What human vices does Gogol expose in the auditor. What does Gogol expose in the comedy “The Inspector General”? (School essays)

Composition

The comedy "The Inspector General", written in 1836, dealt a crushing blow to the entire administrative and bureaucratic system. Tsarist Russia 30s of the XIX century. The author exposed to general ridicule not individual isolated cases, but typical manifestations of the state apparatus. It would seem, what does the sleepy state have to do with the centralized bureaucratic system? patriarchal life a provincial provincial town, which the mayor sincerely considers his home and manages it like the owner? Here the postmaster prints out and reads other people's letters instead of novels, without seeing anything reprehensible in this. From the mayor’s hasty remarks to his subordinates about establishing order in the institutions under their jurisdiction, we can easily draw a conclusion about how things are in the hospital, court, schools, and post office. The patients look a lot like blacksmiths and smoke strong tobacco; No one is treating them. Everything in court is complicated, and geese roam freely under the feet of visitors. Lawlessness and arbitrariness reign everywhere.

But this unknown provincial town appears in the comedy as a state in miniature, in which, like a drop of water, all the abuses and vices of bureaucratic Russia are reflected. The traits that characterize city officials are also typical of representatives of other classes. All of them are distinguished by dishonesty, vulgarity, squalor mental interests, extremely low cultural level. After all, in comedy there is not a single honest hero from any class. There is a social stratification of people here, some of whom occupy important government positions and use their power to improve their own well-being. At the top of this social pyramid is the bureaucracy. Theft, bribery, embezzlement - these typical vices of bureaucracy are castigated by Gogol with his merciless laughter. The city's elite are disgusting. But the people under their control do not inspire sympathy either. The merchants oppressed by the mayor, hating him, try to appease him with gifts, and at the first opportunity they write a complaint against him to Khlestakov, whom everyone takes for an important St. Petersburg dignitary. Provincial landowners Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky are slackers and gossips, insignificant and vulgar people. At first glance, the innocently flogged non-commissioned officer evokes sympathy. But the fact that she only wants to receive monetary compensation for the insult she suffered makes her ridiculous and pathetic.

In such offended people without rights as the mechanic and the serf servant Osip, the tavern floor worker, there is a complete lack of self-esteem and the ability to be indignant at their slavish position. These characters are brought out in the play in order to more noticeably highlight the consequences of the unseemly actions of the ruling officials, to show how the lower class suffers from their tyranny. The evils of bureaucracy are not invented by the author. They were taken by Gogol from life itself. It is known that Emperor Nicholas I himself acted as Gogol’s postmaster, who read Pushkin’s letters to his wife. Scandalous story with the theft of the commission for the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior is very reminiscent of the act of the mayor, who embezzled government money allocated for the construction of the church. These facts, taken from real life, emphasize the typicality of the negative phenomena that the satirist exposes in his comedy. Gogol's play highlighted all the typical vices of Russian bureaucracy, which were embodied in the individual images of the mayor and his entourage.

The main person of the city appears in the comedy as the first among the swindlers, who even, in his own words, “deceived three governors.” Occupying the most significant post in the city, he is completely devoid of a sense of duty, and this is precisely what should be the most required quality an official of this rank. But the mayor does not think about the good of the homeland and the people, but cares about his own material well-being, robbing merchants, extorting bribes, committing arbitrariness and lawlessness against the people under his control. At the end of the play, this cunning and dexterous rascal finds himself in the stupid and unusual role of the deceived, becoming pitiful and funny. Gogol uses brilliant here artistic technique, putting into the mouth of the mayor a remark addressed to auditorium: “Why are you laughing? Are you laughing at yourself!..” This emphasizes the prevalence of this type in Tsarist Russia. This means that in the image of the mayor, the playwright concentrated the most disgusting features of a state administrator, on whose arbitrariness the fate of many people depended. The mayor is given in the comedy in his typical environment. In each of the officials, the author especially highlights one defining feature, which helps to recreate a diverse picture bureaucratic world. For example, the author ironically calls Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin a “freethinker,” explaining this by the fact that he read 5 books. This small detail characterizes the general low level bureaucracy, the wretchedness of his mental interests. In trustee charitable institutions Strawberry is a sycophant, a sneaker and an informer. These are also very typical phenomena, common among bureaucrats.

Thus, the writer in his comedy exposes all the main vices of the ruling bureaucracy of Russia: dishonesty, dishonest attitude to service, bribery, embezzlement, arbitrariness, lawlessness, sycophancy, lack of culture. But the satirist condemned such negative traits oppressed classes, such as greed, lack of self-esteem, vulgarity, ignorance. Gogol's comedy remains relevant today, making us think about the causes of many negative phenomena in modern life.

N.V. Gogol viewed the theater as a platform from which “a whole crowd, a whole thousand people at one time” can read “live, useful lesson" "Inspector" is social comedy, in which events are considered on a scale county town, “from which even if you ride for three years, you won’t reach any state,” which represents typical image Russian district cities.

