In what works of Russian classics are the mores of bureaucracy depicted, and in what way do these works echo Gogol's Inspector General? Educational portal The story "Thick and thin".
In what works of Russian classics are the mores of bureaucracy depicted, and in what ways do these works echo Gogol's The Inspector General?
Read the text fragment below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1-C2.
Bobchinsky<...>We had just arrived at the hotel, when suddenly a young man...
Dobchinsky (interrupting). Good-looking, in particular dress...
: Bobchinsky. Not bad appearance, in a particular dress, walks around the room, and in the face there is a sort of reasoning ... physiognomy ... actions, and here (wiggles hand around forehead). many, many things. It was as if I had a presentiment and I say to Pyotr Ivanovich: "There is something here for a reason, sir." Yes. But Pyotr Ivanovich already blinked his finger and called the innkeeper, sir, the innkeeper Vlas: his wife gave birth to him three weeks ago, and such a smart boy, like his father, will keep the inn. Having called Vlas, Pyotr Ivanovich and ask him quietly: “Who, he says, is this young man? ”- and Vlas answers this: “This,” he says ... Eh, don’t interrupt, Pyotr Ivanovich, please don’t interrupt; you won't tell, by God you won't tell: you whisper; you, I know, have one tooth in your mouth with a whistle ... “This, he says, is a young man, an official, - yes, - traveling from St. Petersburg, and by his last name, he says, Ivan Alexandrovich Khlestakov, sir, he says, to the Saratov province and, he says, he certifies himself in a most strange way: he lives another week, does not go from the tavern, takes everything to the account and does not want to pay a penny. As he told me this, and so I was enlightened from above. "Eh! "I say to Pyotr Ivanovich...
Dobchinsky. No, Pyotr Ivanovich, it was I who said: “Eh! »
Bobchinsky. First you said, and then I said. "Eh! we said with Pyotr Ivanovich. - And why should he sit here when the road to him lies in the Saratov province? "Yes, sir. But he is the official.
Mayor. Who, what official?
Bobchinsky. The official, about whom they deigned to receive a notation, is the auditor.
mayor (in fear). What are you, the Lord is with you! It's not him.
Dobchinsky. He! and does not pay money and does not go. Who would be if not him? And the road trip is registered in Saratov.
Bobchinsky. He, he, by golly, he ... So observant: he looked at everything. I saw that Pyotr Ivanovich and I were eating salmon - more because Pyotr Ivanovich about his stomach ... yes, that's how he looked into our plates. I was so terrified.
Mayor. Lord, have mercy on us sinners! Where does he live there?
Dobchinsky. In the fifth room, under the stairs.
Bobchinsky. In the same room where visiting officers fought last year.
Mayor. And how long has he been here?
Dobchinsky. And two weeks already. Came to Basil the Egyptian.
Mayor. Two weeks! (To the side.) Fathers, matchmakers! Take it out, saints! In these two weeks, a non-commissioned officer's wife was whipped! The prisoners were not given provisions! There is a tavern on the streets, uncleanness! A shame! vilification! (Grabs his head.)
Artemy Filippovich. Well, Anton Antonovich? - go to the hotel parade.
Ammos Fedorovich. No no! Let your head go forward, the clergy, the merchants; in the Acts of John Mason...
Mayor. No no; let me myself. There were difficult cases in life, they went, and even received thanks. Perhaps God will endure even now. (Turning to Bobchinsky.) You say he is a young man?
Bobchinsky. Young, about twenty-three or four years old.
Mayor. So much the better: you'll sniff out the young sooner. The trouble is, if the old devil, and the young one is all at the top. You, gentlemen, get ready for your part, and I will go myself, or even with Pyotr Ivanovich, privately, for a walk, to see if the passing people are in trouble ...
N. V. Gogol "Inspector"
Indicate the genre to which the play by N.V. Gogol "The Inspector General" belongs.
Explanation.
The play by N.V. Gogol "The Government Inspector" belongs to the comedy genre. Let's give a definition.
Comedy is a dramatic work, by means of satire and humor, ridiculing the vices of society and man.
In the comedy, Gogol denounces lazy and negligent officials who are rushing about because of the arrival of the "auditor". A small town is a miniature copy of the state.
Answer: comedy.
Answer: comedy
Name the literary trend that flourished in the second half of the 19th century and whose principles were embodied in Gogol's play.
Explanation.
