A joint meal between Plyushkin and Chichikov. Plyushkin - characterization of the hero of the poem "Dead Souls

The poem "Dead Souls of Gogol in a summary in 10 minutes.

Acquaintance with Chichikov

A middle-aged gentleman of rather pleasant appearance arrived in a hotel in the provincial town in a small chaise. He rented a room in the hotel, examined it and went to the common room to dine, leaving the servants to settle in a new place. It was a collegiate councilor, landowner Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov.

After dinner, he went to inspect the city and found that it was no different from other provincial cities. The visitor devoted the whole next day to visits. I visited the governor, the police chief, the vice-governor and other officials, each of whom he managed to win over, saying something pleasant about his department. For the evening he had already received an invitation to the governor.

Arriving at the governor's house, Chichikov, among other things, met Manilov, a very courteous and courteous man, and with a somewhat awkward Sobakevich, and behaved so pleasantly with them that he completely charmed them, and both landowners invited a new friend to visit them. The next day, at a dinner with the police chief, Pavel Ivanovich made acquaintance with Nozdrev, a broken-hearted young man of about thirty, with whom they immediately switched to you.

For more than a week, the visitor lived in the city, driving around to parties and dinners, he showed himself to be a very pleasant companion, able to talk on any topic. He knew how to behave well, possessed gravity. In general, everyone in the city came to the conclusion that it was an exceptionally decent and well-meaning
human.

Chichikov at Manilov's

Finally Chichikov decided to visit the landowners he knew and set off for the country. First he went to see Manilov. With some difficulty he found the village of Manilovka, which was not fifteen, but thirty versts from the city. Manilov greeted a new acquaintance very cordially, they kissed and entered the house, letting each other through the door for a long time. Manilov was, in general, a pleasant person, somehow sugary-sugary, had no special hobbies, except fruitless dreams, and did not do the housework.

His wife was brought up in a boarding house, where she was taught the three main subjects necessary for family happiness: French, piano and knitting wallets. She was not bad-looking and dressed well. The husband introduced Pavel Ivanovich to her. They had a little chat, and the hosts invited the guest to dinner. The Manilovs' sons, Themistoclus, seven years old, and six-year-old Alcides, to whom the teacher tied napkins, were already waiting in the dining room. The scholarship of the children was demonstrated to the guest, the teacher only once reprimanded the boys when the elder bit the younger on the ear.

After dinner, Chichikov announced that he intended to talk to the owner about a very important matter, and both went to the study. The guest started a conversation about the peasants and offered the owner to buy dead souls from him, that is, those peasants who have already died, but are still alive according to the revision. Manilov could not understand anything for a long time, then he doubted the legality of such a deed of sale, but nevertheless agreed from
respect for the guest. When Pavel Ivanovich started talking about the price, the owner was offended and even took upon himself the preparation of the deed.

Chichikov did not know how to thank Manilov. They said goodbye cordially, and Pavel Ivanovich drove off, promising to come again and bring the children some presents.

Chichikov at the Korobochka

Chichikov was going to make the next visit to Sobakevich, but it started to rain, and the crew drove into some field. Selifan unrolled the wagon so awkwardly that the master fell out of it and was all covered in mud. Fortunately, the barking of dogs was heard. They went to the village and asked to spend the night in a house. It turned out that this was the estate of a certain landowner Korobochka.

In the morning Pavel Ivanovich met the hostess, Nastasya Petrovna, a middle-aged woman, one of those who always complain about the lack of money, but little by little amassing and collecting a decent fortune. The village was quite large, the houses were strong, the peasants lived well. The hostess invited the unexpected guest to drink tea, the conversation turned to the household, and Chichikov offered to buy dead souls from her.

Korobochka was extremely frightened by such a proposal, not really understanding what they wanted from her. After much clarification and persuasion, she finally agreed and wrote Chichikov a power of attorney, trying to sell him hemp as well.

After eating pies and pancakes baked especially for him, the guest drove on, accompanied by a girl who was supposed to take the carriage out onto the main road. Seeing the inn, which was already on the high road, they put the girl down, who, having received a copper penny as a reward, wandered home, and drove there.

Chichikov at Nozdryov

At the tavern Chichikov ordered a pig with horseradish and sour cream and, sweeping it away, asked the hostess about the surrounding landowners. At this time, two gentlemen drove up to the tavern, one of whom was Nozdryov, and the second was his son-in-law Mizhuyev. Nostril, a well-built small one, which is called blood and milk, with thick black hair and sideburns, ruddy cheeks and very white teeth,
recognized Chichikov and began to tell him how they had taken a walk at the fair, how much champagne they had drunk and how he had lost at cards.

