the poem by Plyushkin.

The main features of Plyushkin are stinginess, greed, thirst for hoarding and enrichment. alertness and suspicion. These features are masterfully conveyed in the portrait of the hero, in the landscape, in the description; environments and dialogues.

Plyushkin's appearance is very expressive. “His face did not represent anything special: it was almost the same as that of many thin old people, one chin only protruded very far forward, so he had to cover it with a handkerchief every time so as not to spit: small eyes had not yet gone out and were running from under the high-grown eyebrows, like mice, when, sticking out their sharp muzzles from the dark holes, their ears alert and blinking their noses, they look out for a cat hiding somewhere ... "Plyushkin's outfit is remarkable - a greasy and torn dressing gown fastened around his neck with rags ...

Small running eyes, similar to mice, testify to the wariness and suspicion of Plyushkin, generated by fear for his property. His rags resemble the clothes of a beggar, but by no means a landowner with more than a thousand souls.

The motive of poverty continues to develop in the description of the landowner's village. In all the village buildings one can see "some kind of special dilapidation", the huts are made of old and dark logs, the roofs look like a sieve, there are no glass in the windows. The house of Plyushkin himself looks like "some decrepit invalid". In some places it is one floor, in other places it is two, on the fence and gates there is green mold, through decrepit walls you can see "naked plaster lattice", only two are open from the windows, the rest are overcrowded or hammered. The "beggarly appearance" here metaphorically conveys the hero's spiritual poverty, the severe limitation of his world acceptance by the pathological passion for hoarding.

Behind the house stretches a garden, just as overgrown and decayed, which, however, "is quite picturesque in its picturesque desolation." “Green clouds and irregular domes lay on the celestial horizon the connected tops of trees that had grown free. The colossal white trunk of a birch ... rose from this green thicket and swirled in the air like ... a sparkling marble column ... In places the green thickets, illuminated by the sun, diverged ... This landscape contrasts with the presence of light effects to the description of the interior decoration of the manor house, which recreates the atmosphere of lifelessness, death, grave.

Entering Plyushkin's house, Chichikov immediately falls into darkness. “He stepped into a dark, wide entrance, from which a cold blew, as if from a cellar. From the vestibule he entered a room "also dark, slightly illuminated by the light coming out from under a wide gap at the bottom of the door." Further, Gogol develops the motive of death, lifelessness outlined here. In another room of the landowner (where Chichikov ends up) - a broken chair, "a clock with a stopped pendulum, to which a spider has already attached its web": a chandelier in a canvas bag, thanks to a layer of dust, looks like "a silk cocoon in which a worm sits." On the walls, Pavel Ivanovich notices several paintings, but their plots are quite definite - a battle with screaming soldiers and drowning horses, a still life with a duck hanging head down.

A huge pile of old rubbish is piled on the floor in the corner of the room; through a huge layer of dust Chichikov notices there a piece of a wooden shovel and an old boot sole. This picture is symbolic. According to I. Zolotussky, Plyushkin's pile is "a grave mound over the ideal of a materialist." The researcher notes that whenever Chichikov meets with any of the landowners, he makes an "examination of his ideals." Plyushkin in this case "represents" a state, wealth. In fact, this is the most important thing that Chichikov strives for. It is monetary independence that opens the way for him to comfort, happiness, prosperity, etc. All this is inextricably fused in the mind of Pavel Ivanovich with home, family, family ties, "heirs", respect in society.

Plyushkin makes the return journey in the poem. The hero seems to reveal to us reverse side Chichikov's ideal - we see that the landlord's house is completely neglected, he has no family, all friendly and family ties he tore it up, in the reviews of other landowners there is not even a hint of respect.

But Plyushkin's life was once a thrifty owner, he was married, and “a neighbor came to dine with him” and learn from him about farming. And everything was no worse for him than the others: "a friendly and talkative hostess" famous for hospitality, two pretty daughters, "blond and fresh as roses", a son, a "smart boy", and even a French teacher. But his "good mistress" and his youngest daughter died, the eldest ran away with the staff officer, "the time has come for my son to go to work," and Plyushkin was left alone. Gogol closely traces this process of the disintegration of the human personality, the development in the hero of his pathological passion.

