The plot, theme and idea of ​​Dead Souls. Analysis of the poem "Dead Souls" by Gogol Theme of the poem Dead Souls

In accordance with the main idea of ​​the work - to show the way to achieve a spiritual ideal, on the basis of which the writer thinks the possibility of transforming both the state system of Russia, its social structure, and all social strata and each individual - the main themes and problems posed in poem "Dead Souls"

Changes, from Gogol's point of view, should not be external, but internal, that is, we are talking about the fact that all state and social structures, and especially their leaders, in their activities should be guided by moral laws, the postulates of Christian ethics. So, the age-old Russian misfortune - bad roads - can be overcome not by changing bosses or tightening laws and control over their implementation. For this, it is necessary that each of the participants in this work, above all the leader, remember that he is responsible not to a higher official, but to God. Gogol called on every Russian person in his place, in his position, to do business as the highest - Heavenly - law commands.

In its first volume, the emphasis is on all those negative phenomena in the life of the country that need to be corrected. But the main evil for the writer does not lie in social problems as such, but in the reason for which they arise: the spiritual impoverishment of his contemporary man. That is why the problem of the necrosis of the soul becomes central in the 1st volume of the poem. All other themes and problems of the work are grouped around it.

“Be not dead, but living souls!” - calls the writer, convincingly demonstrating what abyss the one who has lost his living soul falls into. By “dead soul” is meant not only a purely bureaucratic term used in Russia in the 19th century. Often, a “dead soul” is a person who is mired in worries about vain things. The symbolism of the definition of "dead souls" contains the opposition of the dead (inert, frozen, spiritless) beginning and the living (inspired, high, bright).

Gallery of landowners and officials shown in the 1st volume of the poem. "Dead souls", shown in the 1st volume, can only be opposed by the "living soul" of the people, appearing in the author's lyrical digressions. The originality of Gogol's position lies in the fact that he not only contrasts these two principles, but points to the possibility of the awakening of the living in the dead. So the poem includes the theme of the resurrection of the soul, the theme of the path to its rebirth. It is known that Gogol intended to show the way of the revival of two heroes from the 1st volume - Chichikov and Plyushkin. The author dreams of the "dead souls" of Russian reality being reborn, turning into truly "living" souls.

But in his contemporary world, the mortification of the soul was reflected in the most diverse aspects of life. In the poem "Dead Souls" the writer continues and develops the general theme that runs through all of his work: the belittling and decay of man in the ghostly and absurd world of Russian reality.

Now it is enriched with an idea of ​​what the true, lofty spirit of Russian life consists of, what it can and should be. This idea permeates the main theme of the poem: the writer's reflection on Russia and its people. The present Russia is a terrifying picture of decay and decay, which has affected all sectors of society: landlords, officials, even the people.

Gogol in an extremely concentrated form demonstrates "the properties of our Russian breed." Thus, Plyushkin's thrift turns into stinginess, dreaminess and hospitality of Manilov - into an excuse for laziness and sugariness. The prowess and energy of Nozdryov are remarkable qualities, but here they are excessive and aimless, and therefore become a parody of Russian heroism.

At the same time, drawing extremely generalized types of Russian landowners, Gogol reveals the theme of landowner Rus', which correlates with the problems of relations between landowners and peasants, the profitability of landowner economy, and the possibility of its improvement. At the same time, the writer condemns not serfdom and not landowners as a class, but how exactly they use their power over the peasants, the wealth of their lands, for the sake of which they are generally engaged in farming. And here the main theme remains the theme of impoverishment, which is connected not so much with economic or social problems, but with the process of necrosis of the soul.

The two most important themes of the author's reflections - the theme of Russia and the theme of the road - merge in a lyrical digression, which completes the first volume of the poem. "Rus-troika", "all inspired by God", appears in it as a vision of the author, who seeks to understand the meaning of its movement; "Rus, where are you going? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer." But in that high lyrical pathos that permeates these final lines, the writer's faith that the answer will be found and the soul of the people will appear alive and beautiful sounds.

According to Gogol's plan, the poem "Dead Souls" was supposed to represent "all of Rus'", even if only "on one side", in the first part, so it would be wrong to talk about the presence of one or more central characters in this work. Chichikov could become such a hero, but in the scope of the entire three-part plan. In the 1st volume of the poem, he stands among other characters that characterize different types of entire social groups in contemporary Russia, although he also has the additional function of a connecting hero. That is why one should consider not so much individual characters as the entire group to which they belong: landowners, officials, the acquirer hero. All of them are given in a satirical light, because their souls have become dead. Such are the representatives of the people who are shown as a component of real Russia, and there is a living soul only in those representatives of the people's Rus', which is embodied as the author's ideal.

