Manilov's favorite activities in the poem Dead Souls. Literature lesson on the topic "Dead Souls"


The landowner Manilov is one of the central characters in Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol’s work “Dead Souls”. We can say that his last name is telling - the hero is always attracted by something, he is a dreamer.

We first meet Manilov at the home party of the governor of the city of NN, where he appears to the readers as “a very courteous and courteous landowner.” It was Manilov, along with Sobakevich, who first of all attracted Chichikov’s attention.

Manilov is not an elderly man, blond with blue eyes. We can say that he is quite handsome, pleasant, but at the same time he looks too sweet, in his “pleasantness was too much transferred to sugar.”

This landowner does not stand out from the crowd. Gogol says that there are “many of them in the world” and emphasizes that he is “neither this nor that.” Perhaps this is why he gives strange names to his children, trying to distinguish them.

Manilov can be considered a wealthy landowner. In his village of Manilovka there are about two hundred houses, which means about two hundred or more souls, which is quite a lot. However, the character is not involved in housekeeping at all, it goes “by itself.” He, unlike Sobakevich, does not exhaust the peasants with work and does not starve them, however, he does not do anything to improve their situation, and treats them indifferently. He does not do the farming at all, does not go to the fields, completely entrusting management to his clerk.

Manilov leads a rather idle lifestyle, spends almost all his time in Manilovka and smokes a pipe, immersed in thoughts and reflections. This man is dreamy but lazy. Moreover, his dreams are sometimes absurd, for example, to dig an underground passage, and he does nothing to make them come true.

Manilov has been married for more than eight years, but still remains a romantic, making little surprises for his wife. He seems to be absolutely happily married.

As for his treatment of other characters, we can say that he strives to please people and behaves ingratiatingly with them. And although at first he seems like a fairly pleasant person, later his interlocutor begins to be overcome by boredom. Despite this, while serving in the army, he left a good impression of himself.

Manilov can be compared with Oblomov, the hero of Goncharov’s novel. But, unlike Oblomov, the character in “Dead Souls” is absolutely satisfied with his life and position. From this character came the concept of “manilovism”, which means inaction and a dreamy attitude towards life.

Essay 2

The writer emphasizes the image of landowners and nobles in the work.

Manilov is a noble man. At first you seem to think that he is a nice and good person, then you begin to think about who is standing in front of you, and by the end of the dialogue, you already want to end the conversation with him as quickly as possible and get away from him, otherwise you can be very bored with him. Manilov dreams too much, and his dreams are most often unrealistic. Dream and reality are completely different things for him. A man wants, for example, to build a stone bridge across a lake, with retail outlets, or to build an underground passage, or to build an unrealistically high house from which one could see the capital of Russia. Of course, there is nothing real here.

Manilov is not doing anything. He likes to sit in his pleasant apartment and constantly think about something, or arrange piles of ash from smoked cigars in the right order.

Manilov is very polite and pedantic with people. When talking with Chichikov, he constantly mixes up his dialogue with beautiful words and pleasantries, but cannot express any necessary or useful information.

He treats everyone well and calmly, and sees only the best in people. During a dialogue with Chichikov, he gives each official a good description; they are all most respected and most kind to Manilov. Kindness, responsiveness, benevolence towards people - in general, all this is good, but for this character it all looks bad, negative, since all this is not a critical manifestation towards people.

Practical affairs and economic production are alien to him: his mansion is located in the Jurassic, all the winds blow over it, and the lake is overgrown with grass; the village is very poor.

Household affairs were carried out without supervision, he never visited the fields and did not know how many of his men had died.

Characteristics of Manilov in the poem “Dead Souls”

The images depicted with utmost precision by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol in his immortal poem “Dead Souls” have almost all gone to the people, and many of their names have become household names. When meeting a greedy person, we will certainly remark to him: “What a Plyushkin!” Speaking about a person who is pleasant in all respects, but too pleasant, so that his pleasantness makes one feel sick, we, of course, immediately remember the landowner Manilov, with whom the main character of the work, Chichikov, met.