For travelers, and especially for important, significant people, prosperity reigns in it: “... the streets are swept, everything is in order, the prisoners are well maintained, there are few drunkards...” But this is a mirage created by the mayor and his subordinates, behind which lies true life city built on false morality. Bribes, deception, theft in the service, even the postmaster reading other people's letters are considered the norm, and the mayor is called smart, because “he does not like to miss what is in his hands.” There is even a certain hierarchy of bribery, according to which one cannot “take without rank.” Each official, as is customary, “cares about his own benefits”, not wanting to honestly fulfill his official duty. The city is in chaos government institutions. Thus, Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin, a person representing justice, responsible for the lives of other people, in his own words, “doesn’t even look at the memos - he just waves his hand.” He takes bribes with “greyhound puppies” because he is fond of hunting. The trustee of charitable institutions, Strawberry, steals government money, his patients “recover like flies.” The superintendent of the schools, Khlopov, is cowardly to the point of absurdity. Bribery, lawlessness, inner emptiness, ignorance - these are the vices that Gogol exposes in the images of city officials.

The imaginary idyll of the county town is disrupted by terrible news - an auditor has arrived. In the chaos, frightened officials, trying to create the appearance of order and their honesty, mistake a passing St. Petersburg registrar for incognito, being confused by his self-confidence and the demeanor of a typical metropolitan official. The imaginary auditor Khlestakov is the way he appears to city officials. Khlestakov, “who is on friendly terms with Pushkin,” who has one of the most famous houses in St. Petersburg, “where princes and counts gather, and sometimes even a minister,” Khlestakov, “whom himself state council afraid” - phantom, specter. It is this ghost that officials begin to serve and please in every possible way, on whom Khlestakov’s false stories make a huge impression precisely because Khlestakov is from St. Petersburg. The capital casts a shadow over the whole of Russia. Petersburg crushed Khlestakov as a person. Being just a registrar, Khlestakov considers himself an important person and is not even surprised at the increased attention and care of officials, considering this to be in the order of things. Empty, spoiled, prone to chatter and gossip, thirsting for a career and success - this is how Khlestakov appears before the reader.

But we see that the ideals of the petty St. Petersburg official and the “fathers” of the district city are the same. The mayor, who, having become related to a “simple little lady,” rejoices that he “has become a high-flying bird,” dreams of “making it into the generals.” Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin considers himself a much more worthy candidate for this position, again harboring illusions about his own importance. Everyone begins to show imaginary honors to the mayor, his wife and daughter, expressing false, insincere joy, envying them in their souls and cursing them.

Caricatured images begin to look scary, frightening with their inhuman essence, weakness of spirit, and inner emptiness. No wonder the mayor’s words sound like an epiphany: “Where am I? I don’t see anything... Not a single one human face... There was only snouting and snouting around...”

Gogol believes that the greatest danger is that the violation of moral laws threatens people with a terrible disaster - the dehumanization of man, the loss of the divine essence in man. The life of the heroes of The Inspector General is wretched, their wretchedness inner world, they are a real bunch of vices.

“The Inspector General” is one of the best Russian comedies. N.V. Gogol made his contemporaries laugh at what they were used to and what they stopped noticing. And today the comedy created by the great Russian writer, while continuing to sound modern, points the way to moral revival.

A series: School library (Children's literature)

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The given introductory fragment of the book The Inspector General (N.V. Gogol, 1836) provided by our book partner - the company liters.

What did Gogol laugh at? ABOUT spiritual sense comedy "The Inspector General"

Be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deceiving yourselves. For whoever hears the word and does not do it is like a man looking at the natural features of his face in a mirror. He looked at himself, walked away, and immediately forgot what he was like.

Jacob 1, 22-24

My heart hurts when I see how people are mistaken. They talk about virtue, about God, and yet do nothing.

From Gogol's letter to his mother. 1833

“The Inspector General” is the best Russian comedy. Both in reading and in stage performance she is always interesting. Therefore, it is generally difficult to talk about any failure of The Inspector General. But, on the other hand, it is difficult to create a real Gogol performance, to make those sitting in the hall laugh bitterly Gogol's laughter. As a rule, something fundamental, deep, on which the entire meaning of the play is based, eludes the actor or the viewer.

The premiere of the comedy took place on April 19, 1836 Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, according to contemporaries, had colossal success. The mayor was played by Ivan Sosnitsky, Khlestakov Nikolai Dur - best actors that time. " General attention spectators, applause, heartfelt and unanimous laughter, challenge from the author<…>“,” recalled Prince Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky, “there was no shortage of anything.”

But this success almost immediately began to seem somehow strange. Incomprehensible feelings gripped both the artists and the audience. Characteristic is the confession of actor Pyotr Grigoriev, who played the role of judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin: “... this play is still like some kind of mystery for all of us. At the first performance they laughed loudly and a lot, they supported us strongly - we will have to wait to see how everyone will appreciate it over time, but for our brother, the actor, she is such a new work that we may not yet be able to appreciate it just once or twice "

Even Gogol's most ardent admirers did not fully understand the meaning and significance of the comedy; the majority of the public perceived it as a farce. Memoirist Pavel Vasilyevich Annenkov noticed the unusual reaction of the audience: “Even after the first act, bewilderment was written on all faces (the audience was chosen to in every sense this word), as if no one knew how to think about the picture that had just been presented. This bewilderment then grew with each act. As if finding comfort in the mere assumption that a farce was being given, the majority of the audience, knocked out of all theatrical expectations and habits, settled on this assumption with unshakable determination. However, in this farce there were features and phenomena filled with such vital truth that twice<…>there was general laughter. Something completely different happened in the fourth act: laughter still flew from time to time from one end of the hall to the other, but it was a kind of timid laughter that immediately disappeared; there was almost no applause; but intense attention, convulsive, intense following of all the shades of the play, sometimes dead silence showed that what was happening on stage passionately captured the hearts of the audience.”

