Education of Chichikov in Gogol's poem. Nikolai Gogol - Chichikov's Childhood (excerpt from the poem "Dead Souls")

Education. A) Father's command. He was educated in the classes of the city school, where his father took him and gave the following instruction: “Look, Pavlusha, study, don’t be a fool and don’t hang out, but most of all please teachers and bosses. If you please your boss, then, even though you won’t have time in science and God didn’t give you talent, you will go all the way, you will get ahead of everyone. Don't hang out with your comrades, they won't teach you good things; and if it comes to that, then hang out with those who are richer, so that on occasion they can be useful to you. Do not treat or treat anyone, but behave better in such a way that you are treated, and most of all, take care and save a penny: this thing is the most reliable thing in the world. A comrade or friend will cheat you and in trouble will be the first to betray you, but a penny will not betray you, no matter what trouble you are in. You will do everything, you will break everything in the world with a penny.

B) Gaining your own experience. Managed to build relationships with classmates in such a way that they treated him; managed to raise money by adding them to the fifty left by his father. He used every opportunity to accumulate money: he made a bullfinch out of wax, painted it and sold it; bought edibles at the market, offered hungry classmates from those who were richer; trained a mouse, taught it to stand on its hind legs and sold it; was the most diligent and disciplined student, able to forestall any desire of the teacher.

Service. a) The beginning of the service. “He got an insignificant place, a salary of thirty or forty rubles a year ...” Thanks to an iron will, the ability to deny himself everything, while maintaining accuracy and pleasant appearance, he managed to stand out among the same “nondescript” employees. “... Chichikov represented the complete opposite in everything, both in the presence of a face, and in the friendliness of his voice, and in the complete non-use of any strong drinks.”

B) Continuing a career. For promotion, he used an already tried method - pleasing the boss, finding his "weak spot" - the daughter whom he "fell in love" with himself. From that moment on, he became a "person of note." Service in the commission "for the construction of some state-owned capital structure." He began to allow himself "some excesses": a good cook, good shirts, expensive fabric for suits, the acquisition of a pair of horses ... Soon he again lost his "warm" place. I had to change two or three places. "Got to customs." He turned out a risky operation, on which he first enriched himself, and then “burned out” and lost almost everything.

The appearance of Chichikov in the provincial town. Applying practical intelligence, courtesy and resourcefulness, Chichikov managed to charm both the provincial town and the estates. Having quickly guessed a person, he knows how to find an approach to everyone. It remains only to marvel at the inexhaustible variety of all "shades and subtleties of his appeal"

Literature. 1) y.ru/school/ucheb/literatura/elektronnye- nagljadnye-posobija-s-prilozheniem/ y.ru/school/ucheb/literatura/elektronnye-nagljadnye-posobija-s-prilozheniem/ y.ru/school/ucheb/ literatura/elektronnye- nagljadnye-posobija-s-prilozheniem/ 2) Literature in tables and diagrams/auth. Mironova Yu.S. - St. Petersburg: Trigon, - 128 p.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol

Chichikov's childhood

(Excerpt from the poem "Dead Souls")

<…> One day, with the first spring sun and overflowing streams, the father, taking his son, rode out with him on a cart, which was dragged by a mukhorty piebald horse, known among horse dealers under the name of magpie; it was ruled by a coachman, a little hunchback, the ancestor of the only serf family that belonged to Chichikov's father, who occupied almost all positions in the house. On a magpie they trudged for more than a day and a half; they spent the night on the road, crossed the river, ate a cold pie and roast lamb, and only on the third day in the morning reached the city. The streets of the city flashed with unexpected splendor before the boy, forcing him to open his mouth for several minutes. Then the magpie flopped along with the cart into the pit, which began a narrow alley, which was all striving down and choked with mud; for a long time she worked there with all her might and kneaded with her legs, instigated by both the hunchback and the master himself, and finally dragged them into a small courtyard, which stood on a slope with two blossoming apple trees in front of an old house and a garden behind it, low, small, consisting only of mountain ash, elderberry and hiding in the depths of her wooden booth, covered with shrapnel, with a narrow frosted window. Here lived a relative of theirs, a flabby old woman who still went to the market every morning and then dried her stockings at the samovar, who patted the boy on the cheek and admired his fullness. Here he was supposed to stay and go daily to the classes of the city school. Father, having spent the night, got out on the road the next day. At parting, no tears were shed from parental eyes; was given half a copper for consumption and goodies, and, much more importantly, a clever instruction: “Look, Pavlusha, study, don’t be a fool and don’t hang out, but most of all please teachers and bosses. If you please your boss, then, although you won’t succeed in science and God didn’t give you talent, you will go all out and get ahead of everyone. Don't hang out with your comrades, they won't teach you good things; and if it comes to that, then hang out with those who are richer, so that on occasion they can be useful to you. Do not treat or treat anyone, but behave better in such a way that you are treated; and most of all, take care and save a penny: this thing is more reliable than anything in the world. A comrade or friend will cheat you and in trouble will be the first to betray you, but a penny will not betray you, no matter what trouble you are in. You will do everything and break everything in the world with a penny. Having given such instruction, the father parted from his son, dragged himself home again on his magpie, and since then he never saw him again, but the words and instructions were sunk deep into his soul.