So what is he like, this same Manilov? Yes, indeed, in the first minute you will only think about him, how sweet and pleasant he is, and already in the third minute, as the author of the work himself says, you will feel mortal boredom. Manilov - neither this nor that. He shows no interest either in his estate, which he is building “on the seven winds,” or in his farm, or in his poor peasants, of whom he doesn’t even know the exact number. Manilov indulges in illusory dreams that are never destined to come true.

It seems that Manilov loves to read, but his book has been lying with a bookmark on the same page for several years. The landowner speaks in superlatives about all his acquaintances. His governor is “most amiable,” his vice-governor is “nice,” and his police chief is “very pleasant.” On the one hand, what’s wrong with the fact that Manilov speaks exceptionally well about people and does not criticize anyone, but on the other hand, the author makes it clear to us that his words are not entirely sincere. He is disingenuous, and, perhaps, subconsciously, with such flattering characteristics he wants to please people who have considerable weight in the province, and therefore can be useful to him in some way.

So he just can’t understand Chichikov who came to him with an offer to buy dead souls. But instead he continues to dream. For example, about how nice it would be for him and Chichikov to live on the banks of some river. Even the seasoned Chichikov, who is not very scrupulous in choosing people, is disgusted to communicate with such a type, who inside has only ephemeral illusions and spiritual emptiness. And a kind of pleasantness that gets boring after just a few minutes of communicating with Manilov.

Gogol’s precise, ingenious description of the heroes of his poem “Dead Souls” allows us to imagine each of them in the brightest colors. And understand who and what they are. Different in character and appearance, the landowners whom Chichikov meets are similar in one thing: they are vicious people who think only about their own benefit and self-interest.

Image of Manilov

N.V. Gogol wrote the poem “Dead Souls” in 1842. In this poem he tried to describe all of Rus'. The main character is the swindler Chichikov. He comes to the city of NN and meets the nobility in the city in order to redeem the “dead souls” of the peasants from them. The very first of the nobility, N.V. Gogol introduces us to the landowner Manilov. On behalf of Chichikov, the author begins to describe the first hero to us.

The surname Manilov is interestingly played up by Gogol. She portrays laziness and daydreaming. So who is he, Manilov, and how does the author characterize him?

Manilov is a very sentimental, real landowner, the first merchant of dead souls. When Chichikov comes to him, the landowner shows all his character.

Firstly, Manilov’s indifference emphasizes the fact that a drunk clerk is constantly in charge of his affairs. Secondly, generality of judgment and complete indifference to small details are the main character traits of Manilov.

He constantly dreams, but his dreams mostly do not correspond to reality. For example, he dreamed of building an underground tunnel and bridge across his pond, but in the end he did nothing.

At first, the landowner seems quite pleasant and smart to us, but then the reader understands how boring it is with this person, since he completely has no opinion and can only speak ordinary and pleasant phrases. Manilov believes that he is well brought up, educated and noble. But the author testified that a book with a bookmark in the same place had been lying in his office for about two years. In a conversation with Chichikov, he shows generosity and courtesy. When Manilov clings to every topic, his thoughts carry him into various brilliant plans and dreams.

Manilov is characterized by a strange delight; also, according to Manilov, officials are “the most respectable people.”

This hero cannot think about his life and make his own decisions. Everything in his life has been replaced by verbiage. But still, Manilov is a good family man who sincerely loves his family and happily welcomes any guest.

I think that Manilov is a pleasant and intelligent person, but as a person he is very boring. It seems to me that despite the fact that he is inactive, lazy and unkempt, his soul cannot be called dead. He loves his family and is proud of them. This means that a particle of the soul still remains in him, although somewhere very deep. And N.V. Gogol showed us a lazy and empty person who can still be corrected. The author showed us how sickening it is to be lazy and inactive. A person loses his purpose in life, he simply gives himself over to unnecessary dreams. Therefore, you should never limit yourself to empty chatter, but try to make your dreams come true.

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The surname Manilov makes you think of something sweet and serene. It comes from the word “to beckon,” which the author plays on ironically. In this image, N.V. Gogol creates a parody of the peculiarity of the Russian character, the tendency to dreams and inaction.

Manilov, whose characterization occupies a significant part of the narrative, nevertheless, can be described very briefly and succinctly: a man of neither this nor that.

