What is the theme and idea of ​​the auditor. Ideological and artistic originality of the comedy N

The culmination of the comedy "The Inspector General" is complex and still remains the subject of discussions among researchers. The fact is that it is not so easy to define traditional places of exposition, setting, culmination and denouement in it. Meanwhile, understanding the structure of a work is directly related to penetration into the author's intention and its idea.

Each action of the comedy is distinguished by a peculiar compositional device. In the first act, three compositional elements stand out: the plot in the mayor's message about the auditor, the combination of the exposition and the development of the conflict in the mayor's conversation with the officials, and the introduction of the situation of an imaginary auditor - the arrival of Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky. It should be noted a subtle psychological detail in this scene: only those who are not employed in the bureaucratic service could have thought that the twenty-three-year-old fidgety man was an important capital official. In the second act, the meaning of the key scene - the meeting of the mayor and Khlestakov - is that the absurd mistake of the city landowners received the status of reality, having been confirmed by the mayor, that is, by the authorities. The central plot episode of the third act is Khlestakov's reception at the mayor's house, his unbridled boasting and lies that cause horror in the heads of officials. This is aptly summed up by the mayor: "Well, what if at least one half of what he said is true?" The key compositional feature of the fourth act is repetitive scenes, that is, the main principle of the action is the repetition of the same situation, but each next one involves other characters, thanks to this technique, a gallery of urban types is presented in the fourth act.

The close interdependence of the composition and the idea of ​​the "Inspector" is most clearly revealed in the following. The plot of the comedy is linked by three messages about the inspector, and each of them receives a corresponding response, the first two - from officials, the third - from all citizens. When the governor in the first phrase of the play announces the auditor, the officials exclaim:

Ammos Fedorovich... How is the auditor?

Artemy Filippovich... How is the auditor?

In the fifth act, in the midst of the triumph of some heroes and the envy of others, the postmaster appears with a printed letter from Khlestakov:

Postmaster. Amazing business, gentlemen! The person we took for an auditor was not an auditor.

This time, the news stunned everyone present:

Everything. How not an auditor?

Messages and two symmetrical exclamations ("How is an auditor?" And "How not an auditor?") Form a kind of "plot frame". Gogol's idea in this part of the plot is that a person, no matter how criminal he may be, is always given the opportunity to improve. The first message about the arrival of the auditor means a warning to the person so that he comes to his senses and realizes his guilt. From subsequent events it is clear that the officials do not intend to change their behavior, on the contrary, they are going to deceive the auditor, and when they mistakenly take Khlestakov for him, they give him bribes, thus trying to bribe. The news of the catastrophic mistake with Khlestakov means exposing the officials, after which they must repent. However, officials shy away from repentance: first, in the scene of reading the letter, they want to hear from it bad words about someone else, but not about themselves, thus showing their readiness to always shift the blame from themselves to anyone else; then follows the monologue of the mayor, who loudly admits his guilt, but not in what he did, but in the fact that he was mistaken, “mistaking an icicle, a rag for an important person”.

And finally, the search and persecution of the guilty - Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky - began. None of the officials pleaded guilty or repented, and even Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky alternately address the error to each other:

Dobchinsky. Eh, no, Pyotr Ivanovich, you’re the first one ...

Bobchinsky... But no; the first were you.

And only when not a single person pleaded guilty does the gendarme appear and deafen everyone with the news of the arrival of a real auditor. The response to the news is a silent scene - retribution, which was called upon by the people themselves, who did not use the opportunity to admit their guilt and repent of it.

Gogol chooses a Russian folk proverb as an epigraph to the comedy: "There is no reason to blame the mirror if the face is crooked." The author chose this epigraph so that the reader and viewer not only perceive satire in relation to others, but also take a closer look at themselves: is there not a part of these heroes and their vices in me?

N.V. Gogol is considered the greatest satirist of Russian literature. All the images created by him were topical and sharp in his time, and some of them remain relevant today. The comedy "The Inspector General" has become the standard of satire and one of the main creations of the writer. This immortal and universally recognizable work greatly influenced all Russian literature. The many-wise Litrecon studied this comedy in detail, therefore he advises you to read the analysis of the text, which indicates the main and main thing that you need to know about Gogol's creation.