The lonely life of a landowner, widowhood, "gray hair in coarse hair", dryness and rationalism of character (" human feelings... were not deep in it ") - all this gave" full food of avarice. " Indulging his vice, Plyushkin gradually ruined his entire economy. So, his hay and bread rotted, flour in the cellars turned to stone, canvases and materials “turned to dust”.

Plyushkin's passion for hoarding became truly pathological: every day he walked the streets of his village and collected everything that came to hand: an old sole, a woman's rag, an iron nail, a clay shard. What was not in the yard of the landowner: "barrels, intersections, tubs, lagoons, jugs with stigmas and without stigmas, brothers-in-arms, baskets ...". “If someone would drop in to the workers' yard, where a supply of all kinds of wood and utensils that had never been used had been prepared, it would have seemed to him that he had not ended up in Moscow at the wood chips yard, where quick mother-in-law and mother-in-law go every day ... detail their household stocks ... "- writes Gogol.

Submitting to the thirst for profit and enrichment, the hero gradually lost all human feelings: he ceased to be interested in the life of his children and grandchildren, quarreled with his neighbors, and discouraged all guests.

The character of the hero in the poem is fully consistent with his speech. As V. Litvinov notes, Plyushkin's speech is “one continuous grumbling”: complaints about relatives, peasants and abuse with his servants.

In the scene of the sale and purchase of dead souls, Plyushkin, like Sobakevich, begins to bargain with Chichikov. However, if Sobakevich. not caring about the moral side of the issue, he probably guesses about the essence of Chichikov's scam, then Plyushkin does not even think about it. Hearing that it is possible to make a “profit,” the landowner seems to forget about everything: he “expected,” “his hands trembled,” he “took money from Chichikov in both hands and carried it to the bureau with the same caution, as if would carry some liquid, every minute afraid to unleash it. " Thus, the moral side of the issue leaves him by itself - it simply fades under the pressure of the hero's "surging feelings".

It is these “feelings” that take the landowner out of the category of “indifferent”. Belinsky considered Plyushkin a "comic face," disgusting and disgusting, denying him the significance of his feelings. However, in the context creative concept the author presented in the poem life story hero given character seems to be the most difficult among the Gogol landowners. It was Plyushkin (together with Chichikov), according to Gogol's plan, to appear morally revived in the third volume of the poem.

description of landowners in dead souls

1. Images of landlords in Dead Souls

   Poem by N.V. Gogol's Dead souls greatest work world literature. In the mortification of the souls of the characters of landowners, officials, Chichikov, the writer sees the tragic mortification of humanity, the sad movement of history in a vicious circle.
   The plot of Dead Souls (the sequence of Chichikov's meetings with the landowners) reflects Gogol's ideas about the possible degrees of human degradation. One after another, my heroes follow one more vulgar than the other, the writer noted. Indeed, if Manilov still retains some attractiveness in himself, then Plyushkin, who closes the gallery of serf-landowners, has already been openly called a hole in humanity.
   Creating images of Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, Plyushkin, the writer resorts to general methods of realistic typification (depiction of a village, manor house, a portrait of the owner, an office, a conversation about city officials and dead souls). If necessary, a biography of the character is given.
   The character of Manilov captures the type of an idle, dreamer, romantic loafer. The landlord's economy is in complete decline. The house of the master stood on the Jura, that is, on an elevation, open to all the winds that could blow ... The housekeeper steals, cooks foolishly and uselessly in the kitchen, empty in the pantry, unclean and drunken servants. Meanwhile, a gazebo was erected with a flat green dome, wooden blue columns and the inscription: Temple of Solitary Meditation. Manilov's dreams are absurd and absurd. Sometimes ... he talked about how nice it would be if suddenly an underground passage was made from the house or a stone bridge was built across the pond ... Gogol shows that Manilov has gone and is empty, he has no real spiritual interests. There was always some book in his office, bookmarked on page fourteen, which he had been reading constantly for two years. The vulgarity of family life (relations with his wife, the upbringing of Alcides and Themistoclus), the cloying sweetness of speech (May day, name day of the heart) confirm the insight portrait characteristics character. In the first minute of a conversation with him, you cannot but say: What a pleasant and kind person! In the next minute of the conversation you won't say anything, but in the third you will say: The devil knows what this is! and you will move away; if you do not leave, you will feel mortal boredom. Gogol with stunning artistic force shows the deadness of Manilov, the worthlessness of his life. Spiritual emptiness is hidden behind external attractiveness.
   The image of Korobochka's accumulator is already devoid of those attractive features that distinguish Manilov. And again we have a type of one of those mothers, small landowners who ... collect a little money in variegated bags, placed on the drawers of the dressers. Korobochka's interests are entirely focused on the economy. Strong-minded and club-headed Nastasya Petrovna is afraid to sell out dead souls to Chichikov. There is a curious mute scene that occurs in this chapter. We find similar scenes in almost all the chapters showing the conclusion of Chichikov's deal with another landowner. This is special artistic device, a kind of temporary stop of the action, allowing with a special convexity to show the spiritual emptiness of Pavel Ivanovich and his interlocutors. In the finale of the third chapter, Gogol talks about the typical image of Korobochka, about the insignificant difference between her and another aristocratic lady.

