essay on literature

"The Inspector General" is one of best works N.V. Gogol. Speaking about the idea of ​​the comedy, the author stated that in it he decided
This is exactly how the city N came into being, to which the auditor comes. His arrival is a complete surprise for all officials, since each of them has something to hide from the government inspector.
The main official in the city is, of course, the mayor. This is not a stupid person, “already old in the service”, therefore he knows all the intricacies of bureaucratic behavior, cunning, rude and, most importantly, a bribe-taker. For him, the worst thing is denunciation:

To find out if there was any complaint against him, the mayor asks the postmaster Shpekin to open every letter that comes to the city.
The mayor considers himself the rightful owner of the city, enjoys his position and is very afraid of losing his position, therefore he categorically forbids showing petitioners and those wishing to complain about harassment from the head of the city to the imaginary auditor. The habit of taking and giving bribes is so ingrained in his mind that he confidently declares:

IN to the fullest The mayor showed himself in the last scene of the comedy, when it turns out that Khlestakov is not an auditor at all. The hero screams, calls himself an old fool, does not understand how he, who managed to deceive more than one merchant and governor, was deceived by some scoundrel from St. Petersburg. But in order to relieve himself of the blame for such a miscalculation, he, following the rest of the officials, lashes out at Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky.
All charitable institutions of the city are under the leadership of Artemy Filippovich Strawberry. But this man’s only last name turned out to be sweet. This official is stupid, greedy and cowardly. But, like the mayor, he understands the intricacies of the state “service” very well, because it is Strawberry who proposes, under a “plausible pretext,” to give Khlestakov money and teaches how to do it “correctly.” The hero himself takes bribes and does not hide it: for example, he directly tells Lyapkin-Tyapkin that the sick are prescribed to be fed with oatmeal soup, and his hospitals only smell like cabbage. The official does not care at all that people in his establishments die all the time (“They recover like flies,” he says, without embarrassment, to Khlestakov). He lives with the firm conviction that if it is desired, a person will recover, and if not, then he will die anyway. At the same time, Strawberry is a vile person. Thus, when meeting with an imaginary auditor, in a conversation about local officials, he speaks about the caretaker educational institutions as a freethinker and offers to write a denunciation against him.
The name of the private bailiff Stepan Ilyich Ukhovertov, as well as the policeman of Derzhimorda, is quite telling. Only by the names of these characters can one already judge what methods they prefer to use in their service.
The name of Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin also speaks quite eloquently about him. Litigation and documents are a dark matter for him. Ammos Fedorovich directly states that if any auditor looks at the papers, he will not understand anything in them, since he has been in this position for so many years, and still does not understand everything. Lyapkin-Tyapkin, like all city officials, is a bribe-taker. But, being a lover of hound hunting, he takes bribes with greyhound puppies, and therefore does not consider this a bribe.
Postmaster Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin is a very stupid and naive person. He calls his position “a pleasant pastime.” This character, without a twinge of conscience, opens letters from townspeople and collects the most interesting ones. Therefore, Gogol depicts his embarrassment with great irony when the mayor invites him to read the letters in order to find the report, as well as at the moment when Shpekin brings Khlestakov’s revealing letter.
Thus, the differences between officials are negligible. They all take bribes without considering it a crime, they are all indifferent to their job responsibilities, are rude to subordinates, ingratiate themselves with those of higher rank. They all consider themselves the masters of the city, who can decide its fate and the fate of its inhabitants at their own discretion.
In his comedy N.V. Gogol paints a picture of the degradation of Russian bureaucracy. With amazing subtlety and skill, the author was able to depict each image, which, without losing its individual originality, at the same time represented a typical phenomenon of that era.