This literary movement is called realism. Let's give a definition.
Realism is a true depiction of reality.
Realism in The Inspector General is shown by typical characters of that time: negligent officials.
Answer: realism.
Answer: realism
The above fragment conveys a lively conversation between the characters. What is the name of this form of communication between characters in a work of art?
Explanation.
This form of communication is called dialogue. Let's give a definition.
Dialogue is a conversation between two or more persons in a work of art. In a dramatic work, the dialogue of characters is one of the main artistic means for creating an image, character.
Answer: dialogue.
Answer: dialogue | polylogue
Indicate the term that denotes the author's remarks and explanations in the course of the play ("interrupting", "in fear", etc.)
Explanation.
Such author's remarks are called remarks. Let's give a definition. A remark is a commentary by the author that complements the content of the work.
Answer: remark.
Answer: remark | remarks
The action of the play is based on the confrontation between the officials of the city N and the imaginary auditor. What is the name of the confrontation, confrontation, which serves as a stimulus for the development of action?
Explanation.
This confrontation is called conflict. Let's give a definition.
A conflict is a clash of opposing views of the characters in the epic, drama, in the works of the lyrical-epic genre, as well as in the lyrics, if there is a plot in it. The conflict is realized in the verbal and physical actions of the actors. The conflict unfolds through the plot.
Answer: conflict.
Answer: conflict
Julia Milach 02.03.2017 16:26
In training books, in response to such tasks, "antithesis / contrast" is written, which implies the correctness of both options. Even among the tasks on your site that ask the same thing, somewhere the correct answer is the antithesis, and somewhere the contrast.
Tatiana Statsenko
Conflict is not the same as contrast. What is the contrast in this task?
The scenes of reading the letter and the appearance of Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky with the news of the auditor set the course for the main events of the play. Specify the term for this stage of development of the action.
Explanation.
This stage of development is called the tie. Let's give a definition.
The plot is an event that begins the development of action in a literary and artistic work.
Mayor. I have invited you, gentlemen, in order to inform you of the unpleasant news: an auditor is coming to visit us.
Ammos Fedorovich. How is the auditor?
Artemy Filippovich. How is the auditor?
Mayor. An auditor from St. Petersburg, incognito. And with a secret order.
Ammos Fedorovich. Here are those on! "..."
Answer: tie.
Answer: Tie
Explanation.
The mores of bureaucracy is a topic relevant to Russian classical literature of the 19th century. The theme raised by Gogol in "The Government Inspector", "The Overcoat", brilliantly developed by him in "Dead Souls", was reflected in the stories of A.P. Chekhov: "Thick and Thin", "Death of an Official" and others. The distinctive features of officials in the works of Gogol and Chekhov are bribery, stupidity, acquisitiveness, inability to develop and fulfill the main function assigned to them - the management of the city, province, state. Let us recall the officials of the county town from Dead Souls. Their interests are limited to their own pockets and entertainment, they see the meaning of life in respect for rank, and officials in the above passage of the “Inspector General” appear before us as such. Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, Ammos Fedorovich, even the mayor - each of them has something to fear, this fear does not allow them to see the true face of Khlestakov, but they frantically try to get out of an unpleasant situation by any means. In the stories of Chekhov, the official is so insignificant that he is ready to die from fear of a higher rank (“Death of an official”), this is the path from the official Gogol to the official Chekhov - complete degradation.
The official was not a new figure in Russian literature, because bureaucracy is one of the most common classes in old Russia. And in Russian literature, legions of officials pass before the reader - from registrars to generals.
Such an image of a poor official (Molchalin) is presented in the comedy by A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit".
Molchalin is one of the brightest representatives of the Famus society. However, if Famusov, Khlestova and some other characters are living fragments of the "past century", then Molchalin is a person of the same generation as Chatsky. But, unlike Chatsky, Molchalin is a staunch conservative, his views coincide with Famusov's worldview. Just like Famusov, Molchalin considers dependence “on others” to be the basic law of life. Molchalin is a typical "average" person both in terms of mind and claims. But he has "his talent": he is proud of his qualities - "moderation and accuracy." Molchalin's worldview and behavior are strictly dictated by his position in the official hierarchy. He is modest and helpful, because "in the ranks ... small", he cannot do without "patrons", even if he has to completely depend on their will. Molchalin is the antipode of Chatsky, not only in his convictions, but also in the nature of his attitude towards Sophia. Molchalin only skillfully pretends to love the girl, although, by his own admission, he does not find "anything enviable" in her. Molchalin is in love “according to his position”, “in the pleasing of the daughter of such a person” as Famusov, “who feeds and waters, // And sometimes he will give a rank ...” The loss of Sophia’s love does not mean the defeat of Molchalin. Although he made an unforgivable mistake, he managed to get away with it. It is impossible to stop the career of such a person as Molchalin - such is the meaning of the author's attitude towards the hero. Even in the first act, Chatsky rightly remarked that Molchalin "will reach certain degrees", for "The silent ones are blissful in the world."