The play was perceived by the public in different ways. Many saw it as a caricature of Russian bureaucracy, and its author as a rebel. According to Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, there were people who hated Gogol from the very appearance of The Inspector General. Thus, Count Fyodor Ivanovich Tolstoy (nicknamed the American) said at a crowded meeting that Gogol was “an enemy of Russia and that he should be sent in chains to Siberia.” Censor Alexander Vasilyevich Nikitenko wrote in his diary on April 28, 1836: “Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” caused a lot of noise. They give it incessantly - almost every day.<…>Many believe that the government is in vain in approving this play, in which it is so cruelly condemned.”

Meanwhile, it is reliably known that the comedy was allowed to be staged (and therefore published) due to highest resolution. Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich read the comedy in manuscript and approved; according to another version, “The Inspector General” was read to the king in the palace. On April 29, 1836, Gogol wrote to Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin: “If it were not for the high intercession of the Sovereign, my play would never have been on stage, and there were already people trying to ban it.” The Emperor not only attended the premiere himself, but also ordered the ministers to watch The Inspector General. During the performance he clapped and laughed a lot, and when leaving the box he said: “Well, a play! Everyone got it, and I got it more than everyone else!”

Gogol hoped to meet the support of the tsar and was not mistaken. Soon after staging the comedy, he answered his ill-wishers in “Theatrical Travel”: “The magnanimous government saw deeper than you with its high intelligence the purpose of the writer.”

In striking contrast to the seemingly undoubted success of the play, Gogol’s bitter confession sounds: “The Inspector General” has been played - and my soul is so vague, so strange... I expected, I knew in advance how things would go, and for all that, the feeling is sad and annoying - a burden has enveloped me. My creation seemed disgusting to me, wild and as if not mine at all” (“Excerpt from a letter written by the author shortly after the first presentation of “The Inspector General” to a certain writer”).

Gogol's dissatisfaction with the premiere and the rumors around it (“everyone is against me”) was so great that, despite the persistent requests of Pushkin and Shchepkin, he refused his intended participation in the production of the play in Moscow and soon went abroad. Many years later, Gogol wrote to Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky: “The performance of The Inspector General made a painful impression on me. I was angry both at the audience, who did not understand me, and at myself, former fault because they didn't understand me. I wanted to get away from everything."

Comic in "The Inspector General"

Gogol was, it seems, the only one who perceived the first production of The Government Inspector as a failure. What is the matter here that did not satisfy the author? Partly, the discrepancy between the old vaudeville techniques in the design of the performance and the completely new spirit of the play, which did not fit into the framework of an ordinary comedy. Gogol persistently warns: “You need to be most careful not to fall into caricature. Nothing should be exaggerated or trivial even in latest roles” (“A warning for those who would like to play “The Inspector General” properly).

When creating the images of Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, Gogol imagined them “in the skin” (as he put it) of Shchepkin and Vasily Ryazantsev, famous comic actors of that era. In the play, in his words, “it was just a caricature.” “Already before the start of the performance,” he shares his impressions, “when I saw them in costume, I gasped. These two little men, in their essence quite neat, plump, with decently smoothed hair, found themselves in some awkward, tall gray wigs, disheveled, unkempt, disheveled, with huge shirtfronts pulled out; but on stage they turned out to be such antics that it was simply unbearable.”

Meanwhile, Gogol’s main goal is the complete naturalness of the characters and the verisimilitude of what is happening on stage. “The less an actor thinks about making people laugh and being funny, the more funny the role he takes will be revealed. The funny will be revealed by itself precisely in the seriousness with which each of the characters depicted in the comedy is busy with his work.”

An example of such a “natural” manner of performance is the reading of “The Inspector General” by Gogol himself. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, who was once present at such a reading, says: “Gogol... struck me with his extreme simplicity and restraint of manner, with some important and at the same time naive sincerity, which seemed not to care whether there were listeners here and what they thought. It seemed that Gogol was only concerned with how to delve into the subject, which was new to him, and how to more accurately convey his own impression. The effect was extraordinary - especially in comic, humorous places; it was impossible not to laugh - a good, healthy laugh; and the creator of all this fun continued, not embarrassed by the general gaiety and, as if inwardly marveling at it, to immerse himself more and more in the matter itself - and only occasionally, on the lips and around the eyes, the master’s sly smile trembled slightly. With what bewilderment, with what amazement Gogol said famous phrase mayor about two rats (at the very beginning of the play): “They came, sniffed and went away!” He even looked around us slowly, as if asking for an explanation for such an amazing incident. It was only then that I realized how completely incorrect, superficial, and with what desire only to quickly make people laugh, “The Inspector General” is usually played on stage.

While working on the play, Gogol mercilessly expelled from it all elements of external comedy. According to Gogol, the funny is hidden everywhere, even in the most ordinary details of everyday life. Gogol's laughter is the contrast between what the hero says and how he says it. In the first act, Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky are arguing about which of them should start telling the news.

« Bobchinsky (interrupting). We arrive with Pyotr Ivanovich at the hotel...