Mijuev, a tall, fair-haired man with a tanned face and a red mustache, constantly accused his friend of exaggerations. Nozdryov persuaded Chichikov to go to him, Mizhuev, reluctantly, also went with them.

I must say that Nozdryov's wife died, leaving him with two children, to whom he had nothing to do, and he moved from one fair to another, from one party to another. Everywhere he played cards and roulette and usually lost, although he did not hesitate to cheat, for which sometimes he was beaten by partners. He was cheerful, considered a good friend, but he always managed to screw up his friends: upset the wedding, ruin the deal.

At the estate, having ordered lunch for the cook, Nozdryov took the guest to inspect the farm, which was nothing special, and drove for two hours, telling stories incredible in lies, so that Chichikov was very tired. Dinner was served, some dishes of which were burnt, some were not cooked, and numerous wines of dubious quality.

The owner poured water for the guests, but he himself hardly drank. After dinner, the heavily intoxicated Mizhuev was sent home to his wife, and Chichikov started a conversation with Nozdrev about dead souls. The landowner flatly refused to sell them, but offered to play cards on them, and when the guest refused, exchange them for Chichikov's horses or a chaise. Pavel Ivanovich also rejected this offer and went to bed. The next day, the restless Nozdryov persuaded him to fight for souls in checkers. During the game, Chichikov noticed that the owner was playing unfairly, and told him about it.

The landowner was offended, began to scold the guest and ordered the servants to beat him. Chichikov was saved by the appearance of the police captain, who announced that Nozdryov was on trial and accused of inflicting personal offense on the landowner Maksimov with drunken rods. Pavel Ivanovich did not wait for the denouement, rushed out of the house and left.

Chichikov at Sobakevich's

An unpleasant incident happened on the way to Sobakevich. Selifan, lost in thought, did not give way to a carriage that was overtaking them, drawn by six horses, and the harness of both carriages was so messed up that it took a long time to re-harness. In the carriage sat an old woman and a sixteen-year-old girl, whom Pavel Ivanovich really liked ...

Soon we arrived at the Sobakevich estate. Everything there was solid, solid, solid. The owner, fat, with a face like a cut down with an ax, very similar to a learned bear, met the guest and led him into the house. The furniture was to match the owner - heavy, durable. On the walls were paintings depicting ancient generals.

The conversation turned to the city officials, each of whom the owner gave a negative characterization. The hostess came in, Sobakevich introduced her guest and invited him to dinner. The lunch was not very varied, but tasty and satisfying. During dinner, the owner mentioned the landowner Plyushkin, who lived five miles away from him, where people were dying like flies, and Chichikov took note of this.

Having dined very densely, the men retired to the drawing room, and Pavel Ivanovich got down to business. Sobakevich listened to him without saying a word. Without asking any questions, he agreed to sell dead souls to the guest, but he charged the price for them, as for living people.

They bargained for a long time and agreed on two and a half rubles per capita, and Sobakevich demanded a deposit. He drew up a list of peasants, gave each a description of his business qualities and wrote a receipt for the deposit, astonishing Chichikov with how sensibly everything was written. They parted happy with each other, and Chichikov went to Plyushkin's.

Chichikov at Plyushkin's

He drove into a large village that was striking in its poverty: the huts were almost without roofs, the windows in them were covered with bull bubbles or stuffed with rags. The master's house is large, with many outbuildings for household needs, but all of them are almost collapsed, only two windows are open, the rest are clogged with boards or closed with shutters. The house gave the impression of being uninhabited.

Chichikov noticed a figure so strangely dressed that he could not immediately recognize whether it was a woman or a man. Paying attention to the bunch of keys on his belt, Pavel Ivanovich decided that it was the housekeeper, and turned to her, calling her "mother" and asking where the master was. The housekeeper told him to go into the house and disappeared. He entered and was amazed at the disorder that reigned there. Everything is covered in dust, there are dried bits on the table, a bunch of strange things are piled up in the corner. The housekeeper came in, and Chichikov again asked the master. She said that the master was in front of him.

I must say that Plyushkin was not always like this. Once he had a family and was just a thrifty, albeit somewhat stingy owner. His wife was distinguished by hospitality; guests were often in the house. Then his wife died, the eldest daughter ran away with the officer, and her father cursed her, because he could not stand the military. The son went to the city to enter the civil service. but enrolled in the regiment. Plyushkin cursed him too. When the youngest daughter died, the landowner was left alone in the house.