Satirical image officials in Gogol's works

In the comedy “The Inspector General” and in the poem “ Dead Souls"Gogol addressed important social topics. In them we're talking about about the life of entire classes - district officials, local nobility. In the author’s field of vision is “all of Rus'”. The places where the events take place are generalized and typified: neither the town where “The Inspector General” operates (“from here, even if you jump for three years, you won’t reach any state”), nor the provincial town N, where Chichikov arrived, are defined in any way. The meaning and entire focus of Gogol’s comedy force us to recognize the entire group of officials with the mayor at the head as the main character of “The Inspector General.”)

The plot of the comedy “The Inspector General” is simple. Gogol himself said: “In The Inspector General, I decided to collect in one pile everything bad in Russia that I knew... and laugh at everything at once.” The comedy depicts the philistine existence of county town officials, bribe-takers, embezzlers, careerists and slackers. Mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky is resourceful, intelligent, rude, having earned his way through long hard service, accustomed to grabbing everything that floats into his hands, i.e., a bribe-taker and grabber, who in a moment of malicious frankness admitted that not a single merchant, not a single contractor could deceive him, that he himself was a swindler on swindlers, deceived swindlers and rogues, “such that the whole world is ready to rob, he tricked the whole world”, that he deceived three governors, when did he believe that he had become a “high-flying bird” and could , perhaps, “to become a general,” he is already openly dreaming of a general’s red ribbon over his shoulder and how he will feast on vendace and smelt in St. Petersburg.

Other officials are no less expressive in their vulgarity. Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin, who, although called upon to serve justice, does not look into court cases. He is a hound enthusiast who takes bribes with greyhound puppies. He is considered a “freethinker” in the city, as he has read 5-6 books.

The trustee of charitable institutions, Strawberry, a helpful and fussy weasel, an informer and a rogue, reasons as follows: “A simple man, if he dies, then he will die anyway, if he recovers, then he will recover anyway.” And in the hospitals he runs, they don’t use drugs; the patients there are like blacksmiths. With such a Strawberry, a German doctor is possible who did not understand anything in Russian, but regularly killed people. But the same Strawberry gives Khlestakov a brilliant breakfast in a charitable institution, so (...) and the use of the amounts spent on medicine.

The school superintendent, Khlopov, who lives in constant fear of any reprimands, understands nothing about teaching and always complains about the burden of “serving in the teaching department.”

The simple-mindedly naive postmaster Shpekin is engaged in the most learned reading of opened letters at his post office in order to find out what is new in the world. All officials are the mayor's closest assistants. It is no coincidence that in the very first act Anton Antonovich says: “Well, everyone here is our own.” At the bottom rung of the administrative ladder are the police: Svistunov, the thief silver spoons and taking bribes inappropriately. Derzhimorda, giving free rein to his fists and for the sake of order, “putting lights under everyone’s eyes - both the right and the wrong.”

And suddenly this whole swamp was alarmed by the news of the arrival of the auditor. The city administration (city fathers) fearfully mistakes a petty St. Petersburg official, the “icicle” Khlestakov, who is passing through a city hotel, for an auditor. The shameless braggart Khlestakov plays the role and instills fear in the officials with his chatter. He takes a “loan” from the mayor and promises to buy

to remove him from office, declares his love to the mayor's wife and proposes to his daughter. Khlestakov is a hero of modern times, a “metropolitan thing”, a representative of the clerical sphere. According to Gogol himself, Khlestakov “is one of those people who are called empty in the offices.” Dad sent him to serve in the hope of “fortune.” Khlestakov is captivated by metropolitan life and “plucks flowers of pleasure” wherever and however he can - this is his life rule. “Khlestakov,” says Gogol, “doesn’t cheat at all, he himself forgets that he’s lying. He does not take bribes from officials, but loans from good people" Leaving after good reception, he doesn't think he did anything dishonest. A funny thing just happened to him.

The poem “Dead Souls,” dedicated to the local nobility, also depicts bureaucracy. It rose in rank - from a district to a provincial one. Images of officials are given in general close up. The governor - a “secular” man, amiable and charming - was neither fat nor thin, had Anna on his neck, and it was even rumored that he was introduced to a star, however, he was a great good-natured person and even “sometimes embroidered on tulle himself.” This is an important official, the first in the province.