A completely different image of a poor official was considered by A.S. Pushkin in his "Petersburg story" "The Bronze Horseman". In contrast to the aspirations of Molchalin, the desires of Evgeny, the protagonist of the poem, are modest: he dreams of quiet family happiness, he associates the future with his beloved Parasha (recall that Molchalin's courtship of Sophia is due solely to his desire to get a higher rank). Dreaming of simple (“petty-bourgeois”) human happiness, Eugene does not think at all about high ranks, the hero is one of countless officials “without a nickname” who “serve somewhere”, without thinking about the meaning of their service. It is important to note that for A.S. Pushkin, what made Evgeny a “little man” is unacceptable: the isolation of existence in a close circle of family concerns, fenced off from one’s own and historical past. However, despite this, Evgeny is not humiliated by Pushkin, on the contrary, he, unlike the “idol on a bronze horse”, is endowed with a heart and soul, which is of great importance for the author of the poem. He is able to dream, grieve, "fear" for the fate of his beloved, to languish from torment. When grief breaks into his measured life (the death of Parasha during a flood), he seems to wake up, he wants to find those responsible for the death of his beloved. Eugene blames Peter I for his troubles, who built the city in this place, which means he blames the entire state machine, entering into an unequal fight. In this confrontation, Eugene, the "little man", is defeated: "deafened by the noise" of his own grief, he dies. In the words of G.A. Gukovsky, "with Eugene ... enters into high literature ... a tragic hero." Thus, for Pushkin, the tragic aspect of the theme of a poor official who is unable to resist the state (an insoluble conflict between the individual and the state) was important.
N.V. also addressed the topic of the poor official. Gogol. In his works (“Overcoat”, “Inspector”) he gives his understanding of the image of a poor official (Bashmachkin, Khlestakov), while if Bashmachkin is close in spirit to Pushkin’s Eugene (“The Bronze Horseman”), then Khlestakov is a kind of “successor” of Molchalin Griboyedov. Like Molchalin, Khlestakov, the hero of the play The Inspector General, has extraordinary adaptability. He easily enters the role of an important person, realizing that he is being mistaken for another person: he gets acquainted with officials, and accepts the petition, and begins, as it should be for a "significant person", for no reason "scold" the owners, forcing them "to shake from fear." Khlestakov is not able to enjoy power over people, he simply repeats what he himself probably experienced more than once in his St. Petersburg department. An unexpected role transforms Khlestakov, making him a smart, powerful and strong-willed person. Talking about his studies in St. Petersburg, Khlestakov involuntarily betrays his “desire for honors apart from merit”, which is similar to Molchalin’s attitude towards service: he wants to “take barriers and live happily.” However, Khlestakov, unlike Molchalin, is much more careless, windy; his "lightness" "in thoughts ... extraordinary" is created with the help of a large number of exclamations, while the hero of Griboyedov's play is more cautious. The main idea of N.V. Gogol lies in the fact that even an imaginary bureaucratic “value” is capable of setting in motion generally intelligent people, making them obedient puppets.
Another aspect of the theme of the poor official is considered by Gogol in his story "The Overcoat". Its main character Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin causes an ambiguous attitude towards himself. On the one hand, the hero cannot but evoke pity and sympathy, on the other hand, hostility and disgust. Being a man of a narrow-minded, undeveloped mind, Bashmachkin speaks "mostly in prepositions, adverbs and particles that absolutely have no meaning," but his main occupation is the tedious rewriting of papers, a matter with which the hero is quite satisfied. In the department where he serves, officials "do not show him any respect", joking maliciously at Bashmachkin. The main event in life for him is the purchase of an overcoat, and when it is stolen from him, Bashmachkin loses the meaning of life forever.