Interesting facts have been preserved about the creation of the "Inspector General":

1. Concept. The idea for the play was given to Gogol by A.S. Pushkin, telling how in the city of Ustyuzhna Platon Volkov passed himself off as an official of the third department and robbed many townspeople. There was even a police report of the event, but the case was closed. Maybe this inspired the writer to satire.
2. The purpose of the play "The Inspector General"... Gogol said that he collected in this comedy all the worst that is in Russia in order to subject it to cruel ridicule.
3. Stage destiny the play was not easy, the noble audience greeted her with hostility. All the annals include the commentary of Emperor Nicholas I after the premiere: "Everyone got it, but I got the most." However, the tsar himself, oddly enough, liked the comedy, and he advised all his ministers to go to it. It is also interesting that many agreed with him, although they considered the play a "stupid farce", as one of them, E.F. Kankrin said.
4. Prototypes... It is believed that Nicholas the First himself became the prototype of the mayor. Khlestakov's prototype was the St. Petersburg journalist Pavel Svinin, a pathological liar. Nothing is known about other real prototypes.

Direction, genre

The Inspector General is an example of Russian realism. Despite the strong grotesqueness, the comedy aims to reflect the real life of people of that time. The characters are fully consistent with the environment.

The genre of the work is a satirical social comedy. Everyday imagery is deliberately brought to the point of absurdity, and the narrative is peppered with cruel ridicule of the vices of society.

The meaning of the name and ending

The name "Inspector" - denotes the source of fear of officials - the inspector "from above", who came to monitor the work of local authorities and report it to the right place. It is fear that sets the plot of the comedy in motion and directs the actions of all the characters.

The title of the comedy best emphasizes the feature that Gogol most condemned - the fear of responsibility and punishment.

In addition, the title emphasizes the symbolism and meaning of the comedy's finale - a real auditor has arrived, and all officials face real exposure. This is exactly what the author wanted. The visit of the auditor became the everyday embodiment of a religious concept - the day of judgment. Gogol was a religious person and often weaved biblical motives into the canvas of his works.

Composition and conflict

In his comedy, Gogol changes the traditional structure of the play.

1. The plot begins immediately with a plot, when the governor informs his subordinates about the threat of the auditor, which triggers the main conflict - the arrived false auditor and the city N.
2. The exposition, on the other hand, comes after the set-up at the moment when the city administration is discussing the situation in the city.
3. Then the play follows the classical scheme with the culmination in the scene of Khlestakov's boasting, the denouement at the moment of reading the letter revealing the truth, and, finally, the finale - the silent scene that went down in history.

The composition of the "Inspector" is circular. Here is what the literary critic V.G. Nazirov wrote about her:

The announcement of the gendarme about the real auditor rounds out the composition, and this return to square one symbolizes the immobility of the system, in which the forward movement is replaced by rotation in a closed circle: the system is always skidding.

The essence

The mayor of a small provincial town, Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, learns about the imminent arrival of the inspector from St. Petersburg. Gathering people responsible for city services, he begins to feverishly prepare for the check, but local landowners - Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky, report a mysterious young man from St. Petersburg who has been in the city for a very long time. The frightened city administration concludes that it is this traveler who is the inspector from the capital.

In fact, the mysterious young man is an ordinary petty official Ivan Khlestakov, who squandered all the money. He was not able to pay for services at the inn where he was staying, so he hesitated to leave. In an effort to avoid punishment and achieve their goals, the most influential people of the city surround the passing Khlyshch with honor and attention. As a result, Khlestakov, having received numerous bribes and gifts, as well as promising to marry the mayor's daughter, leaves.

While preparing for the wedding, the mayor receives from the curious postmaster a letter from Khlestakov to a friend, in which the whole truth about the self-deception of the city authorities is revealed. At this moment, Anton Antonovich is summoned by a real auditor who has finished checking the city.