The poem also depicts a representative of the high society of St. Petersburg (in “The Tale of Captain Kopeikin”). This is the general-in-chief who offers the wounded officer who defended Russia in Patriotic War 1812, a disabled person without an arm and without a leg, wait for an answer to his petition. When the unfortunate cripple decisively demanded at least some help, the soulless official ordered him to be expelled from the capital.

The police chief, “the father and benefactor of the city,” must strictly and unswervingly monitor how the laws are implemented, bring to justice those who violate them, but when visiting the Gostiny Dvor, he feels here as if in his own storeroom. “Even though he will take it,” the merchants say, “he will certainly not give you away.” In other words, a bribe will cover up a crime. By this he acquired love and “perfect nationality.” Gogol tells the story in such a way that the word “nationality” takes on the opposite meaning: the actions and actions of a representative of power are criminal, anti-people.

Here is the wit and “philosopher* postmaster, who so unsuccessfully suggested that Chichikov is Captain Kopeikin. Here is a frightened prosecutor, afraid of his wife. Registration of a deed of sale is a typical episode in the daily activities of officials. At the moment of registration of the deed of sale, we meet with the subtle official Ivan Antonovich - “jug snout*. The author talks about the ability of officials to turn into an eagle or a fly. At his desk, Ivan Antonovich is an eagle, and in his boss’s office he is a fly. This is a bribe-taker, a bureaucrat, a clever lawyer for all sorts of illegal cases. Even Chichikov gave him a bribe, although he was a friend of his boss.

The emptiness and idleness of provincial society are shown in the conversation between a simply pleasant lady and a lady who is pleasant in all respects.

City officials are bound by mutual responsibility for bribery, robbery, and deception. Subservience to significant officials deprived them of the opportunity to recognize a fraudster in Chichikov. They could not find out: “whether he is the kind of person who can be detained and captured as ill-intentioned, or whether he is the kind of person who can himself seize and detain them all as ill-intentioned.” Civic duty public interest these officials are alien. At the governor's ball, young and elderly officials are shown rushing in heaps across the parquet floor, like flies scampering on white shining refined sugar during the hot July summer. Bribes, theft, veneration, mutual responsibility - all these are not random phenomena. Gogol says that officials are cruel and inhuman. By satirically depicting provincial officials, the author attacks the bureaucratic apparatus of the entire autocratic-serf state and makes it clear that these “guardians of order and legality” are the same dead souls as the landowners. According to Herzen, “with laughter on his lips, he (Gogol) without pity penetrates into the innermost folds of the unclean, evil bureaucratic soul. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” and his poem “Dead Souls” represent a terrible confession of modern Russia.”

Lesson topic: “Comedy"Inspector": Russian bureaucracy in the satirical depiction of N.V. Gogol"

Lesson epigraphs:

Yu. Mann

Khlestakov owns main role in action.

All other people turn around him,

like planets near the sun.

Y. Mann.

Goals:

1. Educational : work on artistic features plays; fear of the auditor as the basis of comedic action.
2. Developmental: development of analytical skills of students.
3. Educating: formation of positive moral orientations.

Methodical techniques: reading individual episodes of a comedy, analytical conversation, presentation, analysis of artists’ drawings for the play, literary dictation.

Equipment: presentation “The Inspector General”, drawings for the comedy, a plate with Khlestakov’s characteristics.

Lesson progress:

Org moment.

Teacher:

Which are we studying his work?

In the last lesson, we began your acquaintance with the text. Read the 1st epigraph to the lesson. How do you understand the words of modern literary critic Yuri Mann? Read the 2nd epigraph to the lesson.Who are these planets? (officials)During the lesson we will analyze the meaning of this epigraph, we will refer to these statements and not only these.(Hence our topic of the lesson: write it down and the epigraphs)

1. Examination homework (knowledge of the text). Test. Demonstration of presentation with questions:

- Determine what type of literature the comedy “The Inspector General” belongs to.

