The work of N. V. Gogol “Dead Souls”, according to Herzen, is “an amazing book, a bitter reproach of modern Rus', but not hopeless.” Being a poem, it was intended to sing of Rus' in its deep folk foundations. But nevertheless, satirical accusatory pictures of the reality contemporary to the author prevail in it.
As in the comedy The Inspector General, in Dead Souls Gogol uses a typification technique. The action of the poem takes place in the provincial town of NN. which is a collective image. The author notes that "it was in no way inferior to other provincial cities." This makes it possible to reproduce a complete picture of the mores of the whole country. The protagonist of the poem, Chichikov, draws attention to the typical “houses of one, two and one and a half floors, with an eternal mezzanine”, to “signboards almost washed away by rain”, to the most common inscription “Drinking House”.
At first glance, it seems that the atmosphere of city life is somewhat different from the sleepy, serene and frozen spirit of landlord life. Constant balls, dinners, breakfasts, snacks, and even trips to public places create an image full of energy and passion, vanity and trouble. But upon closer examination, it turns out that all this is illusory, meaningless, unnecessary, that the representatives of the top of urban society are faceless, spiritually dead, and their existence is aimless. The “visiting card” of the city is the vulgar dandy that Chichikov met at the entrance to the city: “... I met a young man in white canine trousers, very narrow and short, in a tailcoat with attempts on fashion, from under which a shirt-front was visible, buttoned with a Tula a pin with a bronze pistol." This random character is the personification of the tastes of the provincial society.
The life of the city depends entirely on numerous officials. The author paints an expressive portrait of the administrative power in Russia. As if emphasizing the uselessness and facelessness of city officials, he gives them very brief characteristics. It is said about the governor that he “was neither fat nor thin, had Anna around his neck ...; however, he was a great kind man and even embroidered tulle himself. It is known about the prosecutor that he was the owner of "very black thick eyebrows and a somewhat winking left eye." It is noted about the postmaster that he was a "short" man, but "a wit and a philosopher."
All officials have a low level of education. Gogol ironically calls them “more or less enlightened people,” because “some have read Karamzin, some have read Moskovskiye Vedomosti, some have even read nothing at all...” Such are the provincial landowners. The two are closely related to each other. The author shows in his reflections on the “thick and thin”, how statesmen gradually, “having earned universal respect, leave the service ... and become glorious landowners, glorious Russian bars, hospitable people, and live and live well.” This digression is an evil satire on robber officials and on the "hospitable" Russian bars, leading an idle existence, aimlessly smoking the sky.
Officials are a kind of arbiters of the destinies of the inhabitants of the provincial city. The solution to any, even a small issue, depends on them. Not a single case was considered without bribes. Bribery, embezzlement and robbery of the population are constant and widespread phenomena. The police chief had only to blink, passing by the fish row, as “beluga, sturgeon, salmon, pressed caviar, freshly salted caviar, herring, stellate sturgeon, cheeses, smoked tongues and balyks appeared on his table - it was all from the side of the fish row.”
"Servants of the people" are truly unanimous in their desire to live widely at the expense of the sums of "the Fatherland dearly loved by them." They are equally irresponsible in their direct duties. This is especially clearly shown when Chichikov draws up bills of sale for serfs. As witnesses, Sobakevich proposes to invite the prosecutor, who, “for sure, is sitting at home, since the lawyer Zolotukha, the first grabber in the world, does everything for him,” and the inspector of the medical board, as well as Trukhachevsky and Belushkin. According to the apt remark of Sobakevich, “they all burden the earth for nothing!” In addition, the author's remark is characteristic that the chairman, at the request of Chichikov, "could extend and shorten ... presence, like the ancient Zeus."
The central place in the characterization of the bureaucratic world is occupied by the episode of the death of the prosecutor. In just a few lines, Gogol managed to express the emptiness of the lives of these people. No one knows why the prosecutor lived and why he died, because he does not understand why he himself lives, what his purpose is.
When describing the life of the provincial town, the author pays special attention to the women's party. First of all, these are the wives of officials. They are just as impersonal as their husbands. Chichikov notices not people at the ball, but a huge number of luxurious dresses, ribbons, feathers. The author pays tribute to the taste of the provincial ladies: “This is not a province, this is the capital, this is Paris itself!”, But at the same time he exposes their imitative essence, noticing in places “a cap not seen by the earth” or “almost a peacock feather”. “But it’s impossible without this, such is the property of a provincial city: somewhere it will certainly break off.” A noble feature of the provincial ladies is their ability to express themselves with "extraordinary caution and decency." Their speech is elegant and ornate. As Gogol notes, “in order to further ennoble the Russian language, almost half of the words were completely thrown out of the conversation.”