2. Landowner
   MANILOV The man is not yet old, his eyes are sweet as sugar. But this sugar was too much. In the first minute of a conversation with him you will say what a nice person, in a minute you will not say anything, and in the third minute you will think: The devil knows what this is! The house of the Lord stands on a dais, open to all winds. The farm is in complete disrepair. The housekeeper steals, something is constantly missing in the house. In the kitchen, cooking is stupid. The drunkard's servants. Against the background of all this decline, the gazebo with the name Temple of Solitary Meditation looks strange. The Manilovs love to kiss, give each other cute trinkets (a toothpick in a case), but at the same time they absolutely do not care about home improvement. About people like Manilov, Gogol says: The man is so-so, neither with nor in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan. The man is empty and vulgar. For two years now, there has been a book in his office with a bookmark on page 14, which he constantly reads. Dreams are fruitless. The speech is sugary and sugary (name day of the heart) Surprised. He understands that this request is illegal, but he cannot refuse such a pleasant person. Agrees to give the peasants free. Doesn't even know how many souls he has died.
   An elderly woman, wearing a cap, with a flannel around her neck. A small house, the wallpaper in the house is old, the mirrors are old. Nothing is lost on the farm, this is evidenced by a net on fruit trees and a cap on a scarecrow. She taught everyone to be in order. The yard is full of poultry, the garden is well-groomed. The peasant huts, although they were scattered, show the contentment of the inhabitants, they are properly maintained. Korobochka knows all about his peasants, does not write any notes and remembers the names of the dead by heart. Economic and practical, knows the price of a penny. Club-headed, stupid, stingy. This is the image of the landowner-accumulator. She wonders why Chichikov is doing this. Afraid of cheapening. Knows exactly how many peasants died (18 souls). He looks at dead souls in the same way as he looks at bacon or hemp: suddenly they will come in handy on the farm.
   Nozdrv, fresh as blood and milk, glows with health. Medium height, not badly complex. At thirty-five, looks the same as at eighteen. A stable with two horses. The kennel is in excellent condition, where Nozdrv feels like the father of a family. There are no usual things in the office: books, paper. A saber, two guns, a barrel organ, pipes, daggers are hanging. The land is unkempt. The economy went on by itself, since the main concern of the hero was hunting and fairs were not up to the economy. The renovation in the house is not finished, the stalls are empty, the organ is faulty, the chaise is lost. The position of the serfs, from whom he draws everything he can, is deplorable. Gogol calls Nozdrva a historical person, because not a single meeting at which Nozdrv appeared was complete without history. Reputed for a good friend, but always ready to play a dirty trick on his friend. Broken fellow, reckless carousel, card player, loves to lie, mindlessly spends money. Rudeness, impudent lies, recklessness are reflected in his fragmentary speech. As he speaks, he constantly jumps from one subject to another, uses abusive expressions: you piggy for this, such rubbish. From him, a reckless reveler, it seemed the easiest way to get dead souls, and yet he is the only one who left Chichikov with nothing.
   Sobakevich looks like a bear. Tailcoat in bearskin color. The complexion is fecal, hot. Big village, awkward house. The stable, barn, kitchen are built of massive logs. The portraits that hang in the rooms depict heroes with thick thighs and an unheard of mustache. The four-legged walnut bureau looks ridiculous. Sobakevich's economy developed according to the principle that it was not well cut, but it was tightly sewn, soundly, strong. And he does not ruin his peasants: his peasants live in huts that have