Character of the hero

His character cannot be defined unambiguously.

Manilov is impractical and good-natured, he manages the house poorly, and his drinking clerk is in charge of matters of the estate. This led to the fact that he did not benefit from the delicate issue on which Chichikov approached him. Manilov simply gave it to him, amusing, however, his vanity with the fact that he was able to provide an invaluable service to the man. This hero is the complete antipode of the materialist Sobakevich.

Manilov, whose characteristics can be defined by such words as detachment, indifference, loves to soar in the clouds, while his dreams have absolutely no relation to reality.

Initially, he makes a very pleasant impression, but then his emptiness is revealed to his interlocutor. It becomes boring and cloying with him, since Manilov does not have his own point of view, but only maintains the conversation with banal phrases.

He does not have the vital forces that force him to do things.

There is an opinion expressed that Nicholas the First himself became the prototype of Manilov. Perhaps the academician had in mind the issue of the abolition of serfdom, which was not brought to its logical conclusion, on which, nevertheless, very often meetings of commissions were held.

Manilov's appearance

Even the appearance of this hero radiates sweetness and cloying. As the author notes, his facial features were pleasant, but this pleasantness was too sugary.

The first impression is positive, but only until he speaks. Manilov, whose characterization, it would seem, has nothing negative, is unpleasant to the author, who makes us feel his ironic attitude towards him.

Education and upbringing of a hero

This sentimental landowner, whose pleasantness was “too much given to sugar,” considers himself an educated, noble and well-mannered man. This does not prevent him, however, from keeping a bookmark on page 14 for two years in a row.

Manilov's speech is filled with kind words and, rather, resembles chirping. His manners could be called good, if not for excessive sophistication and delicacy, brought to the point of absurdity. Manilov abuses words such as “permit me,” “my dear,” “most honorable,” and speaks excessively positively about officials.

It is also impossible not to notice in his speech the abundance of indefinite adverbs and pronouns: this, some, that, some. When he talks about something, it becomes clear that his plans are not destined to come true. The nature of Manilov's reasoning makes it clear that his fantasies have nothing to do with reality. So, he dreams of a neighbor who could talk to him “about courtesy, about good treatment.”

He is incapable of thinking about real life, much less acting.
The elaborate names of Manilov's children, Themistoclus and Alcidas, also once again emphasize the desire to appear refined and sophisticated.

This is the landowner Manilov. “Dead souls” are a characteristic of Russian society of the 19th century. The author’s comparison of this hero with a “too smart minister” indicates the hypocrisy of representatives of the highest government authorities.


Positive qualities of Manilov

This hero of Gogol’s story still cannot be called negative. He is full of sincere enthusiasm, sympathy for people, and hospitable.

Manilov loves his family, his wife and children. He has a warm and, of course, too sweet relationship with his wife: “Open your mouth, darling, I’ll put this piece for you,” Manilov says to his wife. The characterization of this hero is impossibly saturated with sweetness.

Hero's leisure

All of Manilov’s activities boil down to being in a fantasy world. He prefers to spend time in the “temple of solitary reflection” and builds projects that can never be realized. For example, he dreams of making an underground passage from his house or building it across a pond.

Landowner Manilov dreams all day long. “Dead Souls” is a characteristic of dead heroic landowners, whose lifestyle speaks of the degradation of humanity. It is worth noting that this hero, unlike the others, has some attractiveness.

Comparative and Manilova

Unlike Manilov, the character of Goncharov is not new in Russian literature. Oblomov can be put on a par with Onegin and Pechorin, who also had great potential, but could not realize it.

Both the heroes of Pushkin and Lermontov, and the image recreated by Goncharov, evoke the sympathy of the reader. Gogol's hero, of course, is somewhat similar to Ilya Ilyich, but he does not evoke compassion or affection for himself.

Oblomov and Manilov, whose comparative characteristics are so often carried out by students at school, are indeed similar in many ways. In the image of the hero of the novel, Goncharov, perhaps, has even less external dynamics: he lies on the sofa from morning to night, builds projects to improve things on his estate, reflects, dreams. His plans do not come to fruition, because he is so lazy that sometimes he does not even get up from the couch in the morning to wash his face.