His avarice took on terrifying proportions, he dragged into the house all the rubbish found in the village, right down to the old sole. The rent was collected from the peasants in the same amount, but since Plyushkin was asking for an exorbitant price for the goods, no one bought anything from him, and everything rotted in the master's yard. Two times his daughter came to him, first with one child, then with two, when she brought him gifts and asked for help, but the father did not give a penny. His son lost and also asked for money, but also received nothing. Plyushkin himself looked like if Chichikov had met him near the church, he would have given him a penny.

While Pavel Ivanovich was pondering how to start talking about dead souls, the owner began to complain about the hard life: the peasants were dying, and the tax had to be paid for them. The guest offered to cover these costs. Plyushkin gladly agreed, ordered the samovar to be put down and the remains of the Easter cake brought from the pantry, which the daughter had once brought and from which the mold had to be scraped off first.

Then he suddenly doubted the honesty of Chichikov's intentions, and he suggested making a fortress of sale for the dead peasants. Plyushkin decided to hand Chichikov some fugitive peasants, and after bargaining, Pavel Ivanovich took them for thirty kopecks. After that he (to the great delight of the owner) gave up lunch and tea and left, being in excellent spirits.

Chichikov launches a scam with "dead souls"

On the way to the hotel, Chichikov even sang. The next day he woke up in a great mood and immediately sat down at the table to write the deeds of sale. At twelve o'clock he got dressed and with the papers under his arm went to the civilian ward. Leaving the hotel, Pavel Ivanovich ran into Manilov, who was walking towards him.

They kissed so that then both had toothache all day, and Manilov volunteered to accompany Chichikov. In the civil chamber, it was not without difficulty that they found an official who was in charge of bills, who, having only received a bribe, sent Pavel Ivanovich to the chairman, Ivan Grigorievich. Sobakevich was already sitting in the chairman's office. Ivan Grigorievich gave instructions to the same
the official to issue all the papers and collect witnesses.

When everything was properly arranged, the chairman suggested injecting the purchase. Chichikov was about to deliver them champagne, but Ivan Grigorievich said that they would go to the police chief, who would only blink an eye to the merchants in the fish and meat rows, and a wonderful dinner would be prepared.

And so it happened. The merchants considered the police chief their own man, who, although he robbed them, did not repent and even willingly baptized merchant children. The dinner was magnificent, the guests drank well and ate well, and Sobakevich alone killed a huge sturgeon and then did not eat anything, but only sat silently in an armchair. Everyone was amused and did not want to let Chichikov leave the city, but decided to marry him, to which he gladly agreed.

Feeling that he had already begun to say too much, Pavel Ivanovich asked for a carriage and in the prosecutor's droshky arrived at the hotel completely drunk. Parsley with difficulty undressed the master, cleaned his suit, and, making sure that the owner was fast asleep, went with Selifan to the nearest tavern, from where they went out in an embrace and fell to sleep across on the same bed.

Chichikov's purchases caused a lot of conversations in the city, he took everything and took an active part in his affairs, they discussed how difficult it would be for him to resettle such a number of serfs to the Kherson province. Of course, Chichikov did not spread that he was buying dead peasants, everyone believed that they were buying live ones, and a rumor spread throughout the city that Pavel Ivanovich was a millionaire. The ladies who were very presentable in this city immediately became interested in him, went only in carriages, dressed fashionably and spoke exquisitely. Chichikov could not help but notice such attention to himself. Once they brought him an anonymous love letter with verses, at the end of which it was written that his own heart would help him to guess who was writing.

Chichikov at the Governor's Ball

After some time, Pavel Ivanovich was invited to the governor's ball. His appearance at the ball aroused great enthusiasm among all those present. The men greeted him with loud exclamations and strong hugs, the ladies surrounded him, forming a multi-colored garland. He tried to guess which of them wrote the letter, but he could not.

Chichikova was rescued from their entourage by the governor's wife, who was holding a pretty sixteen-year-old girl by her arm, in whom Pavel Ivanovich recognized the blonde from the crew that had collided with him on the way from Nozdryov. It turned out that the girl is the governor's daughter, who had just graduated from the institute. Chichikov turned his full attention to her and spoke only to her, although the girl got bored from his stories and began to yawn. the ladies did not like this behavior of their idol at all, because each had its own views on Pavel Ivanovich. They became indignant and condemned the poor schoolgirl.