The life of bureaucrats' wives is idle, but they themselves are active, so gossip spreads around the city with amazing speed and takes on a terrifying appearance. Because of the ladies' talk, Chichikov was recognized as a millionaire. But as soon as he stopped honoring women's society with attention, absorbed in the contemplation of the governor's daughter, the hero was also credited with the idea of stealing the object of contemplation and many other terrible crimes.
The ladies of the city have a huge influence on their official husbands and not only make them believe in incredible gossip, but are also able to set them against each other. “Duels, of course, did not take place between them, because they were all civil officials, but on the other hand, one tried to harm the other where possible ...”
All Gogol's heroes dream of achieving a certain ideal of life, which for the majority of representatives of the provincial society is seen in the image of the capital, brilliant St. Petersburg. Creating a collective image of the Russian city of the 30-40s of the XIX century, the author combines the features of the province and the characteristic features of metropolitan life. So, the mention of St. Petersburg is found in every chapter of the poem. Very clearly, without embellishment, this image was indicated in The Tale of Captain Kopeikin. Gogol remarks with astonishing frankness that it is absolutely impossible for a small man like Captain Kopeikin to live in this city, dignified, prim, immersed in luxury. The writer speaks in “The Tale ...” about the cold indifference of the powerful of this world to the troubles of the unfortunate invalid, a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812. Thus, in the poem, the theme of the opposition of state interests and the interests of the common man arises.
Gogol is sincerely indignant at the social injustice prevailing in Russia, dressing his indignation in satirical forms. In the poem, he uses the "situation of delusion". This helps him to reveal certain aspects of the life of the provincial city. The author puts all officials before one fact and reveals all the "sins" and crimes of each: arbitrariness in the service, lawlessness of the police, idle pastime and much more. All this is organically woven into the general characteristics of the city of NN. and also emphasizes its collectivity. After all, all these vices were characteristic of contemporary Gogol's Russia. In "Dead Souls" the writer recreated the real picture of Russian life in the 30s and 40s of the 19th century, and this is his greatest merit.
In N. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" a panorama of Russia of the 30s of the 19th century is revealed to the reader, because the writer's intention was to "show at least from one side, but all of Rus'." It is this global idea that explains the genre originality of the work: the genre of the poem allows you to combine both epic and lyrical beginnings in one text, that is, the author's voice, his position, his pain are very strong in Dead Souls, and the poem also implies a wider coverage of the events depicted . One of the tasks of the work is to characterize all social strata of society, which is why the poem includes the landlords, the provincial nobility, the bureaucracy, the metropolitan society, and the peasants.
The work begins with a description of the provincial town NN, a typical Russian town of that time (it is no coincidence that the town does not have a specific name, because any other may take its place).
First, the reader gets acquainted with the inhabitants of the city - two peasants who are discussing the cart that has entered the gate with Chichikov sitting in it. Their conversation is very colorful: the peasants wonder if the wheel of the chaise will reach Moscow first, and then Kazan. Gogol, on the one hand, ironically draws his characters: two idle peasants solve a completely useless problem; on the other hand, the reader is already ready for the perception of "dead souls", which later will turn out to be both officials of a provincial city and landowners. Against their background, the peasants are the only "living souls", distinguished by their lively mind, curiosity, thirst for life, and interest in it.
The reader gets a second impression of the provincial city when he gets acquainted with the hotel where Chichikov stays. The author emphasizes in every possible way the fact that the hotel is no different from similar establishments in other cities: it is long, two stories high, the top of which is painted with “eternal yellow paint”, and there are shops in the bottom; "dead" rooms with cockroaches and doors lined with chests of drawers. The author does not hide his irony in relation to the life of a provincial town, for example, he compares the face of a sbitennik with his own samovar, emphasizing that the difference between them is only in the beard.