Gogol shows that in bureaucratic Petersburg, where “significant persons” rule, coldness and indifference to the fate of thousands of Bashmachkins, forced to drag out a miserable existence, which deprives them of the opportunity to develop spiritually, makes them miserable, slavish creatures, “eternal titular advisers”. Thus, the author's attitude to the hero is difficult to determine unequivocally: he not only sympathizes with Bashmachkin, but also ironically over his hero (the presence in the text of contemptuous intonations caused by the insignificance of Bashmachkin's existence).
So, Gogol showed that the spiritual world of a poor official is extremely poor. F.M. Dostoevsky, on the other hand, made an important addition to the understanding of the character of the "little man", for the first time revealing the whole complexity of the inner world of this hero. The writer was interested not in the social, but in the moral and psychological aspect of the theme of the poor official.
Depicting the "humiliated and insulted", Dostoevsky used the principle of contrast between the external and the internal, between the humiliating social position of a person and his elevated self-esteem. Unlike Evgeny ("The Bronze Horseman") and Bashmachkin ("The Overcoat"), the hero of Dostoevsky Marmeladov is a man with great ambitions. He is acutely worried about his undeserved "humiliation", believing that he is "offended" by life, and therefore demanding more from life than it can give him. The absurdity of Marmeladov’s behavior and state of mind unpleasantly strikes Raskolnikov at their first meeting in the tavern: the official behaves proudly and even arrogantly: he looks at the visitors “with a touch of some arrogant disdain, as if at people of a lower status and development, with whom he has nothing to talk about” , In Marmeladov, the writer showed the spiritual degradation of "poor officials". They are incapable of rebellion or humility. Their pride is so exorbitant that humility is impossible for them. However, their "rebellion" is tragicomic in nature. So for Marmeladov - this is drunken ranting, "tavern conversations with various strangers." This is not a fight between Yevgeny and the Bronze Horseman and not the appearance of Bashmachkin to a "significant person" after death. Marmeladov is almost proud of his “swinishness” (“I am a born cattle”), telling Raskolnikov with pleasure that he even drank his wife’s “stockings”, “with rude dignity” reporting that Katerina Ivanovna “tearing whirlwinds” to him. The obsessive "self-flagellation" of Marmeladov has nothing to do with true humility. Thus, Dostoevsky has a poor official-philosopher, a thinking hero, with a highly developed moral sense, constantly experiencing dissatisfaction with himself, the world and those around him. It is important to note that F.M. Dostoevsky in no way justifies his hero, not “the environment is stuck”, but the person himself is guilty of his deeds, for he bears personal responsibility for them. Saltykov-Shchedrin radically changed his attitude towards bureaucracy; in his writings, the "little man" becomes the "petty man" whom Shchedrin ridicules by making him the subject of satire. (Although already in Gogol the bureaucracy began to be portrayed in Shchedrin's tones: for example, in The Government Inspector). We will focus on Chekhov's "officials". Chekhov's interest in the topic of bureaucracy not only did not fade away, but, on the contrary, flared up, reflected in the stories, in his new vision, but without ignoring past traditions. After all, "... the more inimitable and original the artist, the deeper and more obvious his connection with previous artistic experience."
What works of Russian writers reflect the morals of officials and what brings these works closer to N.V. Gogol's play The Inspector General?
Read the text fragment below and complete tasks B1-B7; C1-C2.
Mayor. It is my duty, as the mayor of the city here, to see to it that there are no harassments to those passing by and to all noble people...
Khlestakov (At first he stutters a little, but by the end of the speech he speaks loudly). But what can I do?.. It's not my fault... I really will cry... They will send me from the village.
Bobchinsky looks out of the door. He is more to blame: he gives me beef as hard as a log; and the soup - he the devil knows what he splashed there, I had to throw it out the window. He starved me for whole days... The tea is so strange: it stinks of fish, not tea. Why am I... Here's the news!
mayor (timid). Sorry, it's not my fault. I always have good beef in the market. Kholmogory merchants bring them, sober people and good behavior. I don't know where he gets this from. And if something is wrong, then ... Let me suggest that you move with me to another apartment.
Khlestakov. No I do not want to! I know what it means to - another apartment: that is - to prison. What right do you have? How dare you?.. Yes, here I am... I serve in St. Petersburg. (Cheers up.) I, I, I...
mayor (to the side). Oh my God, you're so angry! I learned everything, the damned merchants told me everything!