The artistic depth and scale of the work "Dead Souls" suggests that it can be considered the main one in the creative biography of Nikolai Gogol. The author worked long and painstakingly on its creation, starting with the understanding that, first of all, the writer should pass through all the problems and the storyline, as well as the character of the characters. Let's analyze the analysis of "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol.

The humble beginning of a great poem

We will begin our analysis of the poem "Dead Souls" by Gogol with the fact that in the first volume of the work the author outlined only general features and called it a "pale beginning." How did Gogol come up with the idea for the plot, because in order to think through such a serious thing in detail, you need an appropriate approach and a solid foundation?

It turns out that the idea to write a new poem was given to Gogol by none other than Alexander Pushkin. The poet said that he had a plot in his outline that he himself would like to use, but recommended that Nikolai Vasilyevich do this. But it is important to remember what is most important: Pushkin "suggested" the leading idea of ​​the poem, and he outlined the plot in general terms. Gogol himself perfectly developed the storyline, because he knew a lot of real stories, which were based on various scams with "dead souls".

For example, let's include in the analysis of the poem "Dead Souls" one such case from the life of Gogol. When he was still quite young and lived in Mirgorod, he heard a similar story in sufficient detail - it was advantageous to count some serfs who had already died alive, at least until the upcoming revision. This practice spread throughout Russia, and on official papers, only after the audit, such peasants began to be considered dead. In view of this, until the so-called "revision tale" landlords had to continue paying taxes in the form of a poll tax.

What is the essence of the scam with "dead souls"

When a peasant remained “alive” only on official papers, he could be donated, sold or pledged, which was beneficial in some fraudulent scams. The landowner could be seduced by the fact that the serf did not bring more income, and in this way one could get some amount for him. There was a buyer who, in the event of a transaction, began to own a very real state.

Initially, Gogol, taking into account this basis of the scam, defined for his work such a genre as an adventurous picaresque novel. Some authors of that time already wrote in this spirit, and their novels were quite successful, although they were not so high in terms of artistic level. In the course of his work, Gogol modified the genre, and this is an important detail in the analysis of the poem Dead Souls. After the general idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe work became clear and the idea was clearly formed, Gogol himself designated the genre - a poem. Therefore, from an adventurous picaresque novel, it turned into a poem.

Analysis of the poem "Dead Souls" - features of the work

If we talk about the scale of Gogol's idea in relation to the poem "Dead Souls", then it is clear how it grew, because initially the author wanted to reflect only "one side" of Russia, and later, with his thesis, Gogol showed that he revised not only the genre model, but also wealth of ideas. The essence of his thesis lies in the thought: "all Rus'" should be reflected in the poem. The new idea was so broad and rich that it was practically impossible to realize it within the narrow framework of an adventurous and picaresque novel. Therefore, this genre began to play the role of a shell, but lost the main role.

Let's talk a little about the main character of the poem Chichikov. His origins are shrouded in mystery, and this is the same technique that Gogol used to fully reveal his image. Analyzing the poem "Dead Souls", it becomes quite obvious that Chichikov is a man of the middle. He has a good appearance, that is, you cannot call him handsome, and he is not ugly. He's not fat, and he's not thin. Age is also incomprehensible - not young, at the same time not old. As readers, we don't know Chichikov's life story until we get to the last chapter.

In the eleventh chapter, the vulgar nature of this person becomes visible. About his origin, again, it is said very vaguely, again it is emphasized that he is not mean, but not a heroic warehouse either. The main quality of Chichikov is that he is an "acquirer". One can draw conclusions from the way Gogol calls him an "average" person. This means that he is not very different from everyone else, but a trait inherent in many is strengthened in his character - Chichikov is ready to make money, pursue a beautiful life, and at the same time he has almost no deep goals in life, and he is spiritually empty.

The poem "Dead Souls" was conceived by Gogol as a grandiose panorama of Russian society with all its peculiarities and paradoxes. The central problem of the work is the spiritual death and rebirth of representatives of the main Russian estates of that time. The author denounces and ridicules the vices of the landowners, venality and pernicious passions of bureaucracy.