The main characters and their characteristics

1. Ivan Khlestakov- a representative of the younger generation of the idle and stupid nobility. A mediocre fool. An idle gambler and a coward. He lives in the present day, striving to satisfy only the lowest human needs. He has a huge ego and a frivolous immoral character, so he easily agrees to an adventure and gladly deceives officials. As the author himself wrote in the remarks for the actor playing the inspector: "It is all a surprise and surprise."
2. Governor Anton Antonovich Skovoznik-Dmukhanovsky is a dishonest official. Established his absolute power in the city. Ruthlessly tyrannizing those below him, and groveling before those who are higher. Ignorant, rude and cowardly. Quite cunning, in the past he has repeatedly escaped punishment, has extensive connections.
3. Marya Antonovna- daughter of Anton Antonovich. An empty, unremarkable girl. Ignorant, vain and superficial. Dreams of a full-fledged social life in the capital. He easily succumbs to the courtship and lies of Khlestakov. For the sake of wealth and honor, she is ready for any marriage.
4. Antonovich Antonovich's wife- is no longer a young woman. It differs from the daughter only in age. Infantile, ambitious and stupid. Also succumbs to Khlestakov's charms. Differs in greed, arrogance and love of gossip.
5. Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin- city judge. A stupid and ignorant tyrant. Takes bribes with greyhound puppies.
6. Artemy Filippovich Strawberry- Trustee of charitable institutions. Dodger and scoundrel. For the sake of his survival, he did not disdain to tell Khlestakov about the sins of his colleagues.
7. Luka Lukic Khlopov- the superintendent of schools. A cowardly, irresponsible and pathetic person.
8. Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin- postmaster. Out of pure curiosity, he abuses his authority and opens other people's letters.
9. Christian Ivanovich Gibner- a doctor. A German who does not know Russian.
10. Peter Dobchinsky and Peter Bobchinsky- landlords. Similar to each other, like twin brothers. Chatty, fussy and stupid people. Gossipers.

Gogol uses speaking surnames very actively. With their help, the writer mockingly characterizes the activities of the characters and the traits of their characters.

The table of officials in the "Inspector":

Themes

The theme of the play "The Inspector General" is relevant to this day.

1. City theme... The provincial town is presented as a deaf and nondescript backwater, inhabited by wild and sloppy people. The townspeople live in an atmosphere of hatred for the authorities and each other. At the same time, they are too stupid and passive to do anything at all, and can only rely on the mercy of the auditor. The top of the city considers their backwaters to be insignificant and with all their souls strives to the capital.
2. Law. The law in the city is shamelessly violated by all strata of society. Officials are guided only by their own will. Even those who come to Khlestakov to ask for deliverance from the oppression of corrupt officials do not hesitate to give him large bribes and gifts.
3. The world of bureaucracy... The officials are presented as a bunch of self-righteous tyrants. They openly break the law and take it for granted. At the same time, each official is ready to sell another official with giblets if this helps him to avoid responsibility. Mutual envy is hidden under the mask of benevolence.
4. Mores of the city... Citizens' relationships are built on hypocrisy, fear, and secret contempt. This is demonstrated in the scene where the auditor received the residents of the city and listened to their complaints. Then the merchants began to "drown" the officials and complain about the local authorities, which they sponsored with bribes all this time, and the officials completely fell on each other, just to save themselves.

Problems

Social and moral vices play a major role in the book. Gogol created a whole kaleidoscope of problems in Russian society that were relevant in his day and remain topical to this day:

• Uninitiated and servile Russia... The writer emphasized the ubiquity of what is shown in the comedy. He was very worried about the fate of a country ruled by people like those whom he portrayed in his work. But the most basic problem was the passivity and humility of the people, who not only endured lawlessness and injustice, but also actively participated in all this. If overnight the townspeople were understood in places with officials, they would have continued to do the same: steal and burn their lives.
• Bribes... Gogol sharply depicts corruption in the Russian Empire, portraying bribe-takers as narrow-minded and rude people, indifferent to the fate of the country. It is no coincidence that almost all officials are depicted in bodies, this is how the writer denounces their selfishness and greed: they appropriate all the country's wealth for themselves, are already bursting with it, but cannot stop consuming.
• Lie... The atmosphere of general lies is well shown, when a person himself begins to believe in what he has invented, and convinces others of this. In the bureaucratic environment, it is customary to be hypocritical and not speak frankly. So, at the slightest danger, officials, who previously only praised each other, begin to sharply criticize their colleagues. But the lie is also shown on a more global level: the peripheral leaders mistook the frivolous fanfare Khlestakov for an auditor, because they had the same opinion about all officials from the center and were ready to deceive them. They understood that the efficiency and power of the elite are as ostentatious as their diligence and responsibility.
• Embezzlement... The boundless cynicism of officials is shown. The embezzlement of funds has reached such a scale that people die without receiving the most basic medical care.
• Ignorance... All thieving officials are presented as extremely uneducated people. They have absolutely no knowledge of management. An excellent example is the activity of Lyapkin-Tyapkin. The judge does not know how to work at all and does not know the laws.
• Frivolity. None of the characters want to take responsibility for their actions. Nobody wants to work long and hard and improve themselves. Everyone strives to follow the easy path and get everything without doing anything. The heroes are the last to worry about the consequences.
• Veneration... Instead of working, officials only satisfy their ambitions and try to keep their positions. Brutally, tyrannizing and suppressing the weak, they are ready to humiliate themselves in front of strong and powerful people.