Dobchinsky (interrupting). Eh, let me, Pyotr Ivanovich, I’ll tell you.

Bobchinsky. Eh, no, let me... let me, let me... you don’t even have such a syllable...

Dobchinsky. And you will get confused and not remember everything.

Bobchinsky. I remember, by God, I remember. Don't bother me, let me tell you, don't bother me! Tell me, gentlemen, please don’t let Pyotr Ivanovich interfere.”

This comic scene It shouldn't just make you laugh. It is very important for the heroes which of them will tell the story. Their whole life consists of spreading all kinds of gossip and rumors. And suddenly the two received the same news. This is a tragedy. They are arguing over a matter. Bobchinsky must be told everything, nothing should be missed. Otherwise, Dobchinsky will complement.

« Bobchinsky. Excuse me, excuse me: I’ll start in order... So, as you can see, I ran to Korobkin. And not finding Korobkin at home, he turned to Rastakovsky, and not finding Rastakovsky, he went to Ivan Kuzmich to tell him the news you had received, and going from there, he met with Pyotr Ivanovich...

Dobchinsky (interrupting). Near the booth where pies are sold.”

This is a very important detail. And Bobchinsky agrees: “Near the booth where pies are sold.”

Why, let us ask again, was Gogol dissatisfied with the premiere? main reason was not even in the farcical nature of the performance - the desire to make the audience laugh - but in the fact that, with a caricatured manner of acting, those sitting in the hall perceived what was happening on stage without applying it to themselves, since the characters were exaggeratedly funny. Meanwhile, Gogol’s plan was designed for precisely the opposite perception: to involve the viewer in the performance, to make them feel that the city depicted in the comedy exists not just somewhere, but to one degree or another in any place in Russia, and the passions and vices of officials exist in the soul of each of us. Gogol appeals to everyone. This is where the enormous public importance"Inspector". This is the meaning of the mayor’s famous remark: “Why are you laughing? You’re laughing at yourself!” – facing the hall (precisely the hall, since no one is laughing on stage at this time). The epigraph also indicates this: “There is no point in blaming the mirror if your face is crooked.” In a kind of theatrical commentary to the play - “ Theater crossing" and "The denouement of "The Inspector General" - where the audience and actors discuss the comedy, Gogol seems to be trying to destroy the wall separating the stage and the auditorium.

In The Inspector General, Gogol made his contemporaries laugh at what they were accustomed to and what they had ceased to notice (emphasis mine. – V.V.). But most importantly, they are accustomed to carelessness in spiritual life. The audience laughs at the heroes who die spiritually. Let us turn to examples from the play that show such death.

The mayor sincerely believes that “there is no person who does not have some sins behind him. This is already arranged this way by God Himself, and the Voltaireans are in vain speaking against it.” To which Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin objects: “What do you think, Anton Antonovich, are sins? Sins and sins are different. I tell everyone openly that I take bribes, but with what bribes? Greyhound puppies. This is a completely different matter."

The judge is sure that bribes with greyhound puppies cannot be considered bribes, “but, for example, if someone’s fur coat costs five hundred rubles, and his wife’s shawl...”. Here the mayor, understanding the hint, retorts: “But you don’t believe in God; you never go to church; but at least I am firm in my faith and go to church every Sunday. And you... Oh, I know you: if you start talking about the creation of the world, your hair will just stand on end.” To which Ammos Fedorovich replies: “But I got there on my own, with my own mind.”

Gogol is the best commentator on his works. In “Forewarning...” he notes about the judge: “He is not even a hunter of committing lies, but he has a great passion for hunting with dogs... He is preoccupied with himself and his mind, and is an atheist only because in this field there is room for him to prove himself.”

The mayor believes that he is firm in his faith. The more sincerely he expresses this, the funnier it is. Going to Khlestakov, he gives orders to his subordinates: “Yes, if they ask why a church was not built at a charitable institution, for which the amount was allocated five years ago, then do not forget to say that it began to be built, but burned down. I submitted a report about this. Otherwise, perhaps someone, having forgotten himself, will foolishly say that it never began.”

Explaining the image of the mayor, Gogol says: “He feels that he is sinful; he goes to church, he even thinks that he is firm in his faith, he even thinks about repenting someday later. But the temptation of everything that floats into one’s hands is great, and the blessings of life are tempting, and to grab everything without missing anything has become, as it were, just a habit for him.”

And so, going to the imaginary auditor, the mayor laments: “I’m a sinner, a sinner in many ways... Just grant, God, that I get away with it as quickly as possible, and then I’ll put a candle that no one has ever put up: I’ll put a merchant’s hand on every beast.” deliver three pounds of wax." We see that the mayor seemed to be in vicious circle his sinfulness: in his repentant thoughts, the sprouts of new sins arise unnoticed by him (the merchants will pay for the candle, not he).

Just as the mayor does not feel the sinfulness of his actions, because he does everything according to an old habit, so do the other heroes of The Inspector General. For example, postmaster Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin opens other people's letters solely out of curiosity: “... I love to death to know what is new in the world. Let me tell you, this is a very interesting read. You will read another letter with pleasure - this is how various passages are described... and what edification... better than in the Moskovskie Vedomosti!