End of introductory segment.

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Notes

Mukhortaya - with yellow tan marks (horse color).

The creation of the poem "Dead Souls" fell just at the time when in Russia there was a change in the traditional, outdated foundations of society, reforms were brewing, changes in people's thinking. Even then it was clear that the nobility with its old traditions and outlook on life was slowly dying out, and a new type of person had to come to replace it. Gogol's goal is to describe the hero of his time, declare him in full voice, describe his positive and explain what his activities will lead to, as well as how it will affect the fate of other people.

The central character of the poem

Nikolai Vasilyevich Chichikov made the central character in the poem, he cannot be called the main character, but it is on him that the plot of the poem rests. The journey of Pavel Ivanovich is the framework for the entire work. It is not for nothing that the author placed the hero’s biography at the very end, the reader is not interested in Chichikov himself, he is curious about his actions, why he collects these dead souls and what it will lead to in the end. Gogol does not even try to reveal the nature of the character, but he introduces the peculiarities of his thinking, thus giving a hint where to look for the essence of this act of Chichikov. Childhood is where the roots come from, even at a tender age the hero formed his own worldview, vision of the situation and the search for ways to solve problems.

Description of Chichikov

The childhood and early years of Pavel Ivanovich are unknown to the reader at the beginning of the poem. Gogol portrayed his character as faceless and voiceless: against the backdrop of bright, colorful images of landowners with their quirks, Chichikov's figure is lost, becomes small and insignificant. He has neither his own face nor the right to vote, the hero resembles a chameleon, skillfully adapting to his interlocutor. This is an excellent actor and psychologist, he knows how to behave in a given situation, instantly determines the character of a person and does everything to win him over, says only what they want to hear from him. Chichikov skillfully plays a role, pretends to hide true feelings, tries to be his own among strangers, but he does all this in order to achieve the main goal - his own well-being.

The childhood of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov

A person's worldview is formed at a young age, so many of his actions in adulthood can be explained by studying his biography well. What guided him, why he collected dead souls, what he wanted to achieve with this - all these questions are answered. The hero’s childhood cannot be called happy, he was constantly haunted by boredom and loneliness. Pavlush did not know any friends or entertainment in his youth, he did monotonous, tedious and completely uninteresting work, listened to the reproaches of his sick father. The author did not even hint about maternal affection. One conclusion can be drawn from this - Pavel Ivanovich wanted to make up for lost time, to receive all the benefits that were not available to him in childhood.

But do not think that Chichikov is a soulless cracker, thinking only about his enrichment. He was a kind, active and sensitive child, subtly perceiving the world around him. The fact that he often ran away from his nanny in order to explore places never seen before indicates Chichikov's curiosity. Childhood shaped his character, taught him to achieve everything on his own. Father taught Pavel Ivanovich to save money and please bosses and rich people, and he put these instructions into practice.

Chichikov's childhood and studies were gray and uninteresting, he tried in every possible way to break into people. First, he pleased the teacher in order to become a favorite student, then he promised the boss to marry his daughter in order to get a promotion, working at customs, he convinces everyone of his honesty and impartiality, and he makes a huge fortune on smuggling. But Pavel Ivanovich does all this not with malicious intent, but with the sole purpose of making his childhood dream of a big and bright house, a caring and loving wife, a bunch of cheerful children come true.