Khlestakov (brave). Yes, here you are even here with your whole team - I won’t go! I'm going straight to the minister! (Bangs his fist on the table.) What do you? What do you?
mayor (stretching and trembling all over). Have mercy, do not lose! Wife, little children... don't make a man unhappy.
Khlestakov. No I do not want! Here's another! what do I care? Because you have a wife and children, I have to go to prison, that's fine!
Bobchinsky looks out the door and hides in fright. No, thank you very much, I don't want to.
mayor (trembling). Inexperience, by golly, inexperience. Insufficiency of the state ... If you please, judge for yourself: the state salary is not enough even for tea and sugar. If there were any bribes, then just a little: something on the table and for a couple of dresses. As for the non-commissioned officer's widow, engaged in the merchant class, whom I allegedly flogged, this is slander, by God, slander. My villains invented this: they are such a people that they are ready to encroach on my life.
Khlestakov. What? I don't care about them. (Thinking.) I don’t know, but why are you talking about villains and about some non-commissioned officer’s widow ... A non-commissioned officer’s wife is completely different, but you don’t dare to flog me, you are far from that ... Here it is! Look what you are!.. I will pay, I will pay money, but now I don't have any. I'm sitting here because I don't have a penny.
mayor (to the side). Oh, subtle thing! Ek where tossed! what a fog! Find out who wants! You don't know which side to take. Well, give it a try. (Aloud.) If you definitely have a need for money or something else, then I am ready to serve this minute. My duty is to help passers-by.
Khlestakov. Give, lend me! I'll pay off the innkeeper right now. I would only like two hundred rubles, or at least even less.
mayor (holding papers). Exactly two hundred rubles, though don't bother counting.
N. V. Gogol "Inspector"
Indicate the genre to which the play by N.V. Gogol "The Inspector General" belongs.
Explanation.
The play by N.V. Gogol "The Government Inspector" belongs to the genre of comedy. Let's give a definition.
Comedy is a genre of fiction characterized by a humorous or satirical approach, as well as a type of drama in which the moment of effective conflict or struggle of antagonistic characters is specifically resolved.
Answer: comedy.
Answer: comedy
Name the literary direction, which is characterized by an objective depiction of reality and the principles of which N.V. Gogol developed in his work.
Explanation.
This literary movement is called realism. Let's give a definition.
Realism is the main method of art and literature. Its basis is the principle of life's truth, which guides the artist in his work, striving to give the most complete and true reflection of life and preserving the greatest lifelikeness in depicting events, people, objects of the material world and nature as they are in reality itself.
Answer: realism.
Answer: realism
The above scene is built as a conversation between two characters. What is this form of communication between characters in a work of art called?
Explanation.
This form of communication is called dialogue. Let's give a definition.
Dialogue is a conversation between two or more persons in a work of art.
Answer: dialogue.
Answer: dialogue
The fragment uses the author's explanations, remarks during the course of the play ("at first he stutters a little, but by the end of the speech he speaks loudly", etc.). What term are they called?
Explanation.
They are called the term "remark". Let's give a definition.
Remarque is the explanation with which the playwright precedes or accompanies the course of action in the play. remarks can explain the age, appearance, clothes of the characters, as well as their state of mind, behavior, movements, gestures, intonations. In the remarks presupposed to the act, scene, episode, a designation is given, sometimes a description of the place of action, the situation.
Answer: remark.
Answer: remark | remarks
What technique is used in Khlestakov's remark about beef "hard, like a log»?
Explanation.
This technique is called comparison. Let's give a definition.
Comparison is a trope in which one object or phenomenon is likened to another according to some feature common to them. The purpose of comparison is to reveal new, important properties that are advantageous for the subject of the statement in the object of comparison.
Answer: comparison.
Answer: comparison
The surname of Khlestakov, as well as the surnames of other characters in the play, contains a certain figurative characteristic. What are these surnames called?
Explanation.
Such surnames in the literature are called "speaking". Let's give a definition.
"Talking" surnames in literature are surnames that are part of the characterization of a character in a work of art, emphasizing the most striking feature of the character's character.
Answer: speakers.
Answer: speaking | speaking surnames | speaking surname
The speech of the characters is emotional and replete with exclamations and questions that do not require an answer. What are their names?
Explanation.
Such questions are called rhetorical. Let's give a definition.