The judge remarks to him: “Look, you will get it someday for this.” Shpekin exclaims with childish naivety: “Oh, priests!” It doesn’t even occur to him that he is doing something illegal. Gogol explains: “The postmaster is a simple-minded to the point of naivety, looking at life as a meeting interesting stories to pass the time, which he reads in printed letters. There’s nothing left for the actor to do except be as simple-minded as possible.”

Innocence, curiosity, the habitual doing of any untruth, the free-thinking of officials with the appearance of Khlestakov, that is, according to their concepts of an auditor, are suddenly replaced for a moment by an attack of fear inherent in criminals expecting severe retribution. The same inveterate freethinker Ammos Fedorovich, standing before Khlestakov, says to himself: “Lord God! I don't know where I'm sitting. Like hot coals beneath you.” And the mayor, in the same position, asks for mercy: “Do not destroy! Wife, small children... don’t make a person unhappy.” And further: “Because of inexperience, by God, because of inexperience. Insufficient wealth... Judge for yourself: the government salary is not enough even for tea and sugar.”

Gogol was especially dissatisfied with the way Khlestakov was played. " the main role disappeared,” he writes, “that’s what I thought.” Dur didn’t understand one bit what Khlestakov was.” Khlestakov is not just a dreamer. He himself does not know what he is saying and what he will say in the next moment. It’s as if someone sitting in him speaks for him, tempting through him all the characters in the play. Isn’t this the father of lies himself, that is, the devil?” It seems that Gogol had this exactly in mind. The heroes of the play, in response to these temptations, without noticing it themselves, reveal themselves in all their sinfulness.

Tempted by the evil one, Khlestakov himself seemed to acquire the features of a demon. On May 16 (New Style), 1844, Gogol wrote to S. T. Aksakov: “All this excitement and mental struggle of yours is nothing more than the work of our common friend, known to everyone, namely the devil. But don't lose sight of the fact that he is a clicker and is all about puffery.<…>You hit this beast in the face and don’t be embarrassed by anything. He is like a petty official who has entered the city as if for an investigation. It will throw dust at everyone, scatter it, and shout. All he has to do is become a little cowardly and move back - then he will start to show courage. And as soon as you step on him, he will tuck his tail between his legs. We ourselves make a giant out of him... A proverb is never in vain, but a proverb says: The devil boasted of taking over the whole world, but God did not give him power over even a pig.”. This is how Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov is seen in this description.

The characters in the play feel a sense of fear more and more, as evidenced by the lines and the author’s remarks. (stretched out and trembling all over). This fear seems to spread to the hall. After all, in the hall sat those who were afraid of auditors, but only real ones - the sovereign's. Meanwhile, Gogol, knowing this, called on them, in general Christians, to the fear of God, to the cleansing of their conscience, which no auditor, not even the Last Judgment, would be afraid of. Officials, as if blinded by fear, cannot see Khlestakov’s real face. They always look at their feet, and not at the sky. In “The Rule of Living in the World,” Gogol explained the reason for such fear: “... everything is exaggerated in our eyes and frightens us. Because we keep our eyes down and don’t want to raise them up. For if they were raised up for a few minutes, they would see above all only God and the light emanating from Him, illuminating everything in its present form, and then they themselves would laugh at their own blindness.”

The meaning of the epigraph and the “Silent Scene”

Regarding the epigraph that appeared later, in the 1842 edition, let’s say that this folk proverb By the mirror he means the Gospel, as Gogol’s contemporaries, who spiritually belonged to Orthodox Church, knew very well and could even reinforce the understanding of this proverb, for example, with Krylov’s famous fable “The Mirror and the Monkey.” Here the Monkey, looking in the mirror, addresses the Bear:

“Look,” he says, “my dear godfather!

What kind of face is that there?

What antics and jumps she has!

I would hang myself from boredom

If only she was even a little like her.

But, admit it, there is

Of my gossips, there are five or six such crooks;

I can even count them on my fingers.” -

Isn’t it better to turn on yourself, godfather?” -

Mishka answered her.

But Mishenka’s advice was wasted.

Bishop Varnava (Belyaev), in his major work “Fundamentals of the Art of Holiness” (1920s), connects the meaning of this fable with attacks on the Gospel, and this was exactly the meaning (among others) for Krylov. The spiritual idea of the Gospel as a mirror has long and firmly existed in the Orthodox consciousness. So, for example, Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, one of Gogol’s favorite writers, whose works he re-read more than once, says: “Christians! As a mirror is to the sons of this age, so may the Gospel and the immaculate life of Christ be for us. They look in the mirror and correct their bodies and cleanse the blemishes on their faces.<…>Let us, therefore, offer this pure mirror before our spiritual eyes and look into it: is our life consistent with the life of Christ?”

The holy righteous John of Kronstadt, in his diaries published under the title “My Life in Christ,” remarks to “those who do not read the Gospel”: “Are you pure, holy and perfect, without reading the Gospel, and you do not need to look into this mirror? Or are you very ugly mentally and are afraid of your ugliness?..”

In Gogol’s extracts from the holy fathers and teachers of the Church we find the following entry: “Those who want to cleanse and whiten their faces usually look in the mirror. Christian! Your mirror is the Lord's commandments; if you put them in front of you and look at them closely, they will reveal to you all the spots, all the blackness, all the ugliness of your soul.”