(drama, because the characters are characterized only by speech);

- compare the characters and their characteristics:

Answers:

1. 1. 1
2. 2. 6
3. 3. 4
4. 4. 2
5. 5. 7
6. 6. 3
7. 7. 5

Literary dictation: p.18

1. “I seemed to have a presentiment: today I dreamed all night about two unusual rats. Really, I’ve never seen anything like this: black, of unnatural size! They came, they smelled it, and they left.”(Governor , Anton Antonovich)

2. “...I’m so hungry and there’s a chattering in my stomach as if a whole regiment had blown its trumpets. We won’t get there, and that’s all, home! ... he squandered his expensive money, my dear, now he’s sitting there with his tail twisted...”(Osip)

3. “Why not? I saw it myself, walking past the kitchen, there was a lot of cooking going on there. And in the dining room this morning, two short men were eating salmon and a lot of other things.”(Khlestakov)

4. “Fi, mama, blue!” I don’t like it at all: Lyapkina-Tyapkina wears this, and Zemlyanikin’s daughter also wears blue. No, I’d rather wear a colored one.” (Mayor's daughter, Marya Antonovna)

5. “Yes, for you... nothing is ready yet. You will not eat a simple dish, but when your master sits down at the table, they will give you the same dish.”(Inn servant)

6. (entering and stopping, to himself). “God, God! Bring it out safely; and so he breaks his knees. (Aloud, stretched out and holding the sword with his hand.) I have the honor to introduce myself: judge of the local district court, collegiate assessor...” (Ammos FedorovichLyapkin-Tyapkin, judge)

7. “It may very well be. (After a pause.) I can say that I do not regret anything and perform my service zealously. (Moves closer with his chair and speaks in a low voice.) The local postmaster does nothing at all: everything is in great disrepair, parcels are delayed... The judge, too... keeps dogs in public places and behaves... in the most reprehensible way.” (Artemy FilippovichStrawberry, trustee of charitable institutions)

8. “(hits himself on the forehead). How am I - no, how am I, old fool? Survived, you stupid sheep, out of your mind!.. I’ve been in the service for thirty years... I’ve deceived swindlers after swindlers... I’ve deceived three governors!...”(Governor)

9. “Of course. They came running like crazy from the tavern: “He’s here, he’s here and he doesn’t spend any money... We found an important bird!” (Luka LukicKhlopov, superintendent of schools)

10. “An official who arrived by personal order from St. Petersburg demands you to come to him this very hour. He was staying at a hotel."(Gendarme)

2 . Analysis of 4 action comedy.: (Address to the 2nd epigraph)

Khlestakov plays the main role in the action. All other faces revolve around him, like planets around the sun.

Y. Mann.

“The Inspector General is a whole sea of ​​fear.” Y. Mann

What are the planets that revolve around the sun?The planet is characterized by its name.Let's look at the names of the characters: the author himself gave the following recommendations to the artists who played roles in The Inspector General:

We can say that the interests of the majority others Are the heroes directed specifically towards Khlestakov? (Prokhorov - drunk, p. 33; quarterly - with a report to the mayor, p. 33; private bailiff - reports on violations in the city)(they don’t care about the auditor, they are very small planets for him) phenomenon V p. 35) How does this characterize the mayor, his work, i.e. state of affairs in the city)

Khlestakov got scared (p. 46)

Let us now turn to Khlestakov, whom Mann compares to the sun: (Appearance V p. 43)How does this monologue fuck with Khlestakov?

Let's move on to the analysis of Act 4 and analyze the scenes where officials gather in the proud man's house. Page 71

PHYSMINUTE

With what intentions did they gather at the mayor’s house the next day? (Seeking best shape submissions to the “auditor” and strive to find best way bribe a distinguished guest)

Vocabulary work.

Give a lexical interpretation of the word"bribe".