Suddenly Nozdryov appeared from the drawing room, where a game of cards was being played, accompanied by the prosecutor and, seeing Chichikov, immediately shouted to the whole room: What? Did you sell a lot of the dead? Pavel Ivanovich did not know where to go, but the landowner, meanwhile, with great pleasure began to tell everyone about Chichikov's swindle. Everyone knew that Nozdryov was a liar, nevertheless his words caused confusion and rumors. Upset Chichikov, anticipating a scandal, did not wait for the end of dinner and went to the hotel.

At the time when he, sitting in his room, cursed Nozdryov and all his relatives, a carriage with Korobochka entered the city. This club-headed landowner, worrying if Chichikov had deceived her in some cunning way, decided for herself to find out how much the dead souls are today. The next day, the ladies stirred up the whole city.

They could not understand the essence of the scam with dead souls and decided that the purchase was made to divert the eyes, but in fact Chichikov came to the city to kidnap the governor's daughter. The governor's wife, hearing about this, interrogated her unsuspecting daughter and ordered Pavel Ivanovich not to receive any more. The men, too, could not understand anything, but they did not really believe in the abduction.

At this time, a new governor-general was appointed to the province, and the officials even thought that Chichikov had come to them in the city on his behalf for an inspection. Then they decided that Chichikov was a counterfeiter, then that he was a robber. interrogated Selifan and Petrushka, but they could not say anything intelligible. They also talked with Nozdryov, who, without batting an eye, confirmed all their guesses. The prosecutor was so worried that he suffered a blow and died.

Chichikov knew nothing about all this. He caught a cold, sat in his room for three days and wondered why none of his new acquaintances came to visit him. Finally he recovered, dressed warmly, and went to visit the governor. Imagine Pavel Ivanovich's surprise when the footman said that he was not ordered to receive him! Then he went to other officials, but everyone received him so strangely, had such a forced and incomprehensible conversation that he doubted their health.

Chichikov leaves town

Chichikov wandered around the city for a long time without a goal, and in the evening Nozdryov turned up to him, offering his help in kidnapping the governor's daughter for three thousand rubles. Pavel Ivanovich understood the reason for the scandal and he immediately ordered Selifan to lay the horses, and he himself began to collect things. But it turned out that the horses had to be shod, and they left only the next day. When we drove through the city, we had to miss the funeral procession: the prosecutor was buried. Chichikov drew the curtains. Fortunately, no one paid attention to him.

the essence of the scam with dead souls

Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov was born into a poor noble family. Giving his son to school, his father told him to live economically, behave well, please teachers, be friends only with the children of wealthy parents, and most of all value a penny in life. All this Pavlusha conscientiously performed and was very successful in this. not disdaining to speculate edible. Not being distinguished by intelligence and knowledge, by his behavior he earned a certificate and a certificate of commendation after graduating from school.

Most of all, he dreamed of a calm, rich life, but for now he denied himself everything. He began to serve, but did not receive a promotion, no matter how he pleased his boss. Then after visiting. that the boss had an ugly and no longer young daughter, Chichikov began to look after her. It even got to the point that he settled in the boss's house, began to call him dad and kissed his hand. Soon Pavel Ivanovich received a new position and immediately moved to his apartment. and hushed up the matter of the wedding. Time passed, Chichikov prospered. He himself did not take bribes, but received money from his subordinates, who began to take three times more. After some time, a commission was organized in the city to build some kind of capital structure, and Pavel Ivanovich settled there. The building did not grow higher than the foundation, but the members of the commission built beautiful large houses for themselves. Unfortunately, the head was replaced, the new one demanded reports from the commission, and all the houses were confiscated to the treasury. Chichikov was fired, and he was forced to start his career anew.

He changed two or three positions, and then he was lucky: he got a job at the customs office, where he showed his best side, was incorruptible, knew how to find contraband best of all and deserved a promotion. As soon as this happened, the incorruptible Pavel Ivanovich conspired with a large gang of smugglers, attracted another official to the case, and together they turned out several scams, thanks to which they put four hundred thousand in the bank. But one day the official had a falling out with Chichikov and wrote a denunciation on him, the case was solved, the money was confiscated from both of them, and they themselves were fired from customs. Fortunately, they managed to avoid trial, Pavel Ivanovich had some money hidden away, and he began to arrange life again. He had to act as an attorney, and it was this service that prompted him to think about dead souls. Once he was bothering to bail several hundred peasants of one ruined landowner to the board of trustees. In the meantime, Chichikov explained to the secretary that half of the peasants had died out and he doubted the success of the case. The secretary said that if the souls are listed in the revision list, then nothing terrible can happen. It was then that Pavel Ivanovich decided to buy up more dead souls and put them in the board of trustees, receiving money for them as if they were alive. The city in which we met Chichikov was the first on his way to the realization of his plans, and now Pavel Ivanovich, in his chaise drawn by three horses, drove on.