The concepts of “Manilovism” and “Oblomovism” are put on the same level, but they do not mean the same thing. A synonym for the word “Oblomovism” is “laziness.” “Manilovism” is best defined by the concept of “vulgarity.”

What is the difference between Oblomov and Manilov? A comparative description of these two characters cannot ignore such a point as the difference in intelligence and level of personality depth of these two heroes. Manilov is superficial, tries to please everyone, he has no opinion of his own. Ilya Ilyich, on the contrary, is a deep, developed personality. Goncharov's hero is capable of very serious judgments, he is not afraid of being misunderstood (the scene with Penkin), in addition, he is a truly kind person. It would be more correct to describe Manilov with the word “good-natured.”

The characteristics of Oblomov and Manilov are similar in the attitude of the heroes to issues of housekeeping. Ilya Ilyich is considering a response to an unpleasant letter from the headman, received several years ago, and is reflecting on plans for reforms in the affairs of the estate. It must be said that Oblomov receives such letters that disturb his peace every year.

Manilov was not involved in farming either; it runs by itself. To the clerk’s proposals to introduce some kind of transformation, the master replies: “Yes, not bad.” Very often Manilov plunges into empty dreams of how good it would be...

For what reason do readers like the hero of Goncharov’s story? The fact is that initially Manilov, as Gogol notes, seems like a pleasant person, but as soon as you talk to him a little longer, you begin to feel mortal boredom. Oblomov, on the contrary, initially makes a not very pleasant impression, but subsequently, revealing his best sides, wins the universal sympathy and sympathy of readers.

In conclusion, it should be noted that Manilov is a happy person. He is happy with his serene lifestyle, he has a beloved wife and children. Oblomov is deeply unhappy. In his dreams, he fights slander, lies and other vices of human society.

The gallery of landowners in the poem “Dead Souls” opens with the image of Manilov. This is the first character to whom Chichikov turns with a request for dead souls. What determines Manilov’s “superiority”? Gogol’s famous statement is that his heroes are more vulgar than the other. It turns out that Manilov in the poem represents the first, least, degree of moral degradation. However, modern researchers interpret the order of appearance of landowners in “Dead Souls” in a different sense, equating the first volume of Gogol’s poem with the first part of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” (“Hell”).

In addition, as Yu. Mann notes, Manilov’s primacy is also determined by the hero’s personal traits. Manilov's dreaminess and romanticism already at the very beginning of the poem create a sharp contrast to Chichikov's immoral adventure.

There is another reason here. According to I.P. Zolotussky, “every time Chichikov meets one of the landowners, he examines his ideals. Manilov is family life, a woman, children...” This “part” of Chichikov’s ideal is exactly the best thing in the hero’s “roughly material” dream of contentment and comfort. Therefore, the story of Chichikov’s adventures begins with Manilov.

This image in the poem is static - no internal changes occur to the hero throughout the entire narrative. Manilov's main qualities are sentimentality, dreaminess, excessive complacency, courtesy and courtesy. This is what is visible, what lies on the surface. It is these features that are emphasized in the description of the hero’s appearance. Manilov “was a distinguished man, his facial features were not devoid of pleasantness, but this pleasantness seemed to have too much sugar in it; in his techniques and turns there was something ingratiating favor and acquaintance. He smiled enticingly, was blond, with blue eyes.”

However, Gogol then proceeds to describe Manilov’s inner world, and the reader’s first impression of the landowner’s “niceness” is removed. “In the first minute of a conversation with him, you can’t help but say: “What a pleasant and kind person!” The next minute you don’t say anything, and in the third you say: “The devil knows what it is!” - and move away; If you don’t leave, you will feel mortal boredom. You won’t get any lively or even arrogant words from him, which you can hear from almost anyone if you touch an object that offends him.” With a bit of irony, the author lists the traditional “interests” of landowners: passion for greyhounds, music, gourmetism, career advancement. Manilov is not interested in anything in life, he has no “enthusiasm”. He says very little, he often thinks and reflects, but about what - “does God... know.” So several more characteristic properties of this landowner are clearly identified - uncertainty, indifference to everything, inertia and infantilism of life perception. “There is a kind of people,” writes Gogol, “known by the name: so-so people, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan...” It is to this type of people that Manilov belongs.