(A bribe is money or material assets, given official as a bribe, as payment for actions punishable by law.)

Why do you think Gogol does not use the word “bribe” anywhere, but replaced it with the vernacular?“slip ”, this is what officials say to themselves, but out loud “to lend money”? (to say “bribe” is to admit oneself is guilty, of doing something wrong or not doing it at all. And they, naturally, do not even admit it to themselves.) For example, remember the postmaster: he read the letter, speaks out loud about this, but does not consider it a crime..."

What details indicate that bribes are commonplace?

(They talk about how bribes are given and how they are taken)

Who is the first to offer to “slip”? (Judge) The purpose of these bribes?

(Protect, protect your department from audits)

Phenomenon 3.p. 73 (reading and analysis)

Read the words of Ammos Fedorovich “to the side.” (“And the money is in your fist, and your fist is all on fire”, “like hot coals under you”, “here I am on trial”) How does a judge feel when giving a bribe? (Fear) How does he give a bribe?

Who else gives bribes? (All)

How do they do it? (they enter and address Khlestakov solemnly, worried:Luka Lukic lights a cigarette at the wrong end) It adds comedy pathos

Vocabulary work.

Here the comedy turns into tragedy, that is, the pathos of the comedy changes. Give a lexical interpretation of the word “pathos”.

PATHOS . (Inspiration, excitement, enthusiasm)

- Write the new word in your notebook and remember its meaning.

- And Khlestakov understands why they give him money? (No)

How do Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky behave with Khlestakov? (They give him little money, they are not afraid of him, like others, but one of them has business with Khlestakov)

- Let's turn again to epigraph 2. How do you understand it? Now it’s become clearer to you how planets are - officials revolve around Khlestakov. What can you say about the officials?

Let's write the conclusion in a notebook: “Confusion, fear, and trepidation are common to all officials; each of them gives a bribe in their own way, which is reflected in their speech, actions and remarks.”

Phenomenon 12-14. Page 89

- Is there a love plot in a comedy?? Why do you think so? (his main weaknesses: money, women and lies) He cannot deny himself all this, if there is even the slightest opportunity.

Love is a high feeling, but here it is not. HE fell in love with someone? (No)Khlestakov feels confident when communicating with ladies.

And his explanation with mother and daughter isparody of a love affair.

Notebook: " There is no love plot in a comedy, and there is a parody of a love affair.)

How do officials find out that Khlestakov is not an auditor? page 105

Why don't they want to catch up with him? (They are afraid that others will find out about this and they will become a laughing stock)

Conclusion based on the image of Khlestakov: (Table access)

Are Khlestakov better or worse than officials? (same as them)

3. Drawings for “The Inspector General” and their analysis:

Give a brief description and analysis of what is depicted.

(If you have time: which episode did you like? Why? (The meaning of the silent scene and reading by role of the episodes chosen by the children)

4. Summing up

Look at the epigraphs for the lesson. The expression “sea of ​​fear” is what you think.....(fear of punishment, loss of position).

"...like planets around the sun..."(Khlestakov for them is the sun on which their well-being depends)

What do you think the “new” auditor will be like for them?Are you sure that an honest auditor has arrived? And what happens next? (Perhaps that is what happened, and he will have to give bribes again. Or, he will not take them and then they will lose their places). Both are scary for officials.

Is comedy outdated?

Are the questions that worried Gogol 200 years ago still relevant?

Why is bribery dangerous?

5. Grades for work in class:

(give everyone grades, mark everyone’s work)

6. Homework: 1. The comedy has two endings. This is extremely rare in drama.What does this technique give to the comedy “The Inspector General?”"(written) Use the lesson material, especially the final part.

2. Prepare an expressive reading of any comedy scenes.

In the next lesson, we will talk about unscrupulousness, deceit, adventurism, and indifferent attitude towards the service of officials. Let's read the comedy expressively. And discuss how such officials influence the state of affairs in the state.