The hero's surname has become a household name for centuries. Even those who have not read the poem represent a stingy person.

The image and characteristics of Plyushkin in the poem "Dead Souls" is a character deprived of human features, who has lost the meaning of the appearance of his light.

Character appearance

The landowner is over 60 years old. He is old, but he cannot be called weak and sick. How does the author describe Plyushkina? Sparingly, like himself:

• An incomprehensible floor, hidden under strange rags. Chichikov takes a long time to figure out who is in front of him: a man or a woman.
• Coarse gray hair sticking out like a brush.
• An insensitive and vulgar face.
• The hero's clothing evokes disgust, it is ashamed to look at it, ashamed of a person dressed in a semblance of a dressing gown.

Relationships with people

Stepan Plyushkin reproaches his peasants for theft. There is no reason for this. They know their owner and understand that there is nothing to take from the estate. Everything is tidied up at Plyushkin's, rotting and deteriorating. Stocks are accumulating, but no one is going to use them. A lot of everything: wood, dishes, rags. Gradually, stocks turn into a pile of dirt, scrap. A pile can be compared to a garbage dump collected by the owner of a manor house. There is no truth in the words of the landowner. The people do not have time to steal, become a swindler. Due to unbearable living conditions, stinginess and hunger, men run away or die.

In relationships with people, Plyushkin is angry and obese:

Likes to swear. He quarrels with men, argues, never immediately perceives the words spoken to him. He scolds for a long time, talks about the absurd behavior of the interlocutor, although he is silent in response.

Plyushkin believes in God. He blesses those who leave him on the way, he is afraid of God's judgment.

Hypocritical. Plyushkin is trying to portray concern. In fact, it all ends with hypocritical actions. The gentleman enters the kitchen, he wants to check if his courtiers are eating, but instead he eats most of what is cooked. Whether people have enough cabbage soup with porridge, he is of little interest, the main thing is that he is full.

Plyushkin does not like communication. He shuns guests. Having calculated how much his household loses when receiving, he begins to avoid, abandoning the custom of visiting guests and receiving them. He himself explains that his acquaintances have met or died, but most of all, that no one just wanted to call in to such a greedy person.

Character of the hero

Plyushkin is a character whose positive traits are difficult to find. It is all permeated with lies, stinginess and slovenliness.

What traits can be distinguished in the character of the character:

Wrong self-esteem. Greed and a constant desire for profit are hidden behind the external good nature.

The desire to hide your condition from others. Plyushkin is pitying. He says he has no food when the grains full of the barn have rotted for years. Complains to the guest that he has little land and does not have a piece of hay for his horses, but this is all a lie.

Cruelty and indifference. Nothing changes the mood of a stingy landowner. He does not feel joy, despair. Only cruelty and an empty, callous look is all that the character is capable of.

Suspiciousness and anxiety. These feelings develop in him at a breakneck pace. He begins to suspect everyone of theft, loses his sense of self-control. Avarice occupies his entire essence.

The main distinguishing feature is stinginess. Curmudgeon Stepan Plyushkin is such that it is difficult to imagine, if not to meet in reality. Stinginess manifests itself in everything: clothes, food, feelings, emotions. Nothing in Plyushkin is fully manifested. Everything is hidden and hidden. The landlord is saving money, but for what? Just to collect them. He spends neither for himself, nor for his family, nor on the household. The author says that the money was buried in boxes. This attitude towards the enrichment agent is striking. Only a curmudgeon from a poem can live from hand to mouth on sacks of grain, having thousands of serf souls, vast areas of land. The scary thing is that there are many such Plyushkin in Russia.

Relation to family

The landowner does not change in relation to his relatives. He has a son and a daughter. The author says that in the future his son-in-law and daughter will gladly bury him. The hero's indifference is frightening. The son asks his father to give him money to buy uniforms, but, as the author says, he gives him "shish". Even the poorest parents don't abandon their children.