Main idea

Injustice in our life comes from stupid, greedy, dishonest and power-hungry nonentities who live today and think only of themselves. These are truly miserable individuals who will inevitably destroy both themselves and the whole of Russia. While the country is ruled by mayors, who are interested only in themselves and their own success, they will block all initiatives from the center and sabotage any project. Interestingly, irresponsible officials are not special cases, they are a direct consequence of tyranny. The king does not obey the laws and can reward and execute arbitrarily, which means that it is safer for the subject to do nothing, because the slave does not answer for anything: he has no free will, no responsibility. This conclusion is the meaning of the "Inspector General", namely: the autocracy corrupts the nation, under its influence people become only slaves who are alien to the ideals of civic valor and honor. The tsar himself brought Russia to the position of city N, so the country needs a change of government.

Gogol wanted to ridicule the vices that prevent our country from developing, which make the life of a rich, in fact, a people of poverty and slavery. The main idea of ​​the author is to show how not to do it, as well as to teach people to objectively evaluate their own and other people's actions, without smoothing corners and not agreeing to compromises with their conscience.

The meaning of the silent scene in the finale reveals the author's intention to the fullest: sooner or later, all thieving officials will answer for their vices before the highest and incorruptible court. In the image of a real auditor, the supreme justice of the heavenly judgment is guessed, which will not have mercy on sinners. They will also have to answer before the court of history, which mercilessly lynches the memory of those who were unworthy of their descendants.

What does it teach?

This comedy tells how not to live. She teaches us that theft, careerism and lies are the lot of miserable and stupid people. Nikolai Gogol makes fun of philistine greed and pettiness. After reading, each of us must conclude: what will such an irresponsible attitude towards everything and everyone lead to? According to the author, the inevitability of an answer to justice.

Also, the writer in "The Inspector General" says that once having got on a slippery slope, a person will no longer be able to get off it, and sooner or later the punishment will overtake him. This is the moral of the play, dictated by an open but expressive ending.

Criticism

The comedy was received negatively by the conservative strata of society. But she was glorified by such outstanding critics as Belinsky and Aksakov, and was warmly received by the public:

“This comedy was a complete success on stage: the general attention of the audience, applause, sincere and unanimous laughter, the author's challenge after the first two performances, the public's greed for the subsequent performances and, most importantly, its lively echo, which was heard after in widespread conversations, - neither what was not lacking (P.A.Vyazemsky)

Reviewers highlighted the artistic features of the play "The Inspector General" and the originality of the comedy:

“... Let's move on to the“ Inspector ”. Here, first of all, it is necessary to welcome in its author a new comic writer, with whom one can truly congratulate Russian literature. Mr. Gogol's first experience suddenly revealed in him an extraordinary gift of comedians, and also a comedian who promises to place him among the most excellent writers of this kind.<…>"(O. I. Senkovsky)

“… I have already read The Inspector General; I read it about four times and therefore I say that those who call this play crude and flat did not understand it. Gogol is a true poet; for in the comic and the funny there is also poetry. (K.S. Aksakov)

“In The Inspector General, there are no better scenes, because there are no worse ones, but all are excellent, as necessary parts, artistically forming a single whole, rounded by an internal content, and not by an external form, and therefore representing a special and closed world in itself .. "(V. G. Belinsky)