Chichikov's communication with the landowners

Pavel Ivanovich could find an approach to everyone, from the first minutes of communication to understand what a person is. For example, he did not stand on ceremony with Korobochka, he spoke in a patriarchal-pious and even slightly patronizing tone. With the landowner, Chichikov felt relaxed, used colloquial, rude expressions, completely adjusting to the woman. With Manilov, Pavel Ivanovich is pompous and amiable to the point of cloying. He flatters the landowner, uses flowery phrases in his speech. Refusing the proposed treat, even Plyushkin was pleased by Chichikov. "Dead Souls" very well demonstrate the changeable nature of a person, because Pavel Ivanovich adapted to the mores of almost all landowners.

What does Chichikov look like in the eyes of other people?

The activities of Pavel Ivanovich greatly frightened the city officials and landlords. At first they compared him with the romantic robber Rinald Rinaldin, then they began to look for similarities with Napoleon, thinking that he had escaped from the island of Helena. In the end, the real Antichrist was recognized in Chichikovo. Of course, such comparisons are absurd and even somewhat comical, Gogol ironically describes the fright of the narrow-minded landowners, their speculation about why Chichikov actually collects dead souls. The characterization of the character hints that the characters are no longer the same as they were before. The people could be proud, take an example from the great commanders and defenders, and now there are no such people, they were replaced by selfish Chichikovs.

The real "I" of the character

One would think that Pavel Ivanovich is an excellent psychologist and actor, since he easily adapts to the people he needs, instantly guesses their character, but is it really so? The hero was never able to adapt to Nozdryov, because arrogance, arrogance, familiarity are alien to him. But even here he is trying to adapt, because the landowner is incredibly rich, hence the appeal to “you”, the boorish tone of Chichikov. Childhood taught Pavlusha to please the right people, so he is ready to step over himself, forget about his principles.

At the same time, Pavel Ivanovich practically does not pretend to be with Sobakevich, because they are united by serving the “penny”. And with Plyushkin, Chichikov has some similarities. The character tore off the poster from the post, having read it at home, folded it neatly and put it in a chest in which all sorts of unnecessary things were stored. This behavior is very much like Plyushkin, who is prone to hoarding various rubbish. That is, Pavel Ivanovich himself did not depart so far from the same landowners.

The main goal in the life of the hero

And once again money - it was for this that Chichikov collected dead souls. The characterization of the character indicates that he invents various frauds not just for the sake of profit, there is no stinginess and stinginess in him. Pavel Ivanovich dreams that the time will come when he will finally be able to use his savings, live a calm, prosperous life, not thinking about tomorrow.

The attitude of the author to the hero

There is an assumption that in subsequent volumes Gogol planned to re-educate Chichikov, to make him repent of his actions. Pavel Ivanovich in the poem is not opposed to the landowners or officials, he is the hero of the capitalist formation, the “primary accumulator”, who replaced the nobility. Chichikov is a skilled businessman, an entrepreneur who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. The scam with dead souls failed, but Pavel Ivanovich did not suffer any punishment either. The author hints that there are a huge number of such Chichikovs in the country, and no one wants to stop them.

Chichikov's childhood from "Dead Souls" cannot be called the best period in his life. He did not have serene games, cheerful amusements, joyful memories of family holidays.

Childhood memories

In fact, little Pavlusha did not even have a real family: all he remembered was his always sick, disgruntled father, who forced his son to do literacy and calligraphy, often scolded and punished the boy. Nothing is known about Pavlusha's mother from the story, and the father did not know how or did not want to show feelings towards his son, rarely talked to him. Deprived of affection and love, the child grew up unsociable and withdrawn.

Being already quite an adult, Chichikov will never learn to feel affection for people, because he did not see this in his own family. The miserable situation in a simple house owned by an impoverished nobleman - Pavlusha's father - contributed to the formation of the same limited inner world of the boy. In the memoirs of Pavlusha, there was an uncomfortable house, a miserable environment and the alienation of the only native person - his father. Briefly, Chichikov's childhood can be described as a difficult and joyless time that had a serious impact on his character.