The title itself has a double meaning. "Dead Souls" are not only dead peasants, but also other actually living characters of the work. Calling them dead, Gogol emphasizes their devastated, miserable, "dead" little souls.

History of creation

"Dead Souls" is a poem to which Gogol devoted a significant part of his life. The author repeatedly changed the concept, rewrote and reworked the work. Gogol originally conceived Dead Souls as a humorous novel. However, in the end, I decided to create a work that exposes the problems of Russian society and will serve its spiritual revival. And so the POEM "Dead Souls" appeared.

Gogol wanted to create three volumes of the work. In the first, the author planned to describe the vices and decay of the feudal society of that time. In the second, give your heroes hope for redemption and rebirth. And in the third I intended to describe the future path of Russia and its society.

However, Gogol managed to finish only the first volume, which appeared in print in 1842. Until his death, Nikolai Vasilievich worked on the second volume. However, just before his death, the author burned the manuscript of the second volume.

The third volume of Dead Souls was never written. Gogol could not find an answer to the question of what would happen next with Russia. Or maybe I just didn't have time to write about it.

Description of the artwork

One day, a very interesting character appeared in the city of NN, who stood out against the background of other old-timers of the city - Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. After his arrival, he began to actively get acquainted with important people of the city, attended feasts and dinners. A week later, the visitor was already on "you" with all representatives of the city's nobility. Everyone was delighted with the new person who suddenly appeared in the city.

Pavel Ivanovich goes out of town to pay visits to noble landowners: Manilov, Korobochka, Sobakevich, Nozdrev and Plyushkin. With each landowner, he is kind, trying to find an approach to everyone. Natural resourcefulness and resourcefulness help Chichikov to get the location of each landowner. In addition to empty talk, Chichikov talks with the gentlemen about the peasants who died after the revision (“dead souls”) and expresses a desire to buy them. The landowners cannot understand why Chichikov needs such a deal. However, they agree to it.

As a result of his visits, Chichikov acquired more than 400 "dead souls" and was in a hurry to finish his business and leave the city. Useful acquaintances made by Chichikov upon arrival in the city helped him settle all the issues with the documents.

After some time, the landowner Korobochka let slip in the city that Chichikov was buying up "dead souls." The whole city found out about the affairs of Chichikov and was perplexed. Why would such a respected gentleman buy dead peasants? Endless rumors and conjectures have a detrimental effect even on the prosecutor, and he dies of fear.

The poem ends with Chichikov hurriedly leaving the city. Leaving the city, Chichikov sadly recalls his plans to buy dead souls and pledge them to the treasury as living ones.

Main characters

A qualitatively new hero in Russian literature of that time. Chichikov can be called a representative of the newest class that is just emerging in serf Russia - entrepreneurs, "purchasers". The activity and activity of the hero favorably distinguishes him from the background of other characters in the poem.

The image of Chichikov is distinguished by its incredible versatility, diversity. Even by the appearance of the hero, it is difficult to immediately understand what a person is and what he is like. “In the britzka sat a gentleman who was not handsome, but not bad-looking, neither too fat nor too thin, one cannot say that he was old, but not so much that he was too young.”

It is difficult to understand and embrace the nature of the protagonist. He is changeable, many-sided, able to adapt to any interlocutor, to give the face the desired expression. Thanks to these qualities, Chichikov easily finds a common language with landowners, officials and wins the right position in society. Chichikov uses the ability to charm and win over the right people to achieve his goal, namely, obtaining and accumulating money. Even his father taught Pavel Ivanovich to deal with those who are richer and take care of money, since only money can pave the way in life.

Chichikov did not earn money honestly: he deceived people, took bribes. Over time, Chichikov's machinations are gaining more and more scope. Pavel Ivanovich seeks to increase his fortune by any means, not paying attention to any moral norms and principles.

Gogol defines Chichikov as a man with a vile nature and also considers his soul to be dead.

In his poem, Gogol describes the typical images of the landlords of that time: "business executives" (Sobakevich, Korobochka), as well as not serious and wasteful gentlemen (Manilov, Nozdrev).

Nikolai Vasilievich masterfully created the image of the landowner Manilov in the work. By this image alone, Gogol meant a whole class of landowners with similar features. The main qualities of these people are sentimentality, constant fantasies and lack of activity. The landlords of such a warehouse let the economy take its course, do nothing useful. They are stupid and empty inside. This is exactly what Manilov was like - in his soul not a bad, but mediocre and stupid poseur.

Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka

The landowner, however, differs significantly in character from Manilov. Korobochka is a good and tidy mistress, everything in her estate is going well. However, the landowner's life revolves exclusively around her household. The box does not develop spiritually, it is not interested in anything. She does not understand absolutely anything that does not concern her economy. The box is also one of the images by which Gogol meant a whole class of similar limited landowners who see nothing beyond their household.

The author unequivocally classifies the landowner Nozdrev as not a serious and wasteful gentlemen. Unlike the sentimental Manilov, Nozdryov is full of energy. However, the landowner uses this energy not for the benefit of the economy, but for the sake of his momentary pleasures. Nozdryov plays, wastes money. It is distinguished by its frivolity and idle attitude to life.

Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich

The image of Sobakevich, created by Gogol, echoes the image of a bear. There is something from a large wild beast in the appearance of the landowner: sluggishness, sedateness, strength. Sobakevich is not concerned about the aesthetic beauty of the things around him, but their reliability and durability. Behind the rough appearance and harsh character lies a cunning, intelligent and resourceful person. According to the author of the poem, it will not be difficult for such landowners as Sobakevich to adapt to the changes and reforms coming in Rus'.

The most unusual representative of the class of landowners in Gogol's poem. The old man is distinguished by his extreme stinginess. Moreover, Plyushkin is greedy not only in relation to his peasants, but also in relation to himself. However, such savings make Plushkin a truly poor person. After all, it is his stinginess that does not allow him to find a family.

officialdom

Gogol in the work has a description of several city officials. However, the author in his work does not significantly differentiate them from each other. All officials in "Dead Souls" are a gang of thieves, crooks and embezzlers. These people really care only about their enrichment. Gogol literally describes in a few lines the image of a typical official of that time, rewarding him with the most unflattering qualities.

Analysis of the work

The plot of "Dead Souls" is based on an adventure conceived by Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. At first glance, Chichikov's plan seems incredible. However, if you look at it, the Russian reality of those times, with its rules and laws, provided opportunities for all sorts of machinations related to serfs.

The fact is that after 1718, a per capita census of peasants was introduced in the Russian Empire. For each male serf, the master had to pay a tax. However, the census was carried out quite rarely - once every 12-15 years. And if one of the peasants escaped or died, the landowner was forced to pay tax for him anyway. The dead or runaway peasants became a burden for the master. This created fertile ground for various kinds of fraud. Chichikov himself hoped to carry out such a scam.

Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol knew perfectly well how Russian society was organized with its serf system. And the whole tragedy of his poem lies in the fact that Chichikov's scam absolutely did not contradict the current Russian legislation. Gogol denounces the distorted relations of man with man, as well as man with the state, speaks of the absurd laws in force at that time. Because of such distortions, events that are contrary to common sense become possible.

"Dead Souls" is a classic work, which, like no other, is written in the style of Gogol. Quite often, Nikolai Vasilievich based his work on some kind of anecdote or a comical situation. And the more ridiculous and unusual the situation, the more tragic the real state of affairs seems.

Gogol. "Dead Souls" What is the main problem of the work. What is the main theme of the piece. And what was the relationship and got the best answer

Answer from GALINA[guru]
According to Gogol, the essence of the first volume of "Dead Souls"
is to show flaws
vices and weaknesses of the Russian people:
"... The book... depicts a man taken from our own
states ... It was taken more in order to show
the shortcomings and vices of the Russian man, and not his
virtues and virtues, and all people who
surround him, are also taken to show
our weaknesses and shortcomings; the best people and
characters will be in other parts ... "
(N. V. Gogol, "To the reader from the writer",
preface to the second edition of the first volume of "Dead Souls")
The main problem of the poem is spiritual death and
spiritual rebirth of man.
The author explores the causes of moral degradation
landlords, officials, Chichikov, reveals depressing
consequences of this process.
At the same time, Gogol, a writer with a Christian worldview,
does not lose hope for the spiritual awakening of his heroes.
On the Spiritual Resurrection of Chichikov and Plyushkin Gogol
was going to write in the second and third volumes of his
works, but this plan is not destined
was to come true.
Source: detail

Answer from Vladimir Pobol[guru]
at Chichikov's with the landowners - did I understand you correctly?