The comedy “The Inspector General” by N.V. Gogol is one of the most striking dramatic works of Russian literature of the 19th century century. The author continued the traditions of Russian satirical drama, the foundations of which were laid in the comedies of Fonvizin “The Minor” and Griboyedov “Woe from Wit”.
The comedy “The Inspector General” is a deeply realistic work, which reflects the vices of the landowner-bureaucratic system of Russia in the thirties of the 19th century. An important place in the system of comedy characters is occupied by officials inhabiting the county town. This is a collective, generalized image, derived satirically, because it includes everything negative in political system Russia at that time. In the “Author's Confession,” the writer indicated that he “decided to collect in one pile all the bad things in Russia that he knew then, all the injustices.” Gogol decided to summarize in his planned comedy the most striking vices of contemporary government.
The author of his comedy approved new thought in Russian literature, it is not the performers, but the laws themselves, the entire structure of the existing system, that are to blame for what the work of the great master tells us.
Thus, the Mayor justifies his sins with the words: “I’m not the first, I’m not the last, everyone does this.”
The main place among the officials of the district city is given to the mayor - Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky. Gogol in “Notes for Gentlemen Actors” gave essential characteristics of each of the main characters in the comedy. Thus, the author characterizes Gorodnichy: “Although he is a bribe-taker, he behaves respectably.” This image is revealed more fully in the speech characteristics of the character himself. He is a solid hero and conducts a solid, measured conversation. He is generated by the environment and raised by it. The mayor is the image of all state power in Russia contemporary to Gogol. He knows that he is a sinner, goes to church, thinks that he is firm in his faith, and thinks of repenting someday. But the temptation is great for him not to miss what “floats in his hands.” With the arrival of the auditor, deceiving himself, he hopes to become a general. By endowing the hero with natural weaknesses, the author makes him more humane and thereby elevates him above the other characters in the play. At the moment of epiphany, he throws it in the faces of the officials and into the audience: “I don’t see anything: I see some pig snouts instead of faces, but nothing else...”, “Why are you laughing? You’re laughing at yourself!..”
Judge Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin is no less guilty of bribes. He is busy with himself and his mind, and is an atheist only because in this field there is scope to “prove himself.” He has a great passion for hound hunting. We can judge the character’s cultural level from the author’s remark: “A man who has read five or six books and is therefore somewhat free-thinking.” The collegiate assessor says, “like an ancient clock that first hisses and then strikes.”
The main characters include the court councilor Strawberry. For greater typification, Gogol violates the usual structure of government of a county town. The position of Zemlyanika - trustee of charitable institutions - was only in provincial cities, and not in the district city described by the author. This is a fat man, “but a thin rogue.” He thinks only about how to show himself.
Thus, the superintendent of schools Luka Lukich Khlopov, a titular adviser, “is frightened by frequent inspections and reprimands for unknown reasons,” “very helpful and fussy.” The position of court councilor and postmaster is occupied by Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin. This is a simple-minded person to the point of naivety and stupidity, looking at life as a meeting interesting stories, which he reads in the letters he prints.
Among the officials of the district city, a prominent place is occupied by Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, a petty official from St. Petersburg, who goes to his village at the call of his father. This is a stupid, frivolous college registrar, “about twenty-three years old,” “as they say, without a king in his head.” Words from this mouth young man“take off completely unexpectedly.”
He became a significant person thanks to the general power of fear that gripped the officials before retribution for their sins. He lies masterfully and believes in his own lies, wanting to show off in front of the district officials who complacently listen to him. Gogol himself considered the role of Khlestakov the most difficult in the comedy.
Among the officials of the county town are the minor characters of the comedy. These are honorary citizens, retired officials: Korobkin, Lyulyukov, Rastakovsky.
The number of officials in the “Inspector General” is not limited only to current persons. These also include minor characters. A real auditor from St. Petersburg, an assessor in court, Andrei Ivanovich Chmykhov, Kostroma and Saratov officials complement the portraits of stage characters.
The images of officials satirically depicted in “The Inspector General” are characterized by common, typical features. This is the spirit of nepotism (all officials are bound by mutual responsibility), and bribery (“Look, you are not taking according to your rank”), in relation to which there is strict subordination, and the attitude towards public service as an opportunity to profit at someone else’s expense, and failure to fulfill one’s direct responsibilities. All officials are characterized by idle pastime, ignorance, low cultural level, a sense of fear of their superiors, and a disdainful attitude towards the people. A person's position in society is determined by rank.
When describing the world of bribe takers and embezzlers, Gogol used various means creating images of officials. For example, the author's remarks, speech characteristics of the characters, the actions of the heroes, letters from Andrei Ivanovich Chmykhov, in which the image of the Governor is fully revealed, letters from Khlestakov to Tryapichkin. The names of the characters in the play also contain semantic characteristics: Khlestakov, Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky, Strawberry, Gibner.
In his comedy, Gogol did not bring out a single positive person. The only positive hero of the comedy is laughter, with the help of which the author exposes and ridicules the world of embezzlers, devoid of conscience and any responsibility.
The images of officials presented in N.V. Gogol’s comedy play important role in revealing the author’s ideological and artistic intent. With their help, the playwright denounces not only the bureaucracy of the county town, but also the entire bureaucratic system of Russia.