To characterize the city, the reaction of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov is important, who, having rested, went to inspect the surrounding area. The hero was satisfied, because "the city was in no way inferior to other provincial cities." The wretchedness and gloom of the Russian provinces is striking: yellow and gray paint, a wide street with randomly located houses on it, endless wooden fences, shabby shops, the absurdity of which Gogol emphasizes with an inscription on one of them: "Foreigner Vasily Fedorov"; drinking establishments were most often encountered, which indicates the main hobby of the city's residents. The writer draws attention to the condition of the pavement, since roads are, in a sense, the face of the city. The city garden, which, according to newspaper reports, was supposed to be “shady, broad-branched trees that give coolness on a hot day,” actually consisted of thin twigs, and this fact testifies, firstly, to the activities of city rulers, and in - secondly, about the venality and hypocrisy of the city press.
Thus, without getting acquainted with the city authorities, the reader gets an idea about them and their activities "for the good of the city." When Gogol presents a gallery of local officials, whom (without exception) Chichikov visits to pay his respects, they are first of all characterized by the fact that Pavel Ivanovich is treated kindly by everyone and accepted as one of his own, he is immediately invited to a house party, some to lunch, some for Boston, some for a cup of tea.
Naturally, the hallmark of the city is its governor, whose belonging to the class "neither fat nor thin" gives him a kind of right to power. Usually, when introducing a person, they try to point out his best qualities, and if this is a person on whom the fate of a city or country depends, then it is necessary to determine his business qualities. The distinctive feature of the governor was that he had Anna around his neck. Sneering at him, Gogol emphasizes that, despite Anna, the governor was kind and even embroidered on tulle. It is unlikely that all this can be useful for the head of the city, as well as for a huge number of other city officials: vice-governor, prosecutor, chairman of the chamber, police chief, farmer, head of state-owned factories, and so on (all, the author hints, it is impossible to remember) .
It is significant that the "powerful of this world" do not even have names, because the most important thing that is valued in this society is rank, and only this criterion is important for evaluating Gogol's officials. In addition, the author makes it clear to the reader that in the place of the city NN there can be any other provincial city and there will be the same set of "performing service" people. The ladies of the city do not have names either, because for them the main thing is appearance, so one will be considered “a lady just pleasant”, the other - “a lady pleasant in all respects”. Describing them, Gogol claims that they "were what they call presentable", thereby emphasizing that compliance with conventions, following etiquette are the meaning of life for this circle of people.
The climactic scene of the episode is the scene of the governor's ball. Gogol very subtly chooses artistic means to describe the local society. The most convex is the comparison of the audience present with black flies on the "white shining refined sugar during the hot July summer..." , then fly away again, then fly again. That is, their movement is completely meaningless, chaotic, and the fly people themselves do not cause any positive emotions.
In addition, Gogol gives a certain classification of the men present at the ball, thereby showing that we are not faced with individuals, but only human types, and their typicality is determined primarily by external factors, and these factors “work” not only in the provincial town of NN , but also "everywhere". Men were divided into thin, fat, and also not too fat, but not thin either, and the fate of each turned out to be predetermined precisely by which group he belonged to. The faces are also extremely colorful: the fat ones are full and round, with warts, pockmarked; hair either cut low or slicked down; facial features are rounded and strong; Naturally, these are honorary officials of the city and they know how to "handle their own business." Among the thin, courting ladies and dancing are considered the most important activities at the ball, and among the thick ones, cards, which officials indulge in with all seriousness: “All conversations have completely stopped, as always happens when they finally indulge in a sensible occupation.”
Thus, a provincial town is, as it were, a cross-section of the life of Russia as a whole, with its structure, political and social, with its vices and shortcomings, with its bureaucratic apparatus, unusually numerous and equally bankrupt, with its grayness and lack of education, eternal drunkenness, idleness. and so on. Getting acquainted with Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov with the provincial city of NN, the reader comprehends the originality of Russian life in the thirties of the nineteenth century and plunges into the position of the author, shares his pain and his hope for the future of Russia.
Review. The writing is distinguished by literacy and thoughtfulness. The author is fluent in the text of Gogol's poem and skillfully uses it to prove his thoughts. From the work it becomes clear that the author understood Gogol's position and realized that the image of a provincial town is a significant page in the characterization of all of Russia.
“All Rus' will appear in it,” N.V. Gogol himself wrote about his work. Sending his hero on a journey through Russia, the author seeks to show everything that is characteristic of the Russian national character, everything that forms the basis of Russian life, the history and modernity of Russia, tries to look into the future ... From the height of his ideas about the ideal, the author judges “everything terrible, amazing mud of little things that have entangled our lives.
The insightful look of N.V. Gogol explores the life of Russian landowners, peasants, the state of people's souls. He does not bypass his attention and the Russian city.