Answer from Ira Kuzmenko[active]
Theme and problems. In accordance with the main idea of ​​the work - to show the way to achieve the spiritual ideal, on the basis of which the writer conceives the possibility of transforming both the state system of Russia, its social structure, and all social strata and each individual - the main themes and problems posed in the poem " Dead Souls". Being an opponent of any political and social upheavals, especially revolutionary ones, the Christian writer believes that the negative phenomena that characterize the state of contemporary Russia can be overcome through moral self-improvement not only of the Russian person himself, but of the entire structure of society and the state. Moreover, such changes, from the point of view of Gogol, should not be external, but internal, that is, the point is that all state and social structures, and especially their leaders, in their activities should be guided by moral laws, the postulates of Christian ethics. So, according to Gogol, the age-old Russian misfortune - bad roads - can be overcome not by changing bosses or tightening laws and control over their implementation. For this, it is necessary that each of the participants in this work, above all the leader, remember that he is responsible not to a higher official, but to God. Gogol called on every Russian person in his place, in his position, to do business as the highest - Heavenly - law commands.
That is why the themes and problems of Gogol's poem turned out to be so wide and all-encompassing. In its first volume, the emphasis is on all those negative phenomena in the life of the country that need to be corrected. But the main evil for the writer does not lie in social problems as such, but in the reason for which they arise: the spiritual impoverishment of his contemporary man. That is why the problem of the necrosis of the soul becomes central in the 1st volume of the poem. All other themes and problems of the work are grouped around it. “Be not dead, but living souls!” - the writer calls, convincingly demonstrating what abyss the one who has lost his living soul falls into. But what is meant by this strange oxymoron - "dead soul", which gave the name to the whole work? Of course, not only a purely bureaucratic term used in Russia in the 19th century. Often, a “dead soul” is a person who is mired in worries about vain things. The gallery of landowners and officials, shown in the 1st volume of the poem, presents such “dead souls” to the reader, since all of them are characterized by lack of spirituality, selfish interests, empty extravagance or soul-absorbing stinginess. From this point of view, the "dead souls" shown in the 1st volume can only be opposed by the "living soul" of the people, which appears in the author's lyrical digressions. But, of course, the oxymoron "dead soul" is interpreted by the Christian writer in a religious and philosophical sense. The very word "soul" indicates the immortality of the individual in its Christian understanding. From this point of view, the symbolism of the definition "dead souls" contains the opposition of the dead (inert, frozen, spiritless) beginning and the living (spiritualized, high, bright). The originality of Gogol's position lies in the fact that he not only contrasts these two principles, but points to the possibility of the awakening of the living in the dead. So the poem includes the theme of the resurrection of the soul, the theme of the path to its rebirth. It is known that Gogol intended to show the way of the revival of two heroes from the 1st volume - Chichikov and Plyushkin. The author dreams of the "dead souls" of Russian reality being reborn, turning into truly "living" souls.
But in the contemporary world, the mortification of the soul affected literally everyone and was reflected in the most diverse aspects of life.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol worked on this work for 17 years. According to the writer's plan, the grandiose literary work was to consist of three volumes. Gogol himself repeatedly reported that the idea of ​​​​the work was proposed to him by Pushkin. Alexander Sergeevich was also one of the first listeners of the poem.

Work on "Dead Souls" was difficult. The writer changed the concept several times, reworked individual parts. Only on the first volume, which was published in 1842, Gogol worked for six years.

A few days before his death, the writer burned the manuscript of the second volume, from which only drafts of the first four and one of the last chapters survived. The author did not have time to start the third volume.

At first, Gogol considered "Dead Souls" satirical a novel in which he intended to show "all of Rus'." But in 1840, the writer fell seriously ill, and was healed literally by a miracle. Nikolai Vasilievich decided that this was a sign - the Creator himself demands that he create something that serves the spiritual revival of Russia. Thus, the idea of ​​"Dead Souls" was rethought. The idea was to create a trilogy similar to Dante's Divine Comedy. Hence the genre definition of the author - a poem.

Gogol believed that in the first volume it was necessary to show the disintegration of feudal society, its spiritual impoverishment. In the second, to give hope for the purification of "dead souls". In the third, the revival of a new Russia was already planned.