The son, lost in cards and again turned to him for help. Instead, he received a curse. The father never, even mentally, remembered his son. He is not interested in his life, fate. Plyushkin does not think whether his offspring is alive.

A rich landowner lives like a beggar. The daughter, who came to her father for help, takes pity on him and gives him a new robe. 800 souls of the estate surprise the author. Existence is comparable to the life of a beggar shepherd.

Stepan lacks deep human feelings. As the author says, feelings, even if they had the beginnings of him, "were shallow every minute."

A landowner living among rubbish, trash, is no exception, a fictional character. It reflects the reality of Russian reality. The greedy curmudgeons starved their peasants, turned into half animals, lost their human features, aroused pity and fear for the future.

June 15 2011

Thinking about the fate of Russia and its people, and subtle humor. The creation of the poem was prepared by all the previous work of the writer.

Before us passes a whole kaleidoscope of persons, landowners, city officials, we see them through the eyes of Chichikov and communicate with them through Chichikov. From the very first pages of the work, we feel the acuteness of the plot, since we cannot in any way assume that after the meeting between Chichikov and Manilov, there will be meetings with Sobakevich, Nozdrev. All characters replace each other, and the plot is built on the principle of gradation - each subsequent hero is worse, more terrible and uglier than the previous one. Manilova is not perceived by us as positive, he is "empty", full of impossible projects. On the table he has, constantly open on the same page, he is lusciously polite / "Let me not allow you to do this" / and affectionate. But in comparison with Plyushkin, Manilov wins significantly. However, Gogol put the image of the Box in the center of attention, since she is the collective image of all the characters. This is a symbol of a "box" man with an irrepressible thirst for hoarding.

Plyushkin's image differs from the images of other residents of the city. In the poem, Gogol singles out a chapter about Chichikov's visit to Plyushkin, it is located exactly in the middle. The chapter begins and ends with lyrical digressions, which never happened when describing Chichikov's visits to other landowners. By this, Gogol wants to mark and show the importance of this visit. We can say that this meeting, like the chapter of the poem in which this meeting is described, is out of the general plan of the work. I would like to consider and talk about this in more detail.

Driving up to the manor house and examining it, Chichikov was not surprised, since he already knew what nickname the peasants had given to Plyushkin. “This strange castle was looking like a decrepit invalid, and it was unreasonably long. In some places it was one floor, in other places it was two. " The house was completely dilapidated and destroyed, it exactly repeated its owner and his fate. Seeing the figure of a man in the courtyard, Chichikov could not even understand what gender, male or female, the man was. “The dress she wore was completely indefinite, very much like a woman’s bonnet, on her head was a cap such as the village courtyard women wear,” and only Chichikov’s voice seemed too husky for a woman. At first he decided that this was the housekeeper, but it turned out that this was the master himself, the landowner Stepan Plyushkin.

The disorder, the pile-up of things amazed even the battered Chichikov. “It seemed as if the floors were being washed in the house and all the furniture had been piled up here for a while. On one table there was even a broken chair, and next to it was a clock with a stopped pendulum, to which a spider had already attached a cobweb ... On the bureau ... there was a lot of all sorts of things: a pile of finely written papers covered with a yellowed marble press with a testicle on top, some kind of old book in a leather binding with a red edge, lemon, all dried up ..., a broken arm of a chair, a glass with some kind of liquid and three flies ..., a toothpick, completely yellowed, with which the owner, perhaps, was picking his teeth even before the invasion of Moscow by the French ... From the middle of the ceiling hung a chandelier, in a canvas bag, the dust made it look like a silk cocoon in which a worm sits. It would never have been possible to say that a living creature lived in this room if it had not been announced by an old worn cap lying on the table. " It is difficult to imagine a more depressing picture, and we immediately draw certain conclusions about the owner of this house.

So, finally, it turned out that the owner of the estate is Stepan Plyushkin, who looks so much like a housekeeper. Plyushkin's clothes and appearance fully corresponded to his dwelling. If Chichikov met Plyushkin in the city, he would take him for a beggar and give him alms. Moreover, Plyushkin, wandering the streets, picked up all the rubbish and all kinds of junk and dragged everything into his house. At the same time, for all that, Plyushkin is a fairly wealthy landowner. He owned more than a thousand souls of serfs, he had plenty of grain, flour, various utensils, cloth, canvases, etc.