In one of the manuscripts relating to the sketches of the poem, N.V. Gogol writes: “The idea of the city. Emptiness that has arisen to the highest degree. Empty talk. Gossip that has crossed the limits, how it all arose from idleness and took on the expression of the ridiculous in the highest degree. And then - a tragic look at this idea: “How the emptiness and powerless idleness of life are replaced by a muddy, meaningless death. How senseless this terrible event is… Death strikes the unmoving world.” Let's see what embodiment this original idea of Gogol received.
As in The Inspector General, in Dead Souls N.V. Gogol draws a generalized picture of the Russian city, the administrative and bureaucratic center in general. And therefore, as always, the writer shows us the city through the image of officials.
The governor, a rather significant figure in tsarist Russia, embroiders charmingly on tulle, and this is his main advantage. The chief of police enters the shops as if he were at home, but, as the merchants say, "but he certainly won't give you away." The prosecutor, according to Sobakevich, is an idle person ... the lawyer Zolotukha does everything for him. The ability of the official of the serf expedition Ivan Antonovich, the pitcher snout, to take bribes has become a proverb. Gogol always believed in the high purpose of the state, and therefore the complete disregard of officials for their duties is especially terrible for him.
A position for them is only a means of acquiring ranks, an opportunity to live an idle, carefree life. The entire administrative system in the city is arranged in such a way that it is easier for officials to take bribes, rob the treasury and have fun. All officials are interconnected, and therefore will not betray each other. It is no coincidence that in the drafts of the poem, Sobakevich gives the following description of the city: "The whole city is a robber's den."
But not only administrative relations in the city in themselves are of interest to N.V. Gogol. As in the landowner, the writer tries to find a soul in the officials of the provincial city - and does not find it. It is no coincidence that N. V. Gogol, thinking about what constitutes the main features of the city, emphasizes: an untouched world. In Gogol's philosophy, movement is one of the main categories. Everything immovable is not only dead in its essence, but also incapable of rebirth.
The key episode that reveals the essence of life in the city is the death of the prosecutor. On the one hand, it is comic in nature, but on the other, perhaps, it is more than tragic. There are two reasons for this. The first is that, according to N.V. Gogol, “... the appearance of death was just as scary in a small person as it is scary in a great person.” The second is connected with the general Gogol concept of man.
“Here, prosecutor! lived, lived, and then died! and now they will print in the newspapers that he died, to the regret of his subordinates and all the people
The theme of Russia and its future has always worried writers and poets. Many of them tried to predict the fate of Russia and explain the situation in the country. So N.V. Gogol reflected in his works the most important features of the era, contemporary to the writer, ...
Unlike Nozdryov, Sobakevich cannot be counted as people hovering in the clouds. This hero stands firmly on the ground, does not entertain illusions, soberly evaluates people and life, knows how to act and achieve what he wants. With the character of his life, Gogol is in everything ...
Gogol, according to V. G. Belinsky, "was the first to look boldly and directly at Russian reality." The writer's satire was directed against the "general order of things", and not against individuals, bad executors of the law. Predatory money-grubber Chichikov, landowners...
N.V. Gogol is one of the greatest figures in Russian classical literature. The pinnacle of the writer's work is the poem "Dead Souls" one of the outstanding works of world literature, according to Belinsky, "creation, ...
The work of N. V. Gogol “Dead Souls”, according to Herzen, is “an amazing book, a bitter reproach of modern Rus', but not hopeless.” Being a poem, it was intended to sing of Rus' in its deep folk foundations. But nevertheless, satirical accusatory pictures of the reality contemporary to the author prevail in it.
As in the comedy The Inspector General, in Dead Souls Gogol uses a typification technique. The action of the poem takes place in the provincial town of NN. which is a collective image. The author notes that "it was in no way inferior to other provincial cities." This makes it possible to reproduce a complete picture of the mores of the whole country. The protagonist of the poem, Chichikov, draws attention to the typical “houses of one, two and one and a half floors, with an eternal mezzanine”, to “signboards almost washed away by rain”, to the most common inscription “Drinking House”.