It is noteworthy that Gogol also addressed this image in his letters. So, on December 20 (New Style), 1844, he wrote to Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin from Frankfurt: “... always keep a book on your table that would serve you as a spiritual mirror”; and a week later - to Alexandra Osipovna Smirnova: “Look also at yourself. For this, have a spiritual mirror on the table, that is, some book that your soul can look into...”

As you know, a Christian will be judged according to the gospel law. In “The Inspector General’s Denouement,” Gogol puts into the mouth of the First Comic Actor the idea that on the day Last Judgment we will all find ourselves with “crooked faces”: “... let us look at ourselves at least a little through the eyes of the One who will call confrontation all the people in front of whom even the best of us, don’t forget this, will lower their eyes to the ground in shame, and let’s see if any of us will then have the courage to ask: “Is my face crooked?”

It is known that Gogol never parted with the Gospel. “You can’t invent anything higher than what is already in the Gospel,” he said. “How many times has humanity recoiled from it and how many times has it turned back?”

It is impossible, of course, to create any other “mirror” similar to the Gospel. But just as every Christian is obliged to live according to the Gospel commandments, imitating Christ (to the extent of his human strength), so Gogol the playwright, according to his talent, arranges his mirror on the stage. Any of the spectators could turn out to be Krylov's Monkey. However, it turned out that this viewer saw “five or six gossips,” but not himself. Gogol later spoke about the same thing in his address to readers in “ Dead souls": "You will even laugh heartily at Chichikov, maybe even praise the author... And you will add: “But I must agree, there are strange and funny people in some provinces, and quite a few scoundrels at that!” And which of you, full of Christian humility... will deepen this difficult question into your own soul: “Isn’t there some part of Chichikov in me too?” Yes, no matter how it is!”

The mayor’s response: “Why are you laughing? You’re laughing at yourself!” - which, like the epigraph, appeared in 1842, also has its parallel in “Dead Souls”. In the tenth chapter, reflecting on the mistakes and delusions of all mankind, the author notes: “The current generation now sees everything clearly, marvels at the errors, laughs at the foolishness of its ancestors, not in vain that... a piercing finger is directed from everywhere at it, at the current generation; but the current generation laughs and arrogantly, proudly begins a series of new errors, which posterity will also laugh at later.”

main idea“The Inspector General” is the idea of inevitable spiritual retribution that every person should expect. Gogol, dissatisfied with the way “The Inspector General” was staged and how the audience perceived it, tried to reveal this idea in “The Denouement of The Inspector General.”

“Take a close look at this city that is depicted in the play! - says Gogol through the mouth of the First Comic Actor. – Everyone agrees that there is no such city in all of Russia...<…>Well, what if this is our spiritual city and it sits with each of us?<…>Whatever you say, the inspector who waits for us at the door of the coffin is terrible. As if you don’t know who this auditor is? Why pretend? This auditor is our awakened conscience, which will force us to suddenly and at once look at ourselves with all our eyes. Nothing can be hidden from this inspector, because he was sent by the Named Supreme Command and will be announced when it is no longer possible to take a step back. Suddenly, such a monster will be revealed to you, within you, that your hair will stand up in horror. It’s better to revise everything that is in us at the beginning of life, and not at the end of it.”

We are talking here about the Last Judgment. And now it becomes clear final scene"Inspector". It is a symbolic picture of the Last Judgment. The appearance of the gendarme, announcing the arrival from St. Petersburg “by personal order” of the current inspector, has a stunning effect on the heroes of the play. Gogol's remark: “The spoken words strike everyone like thunder. The sound of amazement unanimously emanates from the ladies' lips; the whole group, suddenly changing position, remains petrified" ( italics mine. – V.V.).

Gogol attached exceptional importance to this “silent scene”. He defines its duration as one and a half minutes, and in “Excerpt from a Letter...” he even talks about two or three minutes of “petrification” of the heroes. Each of the characters, with their whole figure, seems to show that he can no longer change anything in his fate, even lift a finger - he is in front of the Judge. According to Gogol’s plan, at this moment there should be silence in the hall of general reflection.

In “Dénouement,” Gogol did not offer a new interpretation of “The Inspector General,” as is sometimes thought, but only exposed it main idea. On November 2 (NS), 1846, he wrote to Ivan Sosnitsky from Nice: “Pay your attention to the last scene of The Inspector General.” Think about it, think about it again. From the final play, “The Denouement of The Inspector General,” you will understand why I am so concerned about this last scene and why it is so important to me that it has its full effect. I am sure that you will look at The Inspector General with different eyes after this conclusion, which, for many reasons, could not be given to me then and is only possible now.”

From these words it follows that “Dénouement” did not give new meaning to the “silent scene”, but only clarified its meaning. Indeed, at the time of the creation of “The Inspector General” in “Petersburg Notes of 1836”, Gogol’s lines appear that directly precede “Dénouement”: “Calm and menacing Lent. A voice seems to be heard: “Stop, Christian; look back at your life.”

However, Gogol’s interpretation of the district city as a “spiritual city”, and its officials as the embodiment of the passions rampant in it, made in the spirit of the patristic tradition, came as a surprise to his contemporaries and caused rejection. Shchepkin, who was destined for the role of the First Comic Actor, read new play, refused to play in it. On May 22, 1847, he wrote to Gogol: “... until now I have studied all the heroes of The Inspector General as living people... Don’t give me any hints that these are not officials, but our passions; no, I don’t want such a remake: these are people, real living people, among whom I grew up and almost grew old.<…>You have gathered several people from the whole world into one gathering place, into one group, with these people at the age of ten I became completely related, and you want to take them away from me.”