The chapter depicting Chichikov's meeting with Plyushkin differs sharply from the other chapters. When Chichikov came to other landowners to buy dead souls, everything was the same type - Chichikov examined the house and estate, bought peasants, dined and left. The head with Plyushkin interrupts this varied chain. Only one resident of the city, Plyushkin, shows his life, that is, before us is not just a person with a frozen soul, but we see how he reached such a "deplorable" state. Once he was just a prudent and thrifty owner. He had a family - a wife, a son and two daughters. He was a model for neighbors who came to him to learn how to farm. But then the family broke up. The wife is dead. The daughter ran away and married a cavalry officer, for which she was cursed by her father. The son went to the army, the youngest daughter died, the house was completely empty. Plyushkin's frugality turned into stinginess, and loneliness increased it. Human feelings are weakened by the pressure of terrible avarice. Merchants who came to Plyushkin to buy goods soon gave up this venture - it became impossible to buy anything from him, the goods were in a terrible state. The income on the farm was collected as before, everything was dumped into the pantry to turn into rot and dust there.

Chichikov did not dare to start a conversation with Plyushkin about the reason for his visit. Plyushkin invites him to sit down, takes him rather cordially, but warns that he will not be fed. The conversation is about serfs and their high mortality rate in the Plyushkin estate, which makes Chichikov incredibly happy. In general, together with the fugitives, more than two hundred "dead" souls are recruited. Plyushkin is very happy about such a successful deal, he writes a power of attorney for the execution of the deed, and the deal took place. Chichikov returns to the city in a very good mood. He even hums, surprising Selifan.

Plyushkin's story is his life. Gradually, from each blow of fate, his soul hardened. At the mention of the name of his comrade, on Plyushkin's face "a warm ray slipped, not a feeling was expressed, but some pale reflection of feeling." This means that something alive remains in Plyushkin. His eyes also remained alive. Plyushkin's garden reminds of his soul, it is overgrown, neglected, but still alive. And only Plyushkin, after Chichikov's departure, utters an accusatory monologue. Perhaps Plyushkin is the only living soul in the whole poem, and Gogol tried to make the reader understand this.

In the poem "Dead Souls" N. Gogol depicted a gallery of Russian landowners. Each of them embodies negative moral qualities. Moreover, the new hero turns out to be more terrible than the previous one, and we become witnesses to the extreme to which the impoverishment of the human soul can reach. The image of Plyushkin closes the row. In the poem "Dead Souls", according to the apt definition of the author, he appears as "a hole in humanity."

First impression

"Paid" - such a definition is given to the master by one of the peasants, whom Chichikov asked for directions to Plyushkin. And it is fully justified, one has only to look at this representative of the local nobility. Let's get to know him better.

Having passed through a large village, striking with wretchedness and poverty, Chichikov found himself at the master's house. This one was not like the place where people live. The garden was just as neglected, although the number and nature of the buildings indicated that there had once been a strong, prosperous economy. Plyushkin's characterization in the poem “Dead Souls” begins with such a description of the manor’s estate.

Acquaintance with the landowner

On entering the courtyard, Chichikov noticed how someone, either a man or a woman, was arguing with the driver. The hero decided that it was the housekeeper, and asked if the owner was at home. Surprised by the appearance of a stranger here, this "certain creature" escorted the guest into the house. Once in the bright room, Chichikov was amazed at the disorder that reigned in it. One got the impression that garbage from all over the area was also taken down here. Plyushkin really collected on the street everything that came to hand: a bucket forgotten by a peasant, and fragments of a broken shard, and a feather that no one needed. Looking closely at the housekeeper, the hero found a man in her and was completely stunned to learn that this was the owner. Then the author of the work "Dead Souls" passes to the image of the landowner.

Gogol paints the portrait of Plyushkin as follows: he was dressed in a tattered, tattered and dirty robe, which was decorated with some kind of rags around his neck. The eyes were constantly in motion, as if they were looking for something. This testified to the suspicion and constant vigilance of the hero. In general, if Chichikov did not know that one of the richest landowners of the province was standing in front of him, he would have taken him for a beggar. In fact, the first feeling this person evokes in the reader is pity, bordering on contempt.

Life story

The image of Plyushkin in the poem "Dead Souls" differs from others in that he is the only landowner with a biography. In the old days he had a family and often received guests. He was considered a thrifty owner who had enough of everything. Then the wife died. Soon the eldest daughter fled with the officer, and the son, instead of serving, entered the regiment. Plyushkin deprived both of his children of his blessing and money, and every day he became more and more stingy. In the end, he focused on one of his wealth, and after the death of his youngest daughter, all the former feelings in him finally gave way to greed and suspicion. Bread was rotting in his barns, and he regretted even the usual gift for his grandchildren (over time he forgave his daughter and accepted her). This is how Gogol portrays this hero in the poem "Dead Souls". The image of Plyushkin is complemented by the bargaining scene.