The plot of the comedy “The Inspector General,” as well as the plot of the immortal poem “Dead Souls,” was suggested to Gogol by A. S. Pushkin. Gogol has long dreamed of writing a comedy about Russia, making fun of the shortcomings of the bureaucratic system, which are so well known to every Russian person. The work on the comedy so fascinated and captured the writer that in a letter to Pogodin he wrote: “I am obsessed with comedy.”

In “The Inspector General,” Gogol skillfully combines “truth” and “anger,” that is, realism and bold, merciless criticism of reality. With the help of laughter and merciless satire, Gogol exposes such vices of Russian reality as veneration, corruption, arbitrariness of the authorities, ignorance and bad education. In “Theatrical Travel” Gogol wrote that in modern drama the action is driven not by love, but by money capital and “electricity rank”. “Electricity rank” and giving rise to a tragicomic situation of general fear of the false inspector.

The comedy presents a whole “corporation of various official thieves and robbers” blissfully existing in the provincial town of N.

When describing the world of bribe takers and embezzlers, Gogol used a number of artistic techniques, which create bright, unforgettable images.

Having opened the very first page of the comedy and learned, for example, that the name of the private bailiff is Ukhovertov, the name of the district doctor is Gibner, we, in general, already have enough full view about these characters and about the author’s attitude towards them. In addition, Gogol gave critical characteristics of each of the main characters. These characteristics help to better understand the essence of each character. Mayor: “Although he is a bribe-taker, he behaves very respectably”; Anna Andreevna: “Raised half on novels and albums, half on chores in her pantry and maid’s room”; Khlestakov: “Without a king in my head. He speaks and acts without any consideration”; Osip: “The servant is like servants who are several years old usually are”; Lyapkin-Tyapkin: “A person who has read five or six books is therefore somewhat freethinking.” Postmaster: “A man who is simple-minded to the point of naivety.”

Bright portrait characteristics are also given in Khlestakov’s letters to his friend in St. Petersburg. So, speaking about Strawberry, Khlestakov calls the trustee of charitable institutions “a complete pig in a yarmulke.”

Main literary device, which N.V. Gogol uses in his comic portrayal of an official, is a hyperbole. As an example of the use of this technique, the author can name Christian Ivanovich Gibner, who is not even able to communicate with his patients due to complete ignorance of the Russian language, and Ammos Fedorovich and the postmaster, who decided that the arrival of the auditor portends the coming war. At first, the plot of the comedy itself is hyperbolic, but as the action develops, starting with the scene of Khlestakov’s story about his life in St. Petersburg, the hyperbole gives way to the grotesque. Officials, blinded by fear for their future and clutching at Khlestakov like a straw, the city merchants and ordinary people are not able to appreciate the entire absurdity of what is happening, and the absurdities are piled one on top of the other: here is the non-commissioned officer who “flogged herself”, and Bobchinsky asking to bring to the information of His Imperial Majesty that “Peter Ivanovich Bobchinsky lives in such and such a city,” etc.