A rhetorical question is a rhetorical figure that is not an answer to a question, but a statement. In essence, a rhetorical question is a question to which an answer is not required or expected due to its extreme obviousness.
Answer: rhetorical.
Answer: rhetorical | rhetorical | rhetorical question
What role does this scene play in the development of the plot of the play?
Explanation.
Each of the heroes of the comedy "The Inspector General", alarmed by the news of a possible revision, behaves in accordance with his character and his actions against the law. The mayor comes to the tavern to Khlestakov, believing that he is the auditor. In the first minutes, both are frightened: the mayor thinks that the visitor is not satisfied with the order in the city, and Khlestakov suspects that they want to take him to prison for non-payment of accumulated bills. This scene reveals the essence of two characters: the cowardice of Khlestakov and the highly experienced resourcefulness of the mayor. The comedy of the first meeting of the mayor and Khlestakov in the tavern is built on a mistake that provokes fear among the characters, the fear is so strong that both do not notice obvious contradictions. From this scene, a comic story of an absurd relationship between the officials of the county town and the petty swindler Khlestakov is tied up.
Explanation.
The action in The Inspector General dates back to the early 30s of the nineteenth century. All sorts of abuses of power, embezzlement and bribery, arbitrariness and disdain for the people were characteristic, ingrained features of the then bureaucracy. This is exactly how Gogol shows the rulers of the county town in his comedy.
All officials are drawn by Gogol, as if alive, each of them is unique. But at the same time, they all create the total image of the bureaucracy that governs the country, reveal the rottenness of the socio-political system of feudal Russia.
Officials from Gogol's "Dead Souls", officials from Griboedov's "Woe from Wit", "servants of the people" of the Soviet era from M. Bulgakov's novel "The Master and Margarita" are very similar to the officials from the "Inspector General".
Officials from the novel The Master and Margarita are highly unscrupulous creatures, mired in proprietary interests. Stepan Likhodeev is a degraded type, he drinks, walks without hesitation, lets dubious artists in the variety show. “Officers from literature”, being the power for “ordinary” writers, true artists, creators, obey directives from above and forbid creating with one stroke of the pen, without thinking that by depriving them of the opportunity to write, they are depriving a true master of life.
Thus, in Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, bureaucracy does not appear in the most favorable color for itself, showing examples of meanness, hypocrisy, and servility in its ranks.
What works of Russian writers reflect the morals of officials and what brings these works closer to N.V. Gogol's play The Inspector General?
"Inspector" N.V. Gogol
Mayor. It is my duty, as the mayor of the city here, to see to it that there are no harassments to those passing by and to all noble people...
Khlestakov (at first he stutters a little, but towards the end of his speech he speaks loudly). But what can I do?.. It's not my fault... I really will cry... They will send me from the village.
Bobchinsky looks out of the door.
He is more to blame: he gives me beef as hard as a log; and the soup - he the devil knows what he splashed there, I had to throw it out the window. He starved me for whole days... The tea is so strange: it stinks of fish, not tea. Why am I... Here's the news!
Mayor (timid). Sorry, it's not my fault. I always have good beef in the market. Kholmogory merchants bring them, sober people and good behavior. I don't know where he gets this from. And if something is wrong, then ... Let me suggest that you move with me to another apartment.
Khlestakov. No I do not want to! I know what it means to - another apartment: that is - to prison. What right do you have? How dare you?.. Yes, here I am... I serve in St. Petersburg. (Invigorates.) I, I, I ...
Mayor (aside). Oh my God, you're so angry! I learned everything, the damned merchants told me everything!
Khlestakov (bravely). Yes, here you are even here with your whole team - I won’t go! I'm going straight to the minister! (Bangs his fist on the table.) What are you? What do you?
Mayor (stretching out and trembling all over). Have mercy, do not lose! Wife, little children... don't make a man unhappy.
Khlestakov. No I do not want! Here's another! what do I care? Because you have a wife and children, I have to go to prison, that's fine!
Bobchinsky looks out the door and hides in fright.
No, thank you very much, I don't want to.
Mayor (trembling). Inexperience, by golly, inexperience. Insufficiency of the state ... If you please, judge for yourself: the state salary is not enough even for tea and sugar. If there were any bribes, then just a little: something on the table and for a couple of dresses. As for the non-commissioned officer's widow, engaged in the merchant class, whom I allegedly flogged, this is slander, by God, slander. My villains invented this: they are such a people that they are ready to encroach on my life.