Even Tsar Nicholas I gave a positive assessment of the play. Here is an excerpt from the memoirs of a contemporary:

He was the first to apply Gogol's satire to real persons. In one province, his carriage capsized on a bad road. Recovering from his bruises, the emperor inspected the local bureaucratic elite and said: "Where have I seen these faces?" When the officials got to the proper concussion, the sovereign remembered: "Ah, in Gogol's comedy" The Inspector General! "

However, the reactionary criticism, which always attacked Gogol, found a reason to gossip here too:

Later, literary scholars carefully studied the text and described the meaning of the play and those moments in it that seemed controversial to the readers:

A. L. Slonimsky wrote:

“How could it happen that such an experienced campaigner as the mayor took an“ icicle, a rag ”for an important person? Such a misunderstanding is possible only where blind reverence prevails and it never occurs to anyone to doubt the words of the "authorities"

R.G. Nazirov wrote:

In Khlestakov, the exaggeration of political irresponsibility, typical for the Nikolaev Rococo, is given, and in the governor - the exaggeration of readiness for "surprises".

The relevance of "The Inspector General" has not faded away even today. Many expressions from it became winged, and the names of the heroes became common nouns.

02.12.2016 - 17:53

Give a definition to the term "plot". Name the main stages in the development of the plot of the comedy by Nikolai Gogol "The Inspector General".

Plot - this is a system of events in a work of art, presented in a certain connection, revealing the characters of the characters and the attitude of the writer to the depicted life phenomena; the sequential course of events that constitutes the content of a work of art.

“I wanted to collect all the bad things in Russia and at one time ... laugh at everyone,” wrote N.V. Gogol. Let's try to analyze the plot-compositional structure of the work.

The originality of the author was already in the fact that the exposition in the comedy follows the set. The plot of the play is the first phrase of the Governor: "... an auditor is coming to us." And only after that we plunge into the atmosphere of the life of the district town, find out what orders are established there, what local officials do. We learn here and some details: about how the guests of charitable institutions are kept, what orders are established by the judge "in public places", what happens in educational institutions.

Then Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky appear in the comedy and bring the news of the mysterious guest of the tavern. Here Gogol uses the image of the heroes-messengers, which is traditional for comedy. Out of nothing they create the image of an auditor. And it is here that confusion begins among the officials, fear arises.

Events of the third action. Khlestakov begins to guess that he is being mistaken for an important state person, and begins to play this role very naturally. This is followed by the scene of the visit of the imaginary inspector by local officials - he takes money from everyone. The bribe scene contains a grossly comic move. The first visitor, the judge, is still embarrassed to offer Khlestakov money: he does it clumsily, with fear. However, Khlestakov resolves the tense situation by asking for a loan. And then he borrows from each of the officials, and the amount increases from visit to visit. Then follows the scene of Khlestakov's courtship of the daughter and wife of the Governor. He is wooing Marya Antonovna. This scene contains a parody of a love affair.

In the fifth act - the culmination in the development of real intrigue - this is the scene of Khlestakov's exposure. The mayor triumphs: he not only managed to hide his affairs from the auditor, but almost became related to him. However, his triumph is overshadowed by the arrival of the postmaster with a letter that reveals the true state of affairs.

The scene of reading Khlestakov's letter is the culmination in a real conflict and, at the same time, the denouement of the "mirage" intrigue. This is followed by the appearance of the gendarme, who announces the arrival of the real auditor. This scene represents the denouement of a real conflict in the play. Thus, the plot action returns to where it began.

Gogol's "silent scene" found various interpretations of critics. One of her interpretations: finally, a real inspector has arrived and the city is waiting for a real fair punishment. Another version: the arriving official is associated with heavenly punishment, which all the characters of the comedy fear.

What human vices does N.V. Gogol in the comedy "The Inspector General"?

In the comedy "The Inspector General" N.V. Gogol, with great accusatory power, exposes the vices of society during the time of tsarist Russia: bribery, embezzlement, and honor. The focus is on officials from a small county town.

The main person in the city is the mayor. In relation to the bourgeoisie, he is rude and unfair, in front of his superiors he acts as a zealous campaigner, a sycophant and a sycophant.