Good deal

When Chichikov began the conversation, Plyushkin was annoyed at how difficult it was to receive guests today: he had already dined himself, and it was expensive to heat the stove. However, the guest immediately got down to business and found out that the landowner had one hundred and twenty unaccounted souls. He offered to sell them and said that he would bear all the costs. Hearing that it was possible to benefit from no longer existing peasants, Plyushkin, who had begun to bargain, did not delve into the details and ask how legal it was. Having received the money, he carefully took it to the bureau and, pleased with the successful deal, even decided to treat Chichikov with a biscuit left over from the cake brought by his daughter and a glass of liqueur. Completing the image of Plyushkin in the poem "Dead Souls" is the message that the owner wanted to present a gold watch to the guest who pleased him. However, he immediately changed his mind and decided to write them into the deed so that Chichikov would remember him after death with a kind word.

conclusions

The image of Plyushkin in the poem "Dead Souls" was very significant for Gogol. His plans were to leave in the third volume of all the landowners one of his, but already morally revived. Several details indicate that this is possible. First, the living eyes of the hero: remember that they are often called the mirror of the soul. Secondly, Plyushkin is the only one of all the landowners who thought of gratitude. The rest also took money for the dead peasants, but they took it for granted. It is also important that, at the mention of the old comrade, a ray suddenly flashed across the landowner's face. Hence the conclusion: if the hero's life had developed in a different way, he would have remained a thrifty owner, a good friend and family man. However, the death of his wife, the actions of the children gradually turned the hero into that “tear of humanity”, which he appeared in the 6th chapter of the book “Dead Souls”.

Plyushkin's characterization is a reminder to readers of what consequences life mistakes can lead to.

Plyushkin, with all his appearance and unfriendly meeting, puzzled Chichikov to such an extent that he could not immediately think of where to start the conversation. In order to win over the gloomy old man and get profit for himself, he decides to try to influence him with such a flowery speech, which would combine respect for the owner, and the courtesy of Chichikov himself and his ability to clothe his thoughts in a book form decent for a cultured person.

The original version was outlined by Chichikov as follows: "Having heard about virtue and rare properties of the soul (master), ... I considered it my duty to bring a personal tribute of respect." This option was instantly rejected, as it was already too much. Chichikov replaces the moral and psychological nature of his "entry" with an economic one (this is more specific and closer to the point) and says that "having heard a lot about his economy and the rare management of estates, ... he considered it a duty to get to know each other and bring his own respect."

When Plyushkin from the very first words shows irritation and begins to complain about his poverty, Chichikov deftly turns the conversation to his goal: "I, however, have been told that you have more than a thousand souls."

And the next bitter remark from Plyushkin, where he unwittingly touched a fever that killed the men out of him, that is, just the topic of interest to the guest, Chichikov skillfully picks up and again leads directly to what he needs, but outwardly combines this with expression of participation: “Tell me! and wiped out a lot? " Chichikov is in a hurry to find out the number and cannot hide the joy of the upcoming profit. Hence: a stream of interrogative sentences: “How many numbers .. No ... Really? As much as one hundred and twenty? "

The businessman spoke in it, and Chichikov forgot even expressing his condolences. However, he soon realizes himself and decides to combine the expression of condolences with practical deeds, expounding all this respectfully, somewhat even bookishly: "For your pleasure, I am ready for a loss." "We will do it like this: we will make a fortress of sale on them." "Moved by participation ..., ready to give." “I suddenly comprehend your character. So why not give me ... "

It is not without reason that Gogol twice here speaks of Chichikov as follows: "he expressed his readiness." Once Chichikov even literally repeats Plyushkin's words: "I'll fasten my seatbelt for two kopecks, if you please." Thus, observations of the speech of Chichikov, as well as of the other main characters of the poem, convince of the tremendous skill that Gogol possessed in depicting characters by means of their individual speech characteristics.

The linguistic characteristic is a brilliant means of revealing not only the central characters, but also the secondary characters of the poem. Gogol is such a perfect master of the art of linguistic characterization that minor characters are also endowed with an extremely expressive, mark, speech inherent only to them.