The climax and the denouement immediately following it come sharply, suddenly. Khlestakov’s letter gives such a simple and even banal explanation that at this moment it seems to Gorodnichy, for example, much more implausible than all Khlestakov’s fantasies.

A few words should be said about the image of the Mayor. Apparently, he will have to pay for the sins of his circle as a whole. Of course, he himself is not an angel, but the blow is so strong that the Governor has something like an epiphany: “I don’t see anything: I see some pig snouts instead of faces, but nothing more..."

Next, Gogol uses a technique that has become so popular in our time: The mayor, breaking the principle of the so-called “fourth wall,” addresses the audience directly: “Why are you laughing? – You’re laughing at yourself!..” With this remark, Gogol shows that the action of the comedy actually goes far beyond the theater stage and is transferred from the provincial town to vast expanses. It is not without reason that some literary critics saw in this comedy an allegory for the life of the entire country. There is even a legend that Nicholas I, after watching the play, said: “Everyone got it, but I got it most of all!”

A silent scene: the inhabitants of a provincial town stand as if struck by thunder, mired in bribes, drunkenness, and gossip. But here comes a cleansing thunderstorm that will wash away the dirt, punish vice and reward virtue. In this scene, Gogol reflected his faith in the justice of the higher authorities, thereby castigating, as Nekrasov put it, “little thieves for the pleasure of big ones.” It must be said that the pathos of the silent scene does not fit with the general spirit of this brilliant comedy.

After the production, the play caused a storm of criticism, since in it Gogol broke all the canons of drama. But the main criticism of the critics was the lack of a positive hero in the comedy. In response to this, Gogol will write in “Theater Travel”: ... I am sorry that no one noticed the honest face that was in my play. This honest, noble face was laughter.”

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1. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol loved Russia with all his heart and could not stand aside, watching as it became mired in the swamp of corrupt bureaucracy. He creates two very significant works that reflect the unseemly reality...
2. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol gave a broad picture of bureaucratic and bureaucratic rule in Russia in the 30s of the 19th century in the comedy “The Inspector General”. The comedy also ridiculed the everyday side of life of the inhabitants of a small county town: insignificance...
3. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, loving Russia with all his heart, could not stand aside, seeing that it was mired in the swamp of corrupt officials, and therefore creates two works that reflect the actual state of the country. One...
4. Features of the composition in N.V. Gogol's comedy “The Inspector General” N.V. Gogol based his comedy “The Inspector General” on the plot of an everyday joke, where, by impostor or accidental misunderstanding, one person is accepted...
5. The appearance of the comedy “The Inspector General” in 1836 evoked an elevated, exciting feeling in society. More than 160 years have passed since then, but the comedy “The Inspector General” has not lost its relevance and its sound today...
6. Khlestakov and Khlestakovism in N.V. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” The enormous artistic merit of N.V. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” lies in the typicality of its images. He himself expressed the idea that the “originals” of most of the characters...
7. “Laughter is a noble face” in N. V. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” Explaining the meaning of “The Inspector General,” N. V. Gogol pointed out the role of laughter: “I am sorry that no one noticed the honest face that was in ...
8. Gogol created his works in those historical conditions, which developed in Russia after the failure of the first revolutionary uprising - the Decembrist uprising of 1825. The new socio-political situation confronted the leaders of Russian public...
9. The comedy by N.V. Gogol “The Inspector General” is a wonderful realistic work in which the world of small and medium-sized bureaucrats in Russia is revealed in the second quarter of the XIX century. Gogol himself wrote about the idea of ​​this comedy:...
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