The image of the trustee of charitable institutions of Strawberry is colorful. He steals from his unfortunate wards, does not heal them: "A simple man: if he dies, then he will die anyway, if he recovers, then he will get well anyway." The doctor in the district is the German Gibner, who does not understand the Russian language, therefore he cannot heal people.

The local judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin is doing the tyap-blooper case. He is so indifferent to official affairs that the county court has turned into a kind of farm, right in the front of the watchman keep geese. Taking bribes with greyhound puppies, Lyapkin-Tyapkin considers himself a highly moral person.

Postmaster Shpekin is not only a fool, but also a scoundrel. He opens and reads other people's letters, leaving the most interesting for his collection.

Thus, the author has clearly shown that the local bureaucracy is mired in arbitrariness. The ability not to miss what itself floats into the hands is, in their opinion, an indicator of intelligence and enterprise. The work of N.V. Gogol is not only comical, but also full of tragedy.

Theme, idea, problematics of the comedy N.V. Gogol "The Inspector General".

The appearance in 1836 of the comedy "The Inspector General" became a significant event in the public life of the 19th century. The author not only criticized and ridiculed the vices of tsarist Russia, but also called on viewers and readers to look into their souls, to think about universal human values. Gogol called his comedy a play "bullying public abuses." The epigraph "There is no reason to blame the mirror if the face is crooked" emphasizes the problematics of the play, summarizing the accusatory meaning of "The Inspector General". “Everyone here got it, and most of all I got it,” Nicholas I himself once said.

The theme of the comedy "The Inspector General" can be defined by the words of N.V. Gogol: “In The Inspector General, I decided to put together everything that was bad in Russia, which I knew then, all the injustices that are done in those places and in those cases where justice is most required of a person, and at once to laugh at to all ". That is, to put it briefly, the theme is the image of a typical Russian district town, where officials and well-known figures for the most part behave inappropriately (for example, take bribes) and only with the arrival of a high-ranking official begin to cover up their sins. The main idea of ​​the "Inspector General" is the idea of ​​the inevitable spiritual retribution that every person should expect. The main one can be illustrated with a quote: "There is no need to blame the mirror if the face is crooked."

Main problems:
- veneration;

Corrupt practices;

Moral and moral impoverishment.

In the play, Gogol painted a terrible picture: most people in life are guided by material gain. People have lost the idea of ​​the true meaning of life. You can sin, you just need to regularly, like a mayor, attend church. Officials are trying in every possible way to cover up their actions. So, Lyapkin-Tyapkin takes bribes with greyhound puppies and says that "this is a completely different matter." In hospitals, people "get well like flies," and so on.

True human values ​​are replaced by ideas about rank. So, the superintendent of the schools Khlopov says that he “has no soul, and his tongue is stuck in the mud,” if he is talking with someone of a higher rank. Reverent fear of the "rank" makes officials believe in all the lies that Khlestakov presents to them.

The comedy shows the life of a typical Russia. The world painted by Gogol reflects all of Russia: court, public education, hospitals, post office, police.

Two conflicts are given: external (between Khlestakov and officials) and internal (between the bureaucratic elite and the people). This deep conflict determines the main content of the play.

1. Expand the concepts of "satire" and "grotesque" on the example of Nikolai Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General". Determine their role in the work.

Satire- a kind of comic, merciless, destructive ridicule, criticism of reality, a person, a phenomenon.

Gogol saw laughter as a powerful means of influencing society. He cruelly ridicules all the vices of officials, shows the true face of bureaucratic Russia and thereby tries to change something.

For example, judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin has read five or six books in his entire life and "therefore, he is somewhat free-thinker." The "education" of the judge allows him to behave independently with the mayor. The trustee of charitable institutions, Strawberry, "a fat man, but a thin rogue," brazenly steals from the sick, whom, on the contrary, he should take care of. However, he does not bother himself: “A simple man, if he dies, he will die anyway; if he recovers, he will get better anyway. "

Grotesque- the ultimate exaggeration based on a bizarre combination of the fantastic and the real.