Khlestakov. What? I don't care about them. (Thinking.) I don’t know, however, why you are talking about villains and some non-commissioned officer’s widow ... A non-commissioned officer’s wife is completely different, but you don’t dare to flog me, you are far from that ... Here's another! Look what you are!.. I will pay, I will pay money, but now I don't have any. I'm sitting here because I don't have a penny.
Mayor (aside). Oh, subtle thing! Ek where tossed! what a fog! Find out who wants! You don't know which side to take. Well, give it a try. (Aloud.) If you definitely need money or something else, then you are ready to serve this minute. My duty is to help passers-by.
Khlestakov. Give, lend me! I'll pay off the innkeeper right now. I would only like two hundred rubles, or at least even less.
Mayor (bringing papers). Exactly two hundred rubles, though don't bother counting.
Show full text
The morals of officials are displayed in the story of N.V. Gogol's "Overcoat" and the story of A.P. Chekhov "Death of an official"
In the work of N.V. Gogol depicts the story of a petty poor official Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, in whose image the typical features of representatives of the bureaucratic environment are embodied: spiritual underdevelopment, loss of values, wretchedness of interests, servility to the highest ranks, which is also characteristic of the authorities of the county town in the play "The Government Inspector". However, unlike comedy officials, Bashmachkin "served with love", lived exclusively in service and treated his duties with diligence.
Both comedies were written at the beginning of the 19th century - in the 20-30s. Both plays showed one layer of the Russian society of that time - officials. Both plays were severely censored and were enthusiastically received by the audience.
The play "Woe from Wit" was written by the summer of 1824 and was read in many houses in Moscow. The success was huge. In the lists, it was distributed throughout the country, since censorship did not allow it to be printed. Griboyedov based his comedy on the clash of a man of progressive views with the reactionary masses of the nobility. Griboedov's mastery, shown by him in the construction of comedy, is especially evident in the fact that all the images given in it, down to the most insignificant ones, play an important role in the development of the plot, especially in the implementation of the main ideological plan - to give a comedy a broad picture of modern Russian reality. , to show the collision of the "current century" with the "past century".
In his comedy, Griboedov very sharply posed a number of the most important problems for his time: the problem of the serf peasantry, the problem of service in feudal-serf Russia, education and culture, the connection between the intelligentsia and the people, true patriotism. These problems gave the comedy a sharp political character, making it a work that, even before it was printed, was distributed in thousands of handwritten copies not only in the capitals, but also in provincial cities.
The bulk of the officials, bred by the author in the comedy, belongs to the so-called Famusov circle. The purpose of Famusov's life is a career, honors, wealth. Service in the Famus society is understood only as a source of income, a means of achieving ranks and honors. They do not deal with cases on the merits, Famusov only signs the papers that his "business" secretary Molchalin presents to him. He himself admits this:
And I have what's the matter, what's not the case.
My custom is this:
Signed, so off your shoulders.
Famusov hosts his relatives:
With me, servants of strangers are very rare:
More and more sisters, sister-in-law children ...
How will you begin to introduce to the baptism whether, to the town,
Well, how not to please your dear little man! ..
Colonel Skalozub, as if echoing Famusov, declares:
Yes, in order to get ranks, there are many channels;
About them as a true philosopher I judge:
I just want to be a general.
Careerism, servility, servility to superiors, wordlessness - all the characteristic features of the bureaucratic world of that time are especially fully disclosed in the image of Molchalin. He perfectly understands what is required of an official if he wants to make a career. Only three years since he has been in the service of Famusov, and has already managed to “receive three awards”, become the right person for Famusov, enter his house. That is why Chatsky, who is well acquainted with the type of such an official, predicts Molchalin the possibility of a brilliant service career:
And yet, he will reach certain degrees
, After all, now they love the dumb.
Molchalin has all the data to become an important official later: the ability to ingratiate himself with influential people, complete promiscuity in the means to achieve his goal, the absence of any moral rules, and in addition to all this, two “talents” - “moderation and accuracy”. Famusov and his approach are afraid of the new, progressive like fire, because everything new threatens their unshakable position. Officials oppose the sciences, educational institutions, education in general. Famusov teaches:
Learning is the plague, learning is the cause
What is now more than ever,
Crazy divorced people, and deeds, and opinions.