The writer emphasizes the “lack of formality and vagueness” of the hero’s inner world with a characteristic landscape. Thus, the weather on the day when Chichikov came to Manilov was extremely uncertain: “The day was either clear or gloomy, but of some light gray color, which only happens on the old uniforms of garrison soldiers...”

In the description of the master's estate, new features of Manilov are revealed to us. Here we already see a person claiming to be “educated,” “cultured,” and “aristocratic,” but Gogol leaves readers no illusions on this score: all the hero’s attempts to seem like an educated and sophisticated aristocrat are vulgar and absurd. Thus, Manilov’s house stands “alone on the Jurassic, that is, on a hill open to all the winds,” but the mountain on which the estate stands is “clad with trimmed turf,” on it “are scattered, in English, two or three flower beds with lilac and yellow bushes.” acacias." Nearby you can see a gazebo “with wooden blue columns” and the inscription “Temple of Solitary Reflection.” And next to the “temple” is an overgrown pond covered with greenery, along which, “picturesquely picking up their dresses and tucking in on all sides,” two women wander, dragging their tattered drag behind them. In these scenes one can discern Gogol's parody of sentimental stories and novels.

The same claims to “education” are discernible in the ancient Greek names that Manilov awarded his children - Alcides and Themistoclus. However, the superficial education of the landowner here turned into outright stupidity: even Chichikov, upon hearing these names, experienced some surprise, and it is easy to imagine the reaction of the local residents.

However, the ancient Greek names here are not only a striking characteristic of Manilov. “Alcides” and “Themistoclus” set the theme of history in the poem, the motive of heroism, which is present throughout the entire narrative. Thus, the name “Femi-stoklus” reminds us of Themistocles, a statesman and commander from Athens, who won brilliant victories in battles with the Persians. The life of the commander was very stormy, eventful, full of significant events (against the background of this heroic theme, Manilov’s inaction and passivity becomes even more noticeable).

Manilov’s “incompleteness of nature” (nature seemed to stop at the hero’s “pleasant” appearance, without “reporting” his character, temperament, and love of life) is also reflected in the description of his home environment.

In everything Manilov does, there is incompleteness that creates disharmony. A number of interior details testify to the hero’s inclination towards luxury and sophistication, but in this very inclination there is still the same incompleteness, the impossibility of finishing the job. In Manilov’s living room there is “wonderful furniture covered in smart silk fabric,” which is “very expensive,” but there is not enough for two armchairs, and the armchairs are “simply upholstered in matting.” In the evening, a “dandy candlestick made of dark bronze with three antique graces” is served on the table, and next to it is placed “a simple copper invalid, lame, curled to one side and covered in fat...”. For two years now, the hero has been reading the same book, reaching only the fourteenth page.

All the landowner's activities are meaningless and absurd, just like his dreams. So, having seen Chichikov off, he dreams of a huge house “with such a high belvedere that you can even see Moscow from there.” But the culmination of Manilov’s image is “slides of ash knocked out of a pipe, arranged, not without effort, in very beautiful rows.” Like all “noble gentlemen,” Manilov smokes a pipe. Therefore, in his office there is a kind of “cult of tobacco”, which is poured into caps, and in a tabashka, and “just in a heap on the table.” Thus, Gogol emphasizes that Manilov’s “passing of time” is completely worthless and meaningless. Moreover, this meaninglessness is noticeable even when comparing the hero with the rest of the landowners. It is difficult for us to imagine Sobakevich or Korobochka doing such an activity (placing piles of ash in beautiful rows).

The hero’s speech, “delicate”, florid, fully corresponds to his inner appearance. Discussing the sale of dead souls with Chichikov, he wonders “whether this negotiation will not be in accordance with civil regulations and future views of Russia.” However, Pavel Ivanovich, who added two or three book turns to the conversation, manages to convince him of the complete legality of this transaction - Manilov gives Chichikov the dead peasants and even takes over the registration of the deed of sale.