The basis of the plot the poem became a scam official Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov. Its essence was as follows. A census of serfs was carried out in Russia every 10 years. Therefore, the peasants who died between the censuses, according to official documents (revision tale), were considered alive. Chichikov's goal is to buy "dead souls" at a low price, and then pawn them in the board of trustees and get a lot of money. The fraudster is counting on the fact that such a deal is beneficial for the landlords: they do not need to pay taxes for the deceased until the next audit. In search of "dead souls" Chichikov travels around Russia.

Such a plot outline allowed the author to create a social panorama of Russia. In the first chapter, an acquaintance with Chichikov takes place, then the author describes his meetings with landowners and officials. The last chapter is again devoted to the swindler. The image of Chichikov and his purchase of dead souls unite the storyline of the work.

The landowners in the poem are typical representatives of people of their circle and time: spenders (Manilov and Nozdrev), savers (Sobakevich and Korobochka). This gallery is completed by the spendthrift and accumulator in one person - Plyushkin.

Image of Manilov especially successful. This hero gave the name to the whole phenomenon of Russian reality - "Manilovism". In communication with others, Manilov is soft to the point of cloying, loving posturing in everything, but an empty and completely inactive owner. Gogol showed a sentimental dreamer who is only capable of lining up beautiful rows of ashes knocked out of a pipe. Manilov is stupid and lives in the world of his useless fantasies.

landowner Nozdrev on the contrary, it is very active. But his seething energy is not directed at all to economic concerns. Nozdrev is a gambler, a spendthrift, a reveler, a braggart, an empty and frivolous person. If Manilov seeks to please everyone, then Nozdryov is constantly dirtying. Not from evil, however, such is his nature.

Nastasya Petrovna Korobochka- a type of economic, but narrow-minded and conservative landowner, quite tight-fisted. The circle of her interests: pantry, barns and a poultry house. Korobochka even went to the nearest town twice in her life. In everything that goes beyond the limits of her everyday worries, the landowner is impassibly stupid. The author calls her "cudgel-headed".

Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich the writer identifies with the bear: he is clumsy and clumsy, but strong and strong. The landowner is primarily interested in the practicality and durability of things, and not their beauty. Sobakevich, despite his rough appearance, has a sharp mind and cunning. This is a vicious and dangerous predator, the only one of the landowners capable of accepting the new capitalist way of life. Gogol notices that the time is coming for such cruel business people.

Plushkin's image does not fit into any framework. The old man himself is malnourished, starves the peasants, and a lot of food rots in his pantries, Plyushkin's chests are crammed with expensive things that are becoming unusable. Incredible stinginess deprives this man of his family.

Officialdom in "Dead Souls" is through and through a corrupt company of thieves and swindlers. In the system of urban bureaucracy, the writer paints with large strokes the image of a “jug snout”, ready to sell his own mother for a bribe. No better than the narrow-minded police chief and alarmist prosecutor who died of fear because of Chichikov's scam.

The main character is a rogue, in which some features of other characters are guessed. He is amiable and prone to posturing (Manilov), petty (Korobochka), greedy (Plyushkin), enterprising (Sobakevich), narcissistic (Nozdrev). Among officials, Pavel Ivanovich feels confident, because he went through all the universities of fraud and bribery. But Chichikov is smarter and more educated than those with whom he deals. He is an excellent psychologist: he delights the provincial society, masterfully bargains with every landowner.

The writer put a special meaning into the title of the poem. These are not only the dead peasants who are bought by Chichikov. By "dead souls" Gogol understands the emptiness and lack of spirituality of his characters. There is nothing sacred for the money-grubber Chichikov. Plyushkin has lost all human likeness. A box for the sake of profit does not mind digging up coffins. At Nozdryov's, only dogs live well; their own children are abandoned. Manilov's soul sleeps like a deep sleep. There is not a drop of decency and nobility in Sobakevich.

The landowners look different in the second volume. Tentetnikov- A disillusioned philosopher. He is immersed in thought and does not do household chores, but is smart and talented. costanjoglo and an exemplary landowner. Millionaire Murazov also endearing. He forgives Chichikov and stands up for him, helps Khlobuev.

But we never saw the rebirth of the main character. A person who has let the “golden calf” into his soul, a bribe taker, embezzler and swindler is unlikely to be able to become different.

The writer did not find during his life the answer to the main question: where is Rus' rushing like a fast troika? But "Dead Souls" remains a reflection of Russia in the 30s of the XIX century and an amazing gallery satirical images, many of which have become household names. "Dead Souls" is a striking phenomenon in Russian literature. The poem opened a whole direction in it, which Belinsky called "critical realism".