He offers a decisive way to combat this evil:
If evil is to be stopped:
Take away all the books and burn them.
Griboedov endows all his heroes, and not only officials, with his own special language, but they all have one thing in common - everyone adapts to the moment that comes. Famusov is sweet with his daughter, rude with servants, with Molchalin he is bossy and arrogant and fawns over Skalozub, seeing him as a groom for Sophia. Molchalin is laconic, as he is afraid to express his opinions. He doesn’t use common words, like Famusov’s, he fawns over Famusov, despises Chatsky. Skalozub is a narrow-minded martinet, polite with Famusov, but not embarrassed in expressions with Chatsky and others. In essence, the comedy "Woe from Wit" was the first play that denounced modernity and society.
Following her, 10 years later, the comedy "Inspector General" by N.V. Gogol. As the author himself said, he decided to put together everything bad in Russia. The play was written in less than a year, and thanks to the petition of V.A. Zhukovsky was admitted to the production. The plot of the comedy is based on a commotion among the officials who are waiting for the auditor, and their desire to hide their sins from him. Thus, such a compositional feature of the comedy was determined, as the absence of a central character in it. The action in the "Inspector General" refers to the beginning of the 30s of the century before last. All sorts of abuses of power, embezzlement and bribery, arbitrariness and disdain for the people were characteristic, ingrained features of the then bureaucracy. This is exactly how Gogol shows the rulers of the county town in his comedy.
At the head of them is the mayor. He is not stupid: he judges more sensibly than his colleagues about the reasons for sending an auditor to them. Wise in his life and work experience, he "deceived swindlers over swindlers", "tricked rogues and rogues such that they are ready to rob the whole world." The mayor is a convinced bribe-taker: "It's so arranged by God himself, and the Voltairians speak against it in vain." He is an embezzler: he constantly embezzles state money. In communication with subordinates, in relation to the population of the city, he is self-confident, rude and despotic: “And whoever is dissatisfied, then after the ladies of such displeasure ...”; "Here I am them, canals ..."; “What, samovar makers, yardsticks ...” Such rude shouts and abuse are characteristic of the mayor. But otherwise he keeps himself in front of his superiors. In a conversation with Khlestakov, whom he mistook for an auditor, the mayor tries to show himself as an executive official, speaks ingratiatingly respectfully, overloading his speech with expressions accepted in the official circle: “In other cities, I dare to report to you, city governors and officials care more about their own there is a benefit; and here, one might say, there is no other thought than to earn the attention of the authorities with diligence and vigilance. The author did not even give him a last name, the mayor only has a first and middle name - Anton Antonovich.
The second most important person in the city is Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin. Unlike other officials, he is a representative of the elected authorities: "elected as a judge by the will of the nobility." Therefore, he keeps freer with the mayor, allows himself to challenge him. He is regarded in the city as "a freethinker and an educated man" as he has read five or six books. Officials speak of him as an eloquent orator: "Whatever you say," Strawberry tells him, "Cicero flew off his tongue." Taking a great interest in hunting, the judge takes bribes with greyhound puppies. He does not deal with cases at all, and the court is a complete mess.
The trustee of charitable institutions Strawberry - a fat man, but "a thin rogue." In the hospital under his jurisdiction, the sick are dying like flies; The doctor doesn't know a word of Russian. On occasion, Strawberry is ready to denounce his colleagues. Introducing himself to Khlestakov, he slanders both the postmaster, and the judge, and the superintendent of schools. Shy, frightened, mute is Khlopov, the superintendent of schools, the only one among the officials who is not a nobleman. Postmaster Shpekin is opening letters.
All officials are drawn by Gogol as living, each of them is unique. The images of the comedy are typical, the behavior of each character is motivated, their words and actions reveal their characters. With an annihilating laugh, Gogol castigates the bureaucracy of tsarist Russia.
And although Gogol depicted the world of provincial officials in The Inspector General, the depth of the writer's penetration into reality was so amazing that the audience and readers of the comedy immediately saw in it the image of all of Russia, its feudal-bureaucratic system. And the officials turned out to be very similar: the same passion for profit, servility, the desire to exalt or look inaccessible to others. Both authors drew the features of the heroes from the life of the metropolitan nobility familiar to them after the war of 1812, endowing each of them with his own characteristic qualities. Two different writers, two different styles, but the goal is the same - to ridicule what interfered with normal life at the beginning of the 19th century.