For example, an ordinary official comes to a province, and he is mistaken for an auditor from the capital, and bribes are given. Using the techniques of the grotesque, sneering at the heroes, Gogol shows that officials, in fact, are worthless, stupid, envious, and sometimes cowardly people who are ready to go even to betraying their colleagues when it comes to their careers (Strawberry tells Khlestakov about the misdeeds of almost all officials in the city to get out of the water himself).

Explain the meaning of the silent scene in the finale of Nikolai Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General".

The finale of Nikolai Gogol's play "The Inspector General" is an unusual and surprising phenomenon in Russian drama. The so-called silent scene, which ends the comedy, follows after the gendarme announced the arrival of the real inspector in the city. The shocked officials froze in anticipation of imminent reprisals. The governor stands with a pillar in the middle of the stage; the postmaster became “a question mark addressed to the audience”; The judge sat down almost to the ground and seemed to want to say: “Here's to you, grandmother, and St. George's Day! "Who is amazed, who is amazed, who gloats — all the officials make up a very picturesque and expressive group. On the stage, the city of spiritual poverty, baseness, stupidity and human pity froze, the picture of squalor, meaninglessness and ugliness generated by the police-bureaucratic regime of the Nikolaev era froze.

The last silent scene appears to the viewer as a real mirror. According to Gogol's idea, it seems to me that the entire audience sees itself in this frozen scene. It is no coincidence that during the first screenings of the performance there was indeed a mirror on the stage. N. V. Gogol himself said that a mute scene expresses the idea of ​​a "law", at the onset of which everything "turned pale and shook." That is, the ending of the comedy is the thought of the coming retribution.

Expand the meaning of the epigraph to the comedy N.V. Gogol's "The Inspector General": "There is no reason to blame the mirror if the face is crooked." (Folk proverb).

The epigraph reflects the main idea of ​​the whole comedy. Officials are well aware that they do not fulfill their official duties, they know that all affairs are in a state of neglect. The plot is based on the commotion among officials, which rises in the city after the news of the visit of the inspector. Discussing the steps to take actually becomes a real self-disclosure. But officials direct their efforts not to eliminate the shortcomings with which the life of the city is full, but to disguise them. Moreover, the recommendations are given by the most important official - the mayor. It is he who must keep order in the city, to ensure its improvement. From the monologues of this character, the viewer understands that he is very well aware of the state of affairs in all departments, but does nothing in order to eradicate the riots. He himself takes bribes and connives in this to others. The last silent scene appears to the viewer as a real mirror. According to Gogol's idea, it seems to me that the entire audience sees itself in this frozen scene. It is no coincidence that during the first screenings of the performance there really was a mirror on the stage.

An essay on the theme "The Inspector General" (the essay "The Inspector General" Gogol).

The Inspector General is one of the most famous comedies in Russian literature. She is equally interesting both in prose and in production, which makes her the best in her genre. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol long cherished the idea of ​​writing this play, since he decided to combine in it all the negative phenomena of the then public life in order to ridicule them and draw the attention of the people to them.

In the comedy "The Inspector General" N. V. Gogol describes the life of a small town during the reign of Nicholas I. It was not by chance that the writer chose this period, because at the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire experienced a stagnation in cultural and political life. In a small Gogol town, the reader can easily recognize Russia, which seems to have everything you need for a good life, but at the same time everything is in decline. Here, as in a small state, there is a judicial system, a health care system, and educational institutions. Further, the author acquaints us with the city better - corruption is rampant in the court, doctors treat patients somehow, the police do not react to the lawlessness in any way. However, administration and funding in the city is tolerable, which creates the illusion of a normal life. Once the calm flow of public life is disturbed by the news of the imminent arrival of the auditor. Nikolai Gogol in his play does not show the life of any one hero, the main character in the comedy is the bureaucracy as a whole.

The officials were alarmed when they heard about the auditor, but contrary to common sense, they did not think about the need to start changing something in the life of the townspeople. They threw all their efforts into putting the outer polish in the city, and even in this case they showed themselves not from the best side. They gave a decent look only to those places where the inspector certainly had to visit, there was no question of any real improvements. In the images of bureaucratic officials, in their life and actions, the writer depicted phenomena characteristic of the then feudal Russia. Among ordinary townspeople, as well as among the bureaucracy, gossip, lies, hypocrisy, baseness of interests, vulgarity, lack of any principles and human dignity flourish. The ruling elite abuses power and disdainfully treats people who are gullible to the point of stupidity. It is not surprising that these people take for an auditor the same narrow-minded person who, without a twinge of conscience, takes advantage of the current situation.