At first glance, it seems that the atmosphere of city life is somewhat different from the sleepy, serene and frozen spirit of landlord life. Constant balls, dinners, breakfasts, snacks, and even trips to public places create an image full of energy and passion, vanity and trouble. But upon closer examination, it turns out that all this is illusory, meaningless, unnecessary, that the representatives of the top of urban society are faceless, spiritually dead, and their existence is aimless. The “visiting card” of the city is the vulgar dandy that Chichikov met at the entrance to the city: “... I met a young man in white canine trousers, very narrow and short, in a tailcoat with attempts on fashion, from under which a shirt-front was visible, buttoned with a Tula a pin with a bronze pistol." This random character is the personification of the tastes of the provincial society.
The life of the city depends entirely on numerous officials. The author paints an expressive portrait of the administrative power in Russia. As if emphasizing the uselessness and facelessness of city officials, he gives them very brief characteristics. It is said about the governor that he “was neither fat nor thin, had Anna around his neck ...; however, he was a great kind man and even embroidered tulle himself. It is known about the prosecutor that he was the owner of "very black thick eyebrows and a somewhat winking left eye." It is noted about the postmaster that he was a "short" man, but "a wit and a philosopher."
All officials have a low level of education. Gogol ironically calls them “more or less enlightened people,” because “some have read Karamzin, some have read Moskovskiye Vedomosti, some have even read nothing at all...” Such are the provincial landowners. The two are closely related to each other. The author shows in his reflections on the “thick and thin”, how statesmen gradually, “having earned universal respect, leave the service ... and become glorious landowners, glorious Russian bars, hospitable people, and live and live well.” This digression is an evil satire on robber officials and on the "hospitable" Russian bars, leading an idle existence, aimlessly smoking the sky.
Officials are a kind of arbiters of the destinies of the inhabitants of the provincial city. The solution to any, even a small issue, depends on them. Not a single case was considered without bribes. Bribery, embezzlement and robbery of the population are constant and widespread phenomena. The police chief had only to blink, passing by the fish row, as “beluga, sturgeon, salmon, pressed caviar, freshly salted caviar, herring, stellate sturgeon, cheeses, smoked tongues and balyks appeared on his table - it was all from the side of the fish row.”
“Servants of the people" are truly unanimous in their desire to live widely at the expense of the sums of "the Fatherland dearly loved by them." They are equally irresponsible in their direct duties. This is especially clearly shown when Chichikov draws up bills of sale for serfs. As witnesses, Sobakevich proposes to invite the prosecutor, who, “for sure, is sitting at home, since the lawyer Zolotukha, the first grabber in the world, does everything for him,” and the inspector of the medical board, as well as Trukhachevsky and Belushkin. According to the apt remark of Sobakevich, “they all burden the earth for nothing!” In addition, the author's remark is characteristic that the chairman, at the request of Chichikov, "could extend and shorten ... presence, like the ancient Zeus."
The central place in the characterization of the bureaucratic world is occupied by the episode of the death of the prosecutor. In just a few lines, Gogol managed to express the emptiness of the lives of these people. No one knows why the prosecutor lived and why he died, because he does not understand why he himself lives, what his purpose is.
When describing the life of the provincial town, the author pays special attention to the women's party. First of all, these are the wives of officials. They are just as impersonal as their husbands. Chichikov notices not people at the ball, but a huge number of luxurious dresses, ribbons, feathers. The author pays tribute to the taste of the provincial ladies: “This is not a province, this is the capital, this is Paris itself!”, But at the same time he exposes their imitative essence, noticing in places “a cap not seen by the earth” or “almost a peacock feather”. “But it’s impossible without this, such is the property of a provincial city: somewhere it will certainly break off.” A noble feature of the provincial ladies is their ability to express themselves with "extraordinary caution and decency." Their speech is elegant and ornate. As Gogol notes, “in order to further ennoble the Russian language, almost half of the words were completely thrown out of the conversation.”
The life of bureaucrats' wives is idle, but they themselves are active, so gossip spreads around the city with amazing speed and takes on a terrifying appearance. Because of the ladies' talk, Chichikov was recognized as a millionaire. But as soon as he stopped honoring women's society with attention, absorbed in the contemplation of the governor's daughter, the hero was also credited with the idea of stealing the object of contemplation and many other terrible crimes.
The ladies of the city have a huge influence on their official husbands and not only make them believe in incredible gossip, but are also able to set them against each other. “Duels, of course, did not take place between them, because they were all civil officials, but on the other hand, one tried to harm the other where possible ...”