Meanwhile, Gogol’s intention did not at all imply the goal of making “living people” - full-blooded artistic images- some kind of allegory. The author only revealed the main idea of the comedy, without which it looks like a simple denunciation of morals. “The Inspector General” is “The Inspector General,” Gogol answered Shchepkin around July 10 (New Style), 1847, “and application to oneself is an indispensable thing that every viewer must do from everything, even not “The Inspector General,” but which it would be more appropriate for him to do about “The Inspector General.”

In the second edition of the ending of “Dénouement,” Gogol clarifies his thought. Here the First Comic Actor (Michal Mihalcz) responds to the doubts of one of the characters that his proposed interpretation of the play answers author's intention, says: “The author, even if he had this thought, would have acted badly if he had revealed it clearly. The comedy would then turn into an allegory, and some pale moralizing sermon could emerge from it. No, his job was simply to depict the horror of material unrest, not ideal city, but in the one on earth...<…>His job is to portray this darkness so strongly that everyone feels that they need to fight with it, so that it makes the viewer tremble - and the horror of the riots penetrates him through and through. That's what he should have done. And this is our job to give a moral lesson. We, thank God, are not children. I thought about what kind of moral lesson I could draw for myself, and I attacked the one that I have now told you.”

And further, to the questions of those around him, why was he the only one who brought out such a distant moral teaching, according to their concepts, Michal Mihalch answers: “First of all, why do you know that I was the only one who brought out this moral teaching? And secondly, why do you consider it distant? I think, on the contrary, our own soul is closest to us. I had my soul in my mind then, I was thinking about myself, and that’s why I came up with this moral teaching. If others had thought about this before themselves, they would probably have drawn the same moral teaching that I have drawn. But does each of us approach a writer’s work, like a bee to a flower, in order to extract from it what we need? No, we are looking for moral teaching in everything. others, and not for yourself. We are ready to advocate and protect the entire society, carefully valuing the morality of others and forgetting about our own. After all, we love to laugh at others, not at ourselves..."

It is impossible not to notice that these reflections of the main character of “Dénouement” not only do not contradict the content of “The Inspector General,” but correspond exactly to it. Moreover, the thoughts expressed here are organic to Gogol’s entire work.

The idea of the Last Judgment should have been developed in “Dead Souls”, since it really follows from the content of the poem. One of the rough sketches (obviously for the third volume) directly paints a picture of the Last Judgment: “Why didn’t you remember Me, that I look at you, that I am yours? Why did you expect rewards and attention and encouragement from people, and not from Me? What business would it then be for you to pay attention to how an earthly landowner will spend your money when you have a Heavenly Landowner? Who knows what would have ended if you had reached the end without being afraid? You would surprise with the greatness of your character, you would finally gain the upper hand and force amazement; would you leave the name like eternal monument valor, and they would shed streams of tears, streams of tears for you, and like a whirlwind you would scatter the flame of goodness in the hearts.” The manager lowered his head, ashamed, and did not know where to go. And many officials and nobles followed him, wonderful people those who began to serve and then abandoned the field hung their heads sadly.” Let us note that the theme of the Last Judgment permeates all of Gogol’s work, and this corresponded to his spiritual life, his desire for monasticism. And a monk is a person who has left the world, preparing himself to answer at the judgment of Christ. Gogol remained a writer and, as it were, a monk in the world. In his writings he shows that it is not man who is bad, but the sin operating within him. Orthodox monasticism has always maintained the same thing. Gogol believed in strength artistic word, which can point the way to moral revival. It was with this faith that he created The Inspector General.

What does N.V. Gogol expose in the comedy “The Inspector General”?

What does N.V. Gogol expose in the comedy “The Inspector General”? Almost the entire comedy can be considered the answer to this question, because in almost every action, in every replica of any character, we see either the pathetic and immoral, or the illegal and unlawful, in a word, unworthy of a decent and wise man who the main characters strive to pass themselves off as. However, first things first.

So, the negligence of officials is the first thing that Gogol exposes. I'll try to prove this. In the very first act of the work we see officials, frightened and annoyed by the imminent arrival of the auditor, and their fears are not groundless. Each department has its own sins. We immediately understand that the mayor knows perfectly well about everything that is happening in the city, but he has no desire to correct it. His behavior is not just indifference, but real negligence, which cannot be one of the qualities of a high-ranking official.

In the same action, we observe many comments made by the mayor to his subordinates, exposing the lack of any sense of social and moral duty.

For example, inappropriate conditions of detention and treatment of patients in charitable institutions or, in general, their ever-growing number.

The atmosphere in the courthouse is terrible, where we see corruption, drunkenness and an irresponsible attitude towards service. In the judge’s office, there is a hunting rifle hanging on the wall as a symbol of cruelty and inevitable punishment, and about unfair court decisions, where the advantage is on the side of the one who gives the bribe bigger size. In short, a few more points that Gogol exposes.

Inadequacy also finds its place in this comedy. Oddly enough, it becomes educational institution. Inadequacy here is manifested in the excessive emotionality of teachers, which scares off not only inspection officials, but also students.