Departure to the city and father's mandate

One day, the father took the boy to the city to enroll in a school. They stayed with a distant relative, which allowed the father to save a lot on housing, which is necessary for the duration of education. Before leaving home, he gave his son instructions for later life. It is in it that the philosophy of life of the “Chichikovs” is revealed.

It should be noted that the father did not really believe in the mind and talent of his child, therefore he directly ordered his son to please the authorities at school, and then even without special talent in the sciences, he will always be the first. Instead of tears at parting, the parent dryly outlined the basic laws of the life of modern society: to be friends with those who are richer, not to treat others, but to behave in such a way that they themselves offer treats to you. An important point is to save money, it opens all doors. After that, he left and never saw his son again. He died when Pavlusha graduated from college.

Years in school

The boy studied well, although he did not achieve much success, but he understood exactly what needed to be done in order to have excellent marks. The teacher demanded silence, discipline, and the ability to sit upright without moving. Pavlusha quickly learned this skill, even when the children pinched him, he kept calm. His notebooks were neat, things were neat and clean, and all his thoughts were aimed at increasing the “capital” that his father had left him.

In order to spend time usefully in long evenings, Pavlusha trained a mouse that he caught in the house in such a way that it carried out some commands. He sold it at the school for very good money. Such ingenuity of the boy is due to his desire to earn money at all costs. He tried his hand at creativity - he sculpted a figurine of a bullfinch from wax, painted it and helped out decent money for a child for such a craft. The boy sewed up his savings in bags and hid them so as not to spend them. Distinguished by observation and enterprise, Pavlusha also earned money by noticing those classmates who were very hungry, offering them to buy a pie from him. Friends happily agreed.

The childhood of the hero taught him completely unchildish things: saving, refusing delicacies, finding ways to earn money, the ability to please, flatter, be insincere. Chichikov never learned to be friends, openness and kindness were not part of his habits, rather they even interfered. Without any relatives, without support and friendships, the boy was guided by his own principles, which became the basis of his life in adulthood. This period ended with his studies and the news of his father's death, his small inheritance became the start-up capital at the beginning of Pavel Ivanovich's adult life.

Artwork test

Let us recall Chichikov's childhood: boredom, loneliness, monotonous work and the eternal reproaches of a sick father, "neither friend nor comrade in childhood," not a word was said about maternal affection. It is known that Gogol assumed, continuing Dead Souls (and a multi-volume epic was conceived), in the end to lead his hero to a moral revival. One can see hints of such a course of events in the text of the first volume. The author saw “colossal images” ahead, it seemed to him that the whole narrative in the future “takes on a majestic lyrical flow”. And it is hardly connected with these dreams that detail, which to this day remains mysterious to readers and critics: after all, it is Chichikov who loves fast driving, like every Russian, and this is from the image of his troika, to which Gnedoy, Chubary and Assessor are harnessed, Gogol passes to the image of a flying, irresistible Russia-troika.

Ironically over his hero, ruthlessly exposing his claims to nobility and decency, Gogol at the same time admires his practical mind and perseverance. “We must do justice to the irresistible strength of his character,” Gogol says about Chichikov. “After all that would be enough, if not to kill, then to cool and pacify a person forever, an incomprehensible passion did not go out in him!”

Gogol's hero in his life loved one thing ardently and sincerely - his face, and one thing that truly touched his soul - his own well-being. As for others, he, like Sobakevich, will be guided by his own interests. Sentimental moods do not interfere with him. He needs it - and he goes to those “corners of our state that have suffered more than others from accidents, crop failures, deaths, and other and more.” He goes, of course, not in order to sympathize and help, but in order to “buy the necessary people more conveniently and cheaper.”

And this property of Chichikov has by no means only a personal character.

Frightened officials suspected that Chichikov was Napoleon in disguise, and even discovered a similarity in appearance. There is a sense in this fiction, and Gogol wanted the reader to guess about it. After all, Napoleonism became an expression of the morality of a merchant society, according to which people are only means to achieve power, wealth, and success. The scale is different, but in essence Chichikov acts in the spirit of this morality, he does not act with troops and diplomacy, but by means of semi-legal commerce. Gogol continues Pushkin's satirical denunciation of inhuman individualism:

We all look at Napoleons.