All Gogol's heroes dream of achieving a certain ideal of life, which for the majority of representatives of the provincial society is seen in the image of the capital, brilliant St. Petersburg. Creating a collective image of the Russian city of the 30-40s of the XIX century, the author combines the features of the province and the characteristic features of metropolitan life. So, the mention of St. Petersburg is found in every chapter of the poem. Very clearly, without embellishment, this image was indicated in The Tale of Captain Kopeikin. Gogol remarks with astonishing frankness that it is absolutely impossible for a small man like Captain Kopeikin to live in this city, dignified, prim, immersed in luxury. The writer speaks in “The Tale ...” about the cold indifference of the powerful of this world to the troubles of the unfortunate invalid, a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812. Thus, in the poem, the theme of the opposition of state interests and the interests of the common man arises.
Gogol is sincerely indignant at the social injustice prevailing in Russia, dressing his indignation in satirical forms. In the poem, he uses the "situation of delusion". This helps him to reveal certain aspects of the life of the provincial city. The author puts all officials before one fact and reveals all the "sins" and crimes of each: arbitrariness in the service, lawlessness of the police, idle pastime and much more. All this is organically woven into the general characteristics of the city of NN. and also emphasizes its collectivity. After all, all these vices were characteristic of contemporary Gogol's Russia. In "Dead Souls" the writer recreated the real picture of Russian life in the 30s and 40s of the 19th century, and this is his greatest merit.
Compositionally, the poem "Dead Souls" consists of three externally closed, but internally interconnected circles. landowners, the city, Chichikov's biography, united by the image of the road, plot-related by the main character's scam.
But the middle link - the life of the city - itself consists, as it were, of narrowing circles, gravitating towards the center; this is a graphic representation of the provincial hierarchy. Interestingly, in this hierarchical pyramid, the governor, embroidering on tulle, looks like a puppet figure. True life is in full swing in the civil chamber, in the "Temple of Themis". And this is natural for administrative-bureaucratic Russia. Therefore, the episode of Chichikov's visit to the chamber becomes central, the most significant in the theme of the city.
The description of presence is the apotheosis of Gogol's irony. The author recreates the true sanctuary of the Russian Empire in all its ridiculous, ugly form, reveals all the power and at the same time the weakness of the bureaucratic machine. Gogol's mockery is merciless: before us is a temple of bribery, his only "living nerve."
In this alleged temple, in this citadel of depravity, the image of Hell is being revived - though vulgarized, comic - but truly Russian Hell. A kind of Virgil also arises - he turns out to be a “petty demon” - a chamber official who “served our friends, as Virgil once served Dante, and led them into the presence room, where there were only wide chairs and in them in front of a table, behind a mirror and two thick books sat alone, like the sun, the chairman. In this place, Virgil felt such reverence that he did not dare to put his foot there ... ”How brilliant Gogol's irony! How incomparable is the chairman - the "sun" of the Civil Chamber! How inimitably comical is this wretched Paradise, before which the collegiate registrar is seized with awe! And the funniest - as well as the most tragic, terrible! - the fact that the newly-minted Virgil truly honors the chairman with the sun, his office with Paradise, his guests with holy angels ...
How small, how utterly desolate are souls in such a world! How pathetic and insignificant are their ideas about the fundamental concepts for a Christian - Paradise, Hell, soul!
What is considered a soul is best shown in the episode of the prosecutor’s death: after all, the people around guessed that “the deceased had, for sure, a soul” only when he died and became “one, only a soulless body.” For them, the soul is a physiological concept! And this is a spiritual disaster.
In contrast to the quiet, measured life of the landowners, where time seems to be frozen, the life of the city is in full swing, bubbling. But this life is illusory, it is not activity, but empty vanity. What stirred up the city, made everything move in it? Gossip about Chichikov. All this is funny and terrible at the same time.” Empty talk, which develops into spiritual emptiness, is the main idea of Gogol's city.
The contrast between fussy external activity and internal ossification is striking. The life of the city is dead and meaningless, like the whole life of this crazy world. The features of alogism in the image of the city are brought to the limit, and the story begins with them. Remember the stupid, meaningless conversation of the peasants, the wheel will roll to Moscow or Kazan, the comical idiocy of the signs "And here is the institution", "Foreigner Ivan Fedorov" ...
In many ways, the image of the provincial city in Dead Souls resembles the image of the city in The Inspector General. But the scale has been enlarged: instead of a town lost in the wilderness, from where “if you ride for three years, you won’t reach any state”, the central city is “not far from both capitals”. Instead of the small fry of the mayor - the governor. But life - empty, illogical, meaningless - is the same: "dead life."