However, everything that may interest the auditor lies on the surface.

In fact, there are many more problems that need to be exposed, and not only with the law. In turn, the writer draws our attention to ordinary human stupidity, which is reflected in all officials, as well as in the wife and daughter of the mayor and Khlestakov. There is cowardice in Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky, who tell all the ins and outs of their colleagues to the “auditor”. The curiosity of a postmaster who lovingly kept and read other people's letters. The injustice of serfdom, recklessness. The rights of residents are also infringed, for example, a non-commissioned officer’s wife is flogged, and the mayor demands expensive gifts from merchants. Vanity is exposed in Khlestakov when, using gradation, he speaks about his position in St. Petersburg, clearly showing off in front of the mayor’s wife and daughter.

As you can see, we should summarize the list of vices exposed by N.V. Gogol: bribery, negligence, injustice, alcoholism, inadequacy, curiosity, vanity, stupidity, cowardice, recklessness, infringement of rights. So what did the writer expose? He exposed “everything bad in Russia,” all the shortcomings in government and in the life of district towns, which, unfortunately, still exist to this day.

Updated: 2018-04-05

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The action in The Inspector General dates back to the early 30s. 19th century. All kinds of abuses of power, embezzlement and bribery, arbitrariness and disdain to the people were characteristic and ingrained features of the bureaucracy of that time. This is exactly how Gogol shows in his comedy the rulers of a typical district town, dirty, poorly organized, with ignorant inhabitants suffering from the arbitrariness of local authorities.

The plot is based on the commotion among officials that arises in the city after the news of the arrival of the auditor. Discussing the measures to be taken actually becomes a real self-exposure. But officials are directing their efforts not to eliminating the shortcomings with which the life of the city is full, but to masking them. Moreover, recommendations are given by the most important official - mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky. It is he who must monitor order in the city and its improvement. From the monologues of this character, the viewer understands that he is very well aware of the state of affairs in all departments, but does nothing to eradicate the unrest. He takes bribes himself and allows others to do so. He is an embezzler: he constantly embezzles government money.

However, Anton Antonovich allows such behavior only in relation to the bourgeoisie; in front of his superiors, he acts as a zealous servant, benefactor, and sycophant.

Gogol awards the local judge “Lyapkin-Tyapkin” with a wonderful “speaking” surname. It immediately becomes clear that he is doing things poorly. Ammos Fedorovich is only interested in hunting and, taking bribes with greyhound puppies, considers himself a highly moral person. His indifference to official affairs and duties is so great that the district court is gradually turning into some kind of farm - right in the front hall the guards keep domestic geese.

The trustee of charitable institutions, Strawberry, is “a fat man, but a subtle rogue.” In the hospital under his jurisdiction, patients are dying like flies. On occasion, Strawberry is ready to denounce his colleagues.

Postmaster Shpekin is opening letters.

Thus, the author clearly shows that local officials are mired in bribery and arbitrariness. The moral of these people is this: “There is no person who does not have some sins behind him. This is already how God himself arranged it.” The ability not to miss something that floats into their hands is, in their opinion, a manifestation of intelligence and enterprise.

The work has an epigraph: “There is no point in blaming the mirror if your face is crooked.” That is, Gogol emphasizes that what is depicted in the comedy is a mirror that reflects the vices of Russian society

The work of N.V. Gogol is not so much comical as it is filled with tragedy, because when reading it, you begin to understand: a society in which there are so many degenerate leaders, corrupted by idleness and impunity, has no future.

3. Read by heart a poem by a twentieth-century poet about the homeland, about nature (optional). What thoughts and feelings does this poem evoke in you?

TICKET No. 8

1. Identify the features of the genre historical novel using the example of W. Scott’s work “Ivanhoe”.

Historical novel is a genre of narrative literature that shows human destinies and characters to a certain extent historical era, as well as conveying the appearance of this era

Features of a historical novel according to W. Scott:

1. Show turning points history, when the fate of the country is decided. (Recreated in the novel historical time feudal strife of the 12th century, third crusade(1189-1192). However, people lived not only by events of such a global scale. The reader sees not the hikes themselves, but the drawn bright colors a picture of life in the era of feudalism: some of the participants in the crusade, echoes of military failures and fierce feuds of the feudal lords; the struggle for royal power between the Normans and the Saxons).

2. Private life people connected with historical process. (Historical events unfold against the backdrop of a fascinating description of real life in the homes of the rich and hermits, popular entertainment and holidays, the habits of people and the signs of that time. The plot of the novel centers on episodes typical of the era: a tournament of knights, a siege and storming of a castle in order to free hostages; storylines are woven around Ivanhoe.)

3. Representatives of different classes act in the novel. (Swineherd Gurth, jester Wamba, knight Briand, prior, Cedric the nobleman.)

4. Role shown masses. (Assault on the castle of Font de Boeuf)

V. Scott created a multi-faceted action-packed novel, with many characters, representing various social groups. It depicts real historical figures (Richard Lion Heart) And fictional characters(Ivanhoe, Gurt, Rowenna, etc.), and historical events are combined with episodes and scenes of private life.

V. G. Belinsky wrote that the work of V. Scott influenced the creation historical genres fiction and on the development of historical science.