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“Dead Souls” poem about Russia

One of the first readers of Nikolai Gogol’s poem Dead Souls PF Zaikin described his impressions after reading the work: “Everything that is ugly, vile and vile in Russia, everything has been found out here.” The conversation between the landowners, landlords, lackeys, coachmen with horses and the life of everyone and, in general, whole Russia, that is, of provincial residents, are very correctly characterized: in a word, when I read the poem, it seemed as if I had come out of this vulgar, dreary society. “

We can not but agree with the opinion of PF Zaikin: indeed, the whole Russia is displayed in the poem as it is, and closing the book after reading, one can get out of this vulgar and desolate society, but how can one close the book of life? How can you escape from all these landlords and landlords? Where can you escape from Chichikov, Manilov, nostrils, dog-eaters, boxes, governors, vice-governors, police officers and other brethren?

It must be

remembered that Gogol himself, who painted such a motley picture of the Russian noble society, maintained that each of his characters, with the possible exception of Plyushkin, really is not what he would like to appear. For example, the characteristic of Chichikov: “One can not, however, say that the nature of our hero was so harsh and the callousness and feelings of him were so dulled that he knew neither pity nor compassion, he felt both, he would even I wanted to help, but only not to make it in a considerable amount, so as not to touch already those money that was not supposed to be touched, in a word, my father’s instruction: take care and save a penny – went on for future use. ” Or the characteristic of Manilov: “He was a very visible man, you can not expect any living or even arrogant word from him, which you can hear from almost everything if you touch the object that is picking it up. “These are puppet people, and they are not governed by a higher fair power, but by their own low and vulgar passions.” However, Gogol himself sees his characters in a slightly different aspect.

, – the author says, – who studies both positive and negative characters in order to avoid their own mistakes. “Even in the greatest man, a huge terrible worm,” self-powerfully turning to itself all the vital juices, “can suddenly spring up.” This worm is human with trespasses and passions: “more than once, not only a wide passion, but an insignificant passion for something small grew in the one born to better deeds, made him forget the great and holy duties and see the great and holy in trifling trinkets.” Passion can be the most beautiful, and then the one who has chosen it is blessed. Passion can be insignificant and vile, but even in this there is a manifestation of a higher power. And the most beautiful passion, and low, insignificant – “they are equally caused for a man that is not known to man.” These arguments help us to understand not only the contradictoriness of Gogol’s heroes, but also of Russian society as a whole.

It is hard to imagine that the writer, having set himself a difficult task of portraying all of Rus (“All Russia will appear in it”), tried to force readers to hate the atmosphere of their common home. The task of laughter and satire is different – ridicule to laugh and cure. You can not remain silent and hold back.

The author turns to patriots who believed that the negative phenomena of social life should be hushed up. In metaphorical form, the author reflects his vision of the role of a writer, telling a parable about the life of Kifa Mokievich and his native son, the hero Mokiy Kifovich. Kifa Mokievich fought his whole life over the difficult task: why is the beast born naked, and not hatch like a bird from an egg. At the same time, his “playful” bogatyr son unfurled his “broad-shouldered nature.” Everyone ran away, scarcely seeing him, because “even his own bed in the bedroom broke it into pieces.” And when the victims applied for protection to the abuser’s father, he agreed with the “playfulness” of the son, but he did not hurry to punish him, explaining that he was already quite a respectable age of the boy. “If he remains a dog,

What does the author of patriots accuse? Of course, it’s not that they are in favor of strengthening the authority of Rus throughout the world, but that they are afraid of a “deep-eyed gaze” and like to “glide over all unthinking eyes.”

There is one more question: is the negative image compatible with the hope for the future or not? After all, at the end of the book, a sneer sounds: Rus, where are you rushing to? You do not know, you do not give an answer. In this regard, we draw attention to the fact that a very important element in the development of the plot in the poem is the road. Indeed, the road is an important element of the movement, but not geographic (from one object to another, from one landowner to another), but historical – from the unreasonable Russia of “dead souls” to the great, free Russia that is coming. The ordinary britzka, in which the gentlemen of the average hand drive – bachelors, undergoes a wonderful transformation that reflects the inner core of the brilliant poem: the inevitability of the coming victory of true, real Russia. The author and her lyrical hero sought it from the first lines of the poem. He saw her, poor, he heard her song,

What did Russia expect from its brilliant writer? He replies: “Who, if not the author, should say the holy truth?” is the truth about the world of “dead souls”. You can refer to the concept of “catharsis”, related to the ancient Greek tragedy, introduced by Aristotle. Catharsis is the purification of the soul by compassion and fear. The author is a lyrical hero whose soul has endured suffering, for it was forced to plunge into the lowly trash of trifles, look at the bottom of vulgar characters, cleanse from dirt and platality with a vision of the future of Rus. Herzen wrote in one of the first diary responses to the poem that “where the sight can penetrate the fog of impure, dung evaporation, there he sees a remote, full-strength nationality” and that from this “the blood somehow turns well in the Russian chest “. However, there are no encouraging prospects that do not abolish the existing one, no look at the future “does not prevent the present from being reflected in all the abominable reality.” So, the poem “Dead Souls” is the truth about Russia, its “abominable reality”, the tragedy of its history and people.

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“Dead Souls” poem about Russia

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