There are millions of bipedal creatures

We have only one tool.

So, Chichikov is a figurative generalization of a very wide range of phenomena - from bribes to wars of conquest. With all the diversity of these phenomena, they have one essence - the acquisition, that is, the satisfaction of selfish interests by any means, covered by the most decent arguments and explanations.

Chichikov is not opposed, as is sometimes thought, to the district landowners - and to the bureaucracy. He is only singled out against the background of this environment as a hero of a new, capitalist formation. Chichikov represents those who can be called "primary accumulators". It was they who appreciated the power of capital, preferring large monetary transactions to subsistence farming. In the course of historical development, the Chichikovs come to replace the decaying class of nobles. Gogol emphasizes that the new type of acquirer is much more dangerous than the previous ones. The nobles are ruining the peasants at home, within the county, Chichikov, on the other hand, is striving for scope. He travels all over Russia, looking for "profit" everywhere. In addition, he is dexterous, evasive, acts with skill, covering his selfish thoughts with the guise of good breeding and adapting to the situation. At Manilov's, he pretended to be a "sensitive" person, who experienced a lot of "persecution" for "observing the truth", "shaking hands with both the helpless widow and the miserable orphan." He hinted to the governor that “you enter his province, as if into paradise, the roads are velvet everywhere.” He even aroused Plyushkin's favor by refusing the treat under the pretext that he "already drank and ate." Everywhere he behaves with "dignity", and among the money-hungry officials he also had the reputation of a "millionaire".

Chichikov's acquisition develops into entrepreneurship. In achieving selfish goals, he stops at nothing, basing his actions on artfully veiled meanness. The last, most heinous scam of his is the purchase of dead peasant souls in order to acquire capital. The scam failed. Chichikov is exposed, but exposed by accident, he leaves the city without incurring any punishment: From this it is clear that Chichikov is “his own” person in the nobility and bureaucratic environment, and his “failure” is accidental. Elsewhere, other Chichikovs will get their way. In this direction, the socio-economic life of Russia and Western Europe developed in the 30-40s of the XIX century. Obviously, Gogol, foreseeing such a trend, ultimately abandoned the intention to correct the "scoundrel-acquirer." In any case, the author's attempts to make Chichikov "ashamed" of his vices when meeting "virtuous" heroes in the second volume (Kostangjoglo, Murazov, and others) did not produce convincing artistic results. In the mind of the reader, Chichikov remains a typical representative of bourgeois predation, regardless of where and in what sphere it manifests itself. The world significance of Chichikov's image was sharply noticed by Belinsky and Chernyshevsky, who wrote that the Chichikovs can be found in France and England, wherever bourgeois businessmanship was gaining strength.

provincial society

Drawing a broad picture of the nobility and landlord Russia of his time, Gogol, in addition to the local nobles, also depicts provincial officials. In the notes to the first volume of the poem, Gogol wrote: “The idea of ​​the city is a void that has arisen to the highest degree. Empty talk. Gossip that has crossed the limits. How all this arose from idleness and took on the expression of the ridiculous in the highest degree, how intelligent people come to doing complete stupidities.

This is the life of the provincial society and its representatives that Gogol shows. This is also the realm of "dead souls", idleness and inner squalor. Provincial officials, in essence, are no different from the county officials previously drawn by Gogol in The Government Inspector. Like the mayor, the "miracle worker" - the police chief "visited the shops and the gostiny yard, as if in his own pantry." The propensity of the “freethinker” Lyapkin-Tyapkin to read Masonic books was shared by the postmaster of the city, who “deepened more into philosophy and read very diligently, even at night” the books of the mystics. Khlopov’s timidity was inherited by the “morgun” prosecutor, “who died of fright” from the rumors that went around the city in connection with Chichikov’s purchase of dead souls. The appointment of a new governor-general frightened the provincial officials just as much and deprived them of their minds, as the expected arrival of the auditor - county officials. The same nepotism, the same venality and the same arbitrariness reign here as in the county town; the same bribery flourishes (which is worth one Ivan Antonovich - "jug snout"!), The same ignorance and vulgarity. Like the heroes of The Inspector General, the officials of the provincial city are cut off from the people, from their needs and requests.