The comedy "The Inspector General" can be safely called popular, because its ideological content speaks of the writer's negative attitude to the bureaucratic system that reigned in contemporary Russia.

N.V. Gogol created this comedy to show the reader the life of society from the inside out, this is its ideological and artistic purpose. The work was appreciated by the progressive public and caused outrage among officials, as a result of which it was persecuted by the government.

N. V. Gogol on the idea of ​​the comedy "The Inspector General"

"In" The Inspector General "I decided to collect in one pile everything that was bad in Russia, which I knew then, all the injustices that are done in those places and in those cases where justice is most required of a person, and at one time to laugh at everything" ...

City image

The writer chose a small provincial town as the place of action, from which “you can’t get to the border even for three years”; he brought out provincial officials as heroes of the comedy. The image of the city acts as an integral system. The city is represented by the mayor, officials, city landowners, merchants, urban lower classes. The small town in "The Inspector General" appeared as a kind of microcosm, depicting which Gogol captured the typical features of the entire social system. No one doubts that this is a typical city. The author reflected almost all aspects of the life of a Russian city, showed all classes and estates, with the exception of peasants who do not play a role in public life, all state institutions, with the exception of the army and the church.

Gogol does not limit his satire to the county town. The image of Khlestakov is connected with the theme of Petersburg, where the hierarchical ladder reaches the very top. The images of officials in the image of the city are central.

Bureaucracy

Assessing the image of the mayor, Belinsky wrote: “... he inherited from his father and the world around him the following rule of faith and life: in life one must be happy, and this requires money and ranks, and to acquire them, bribery, embezzlement, servility and dishonesty before the authorities, nobility and wealth, sloppiness and bestial rudeness before the lower ones. Simple philosophy! But notice that in him this is not debauchery, but his moral development ... and he justifies himself with the simple rule of all vulgar people: “I am not the first, not the last, everyone does this”.

If Khlestakov is “a phantasmagoric face, a person who, like a deceitful, personified deception, carried away with the troika God knows where,” then the mayor, far from being so simple-hearted and silly deceiver as Khlestakov, turns out to be deceived not only and not so much by Khlestakov as by himself, by what psychologists call the value or behavioral attitude of the individual, and by his “bad conscience”.

“No one had ever written such a complete course in the pathological anatomy of a Russian official before him. Laughing, he mercilessly penetrates into the innermost corners of this impure, malevolent soul. "

Means of satirical typing

An "auditor's situation" is a situation of fear followed by self-exposure and mutual exposure of the characters.

Speech characteristics of the characters: winged expressions ("extraordinary lightness of thought," etc.); alogisms (patients recover like flies "); hyperbole ("watermelon in seven hundred rubles", "soup in a saucepan from Paris", etc.).

Speaking surnames (Ukhovertov, Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, Khlestakov, etc.) and paired characters (Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky) are not accidental.

Comic situations in the play enhance the satirical effect (the mayor puts on a case instead of a hat, etc.).

The love affair is of a parody-comic nature (Khlestakov simultaneously turned the head of the mayor's wife and his daughter).

The author's position is expressed in "Notes for Messrs. Actors", in the author's remarks, in a silent scene, the meaning of which is the trial of officials. In the text, the author does not speak about this explicitly, but undoubtedly believes in just retribution.

The comedy "The Inspector General", written in accordance with the method of critical realism, shows the era of the 30s of the XIX century. The author deduces typical characters in typical circumstances.

Genre originality of "The Inspector General"

"The Inspector General" is a socio-political comedy.

Conflict in the "Inspector"

The main conflict on which the comedy is built lies in the sharp contradiction between the entire social practice of the privileged bureaucracy and the interests of the people. Lawlessness, embezzlement, bribery, selfish motives of activity instead of concern for the public good are generally recognized "norms" of life, outside of which the rulers cannot imagine their existence.

The external side of the conflict: Khlestakov, mistaken for an inspector, on the one hand, and city officials, on the other. There are no deep contradictions between the characters, and their relationship is based on misunderstanding.