Thus, the portrait of the hero, his speech, landscape, interior, surroundings, everyday details reveal the essence of Manilov’s character. Upon closer examination, the illusory nature of his “positive” qualities - sensitivity and sentimentality - becomes noticeable. “His feeling is surprisingly small and insignificant, and no matter how much he squanders it, it makes no one feel warm or cold. His courtesy is at the service of everyone, as is his goodwill, but not because he really has such a loving soul, but because they cost him nothing - it’s just a manner... His feelings are not real, but only their fiction.” , wrote the pre-revolutionary Gogol researcher.

Thus, Manilov does not evaluate people from the point of view of the criteria of good and evil. Those around you simply fall into a general atmosphere of complacency and dreaminess. In essence, Manilov is indifferent to life itself.

The poem "Dead Souls" was written by Gogol back in 1842. In the work, the author pays great attention to the description of nobles and landowners. One of the brightest colorful characters is Manilov.

Gogol managed to interestingly correlate the character and surname of the landowner. The hero's surname can be called telling, since the landowner constantly dreams and attracts him everywhere. The first acquaintance with Manilov takes place at a party with the governor of the city N. The author introduces him as “a very courteous and courteous landowner.”

Characteristics of the hero

Manilov appears as a blue-eyed, blond man in middle age. He is quite not stupid, pleasant, but his appearance is quite sweet, “the pleasantness was too much transferred to the sugar.” This landowner does not have any outstanding features. Gogol emphasized that there are “many of them in the world” and argued that he is “neither this nor that.” Perhaps this is why the character strives to highlight his children and gives them unusual names - Themistoclus alone is worth it! And Alcides, his other son, also has an unusual name, which sets him apart from others.

Manilov belonged to the class of wealthy landowners. In the village where Manilov lived there were approximately two hundred houses, i.e. more than two hundred souls. This is quite a large number. Nobody took care of the landowner’s farming; it goes “by itself.” Unlike Sobakevich, he does not force his peasants to work for wear and tear without food and water, but he has not done anything to make their lives better, he is indifferent to them. He never goes to the fields; he is not interested in his farming. Manilov completely entrusted the management of his name days to the clerk.

The landowner rarely left Manilovka; he led a rather idle lifestyle. It was enough for him to lose himself in his thoughts and smoke a pipe. This person is dreamy and has many desires and aspirations, but at the same time he is very lazy. Moreover, his dreams are sometimes absurd - for example, to dig an underground passage that he does not need at all. And the hero does absolutely nothing to make his dream come true, which characterizes him as a lazy and weak-willed person.

Manilov is quite polite in dealing with people, but at the same time neat. In a conversation with Chichikov, he constantly exchanges pleasantries, but does not say any useful information. He is no less courteous with other characters:

"...said Manilov with a pleasant smile..." or " ...He smiled enticingly..."

Manilov was also a noble dreamer, but practically none of his dreams were realized, neither an underground tunnel nor a bridge across his pond. This person spends a lot of time on new dreams and fantasies, but does nothing to make the dream a reality:

"At home he spoke very little and mostly meditated and thought, but what he was thinking about, too, did God know?."

His laziness is emphasized by words about what kind of landowner and owner he is, and that he has never even traveled around his own fields to inspect them or personally monitor the fulfillment of his demands and instructions. Despite the fact that the hero has a fairly large household, he pays very little attention to it, essentially letting everything take its course.

The image of the hero in the work

("Portrait of Manilov", artist V. Andreev, 1900)

At the beginning of the poem, the landowner seems to the reader to be a fairly pleasant and intelligent man, but later in the plot Mnilov becomes boring and uninteresting. The author even highlights the hero's handwriting when Chichikov speaks about his handwriting in one of the dialogues of the work.

He has no opinion and can only speak generally accepted pleasantries, being incapable of bold steps and decisions. But Manilov himself presents himself as well-mannered, educated and noble. By the way, Manilov believed that officials are “the most respectable people,” and constantly strives to speak with them as politely and culturally as possible.

After reading the poem, we can conclude that the landowner Manilov is not able to think about his life and make difficult decisions on his own. He can do everything only in words, but not in actions. But, at the same time, the landowner is presented as a good family man who truly loves his family - this is an important detail of his image. Therefore, despite the fact that he is lazy a lot and does not keep his word, one cannot say that his soul is dead - he still has the positive qualities of a hero.