"Chichikov's visit to Plyushkin"
The episode “Chichikov at Plyushkin’s” is interesting from an ideological and artistic point of view.
The author managed to paint lively, vivid pictures of Chichikov’s meeting with the most repulsive landowner, with “a hole in humanity.” Chichikov Pavel Ivanovich visited Plyushkin last after Sobakevich. Then the hero-entrepreneur went to the city and in his tavern drew up deeds of sale for all the purchased peasants. Thus, in Chichikov’s “business” this episode is the culmination. The hero has achieved his goal. The revelation will follow later.
In the gallery of portraits of “dead souls”, the image of Plyushkin is also the culmination, because everything negative is concentrated in it.
In the buying and selling scene, Plyushkin’s character is expressively revealed; The main feature of the hero is stinginess, brought to the point of absurdity, crossing all boundaries.
First of all, Plyushkin’s reaction to Chichikov’s proposal attracts attention. With joy, the landowner is speechless for a moment. Greed has so permeated his brain that he is afraid of missing out on the opportunity to get rich. Gogol uses an interesting metaphor: “the joy that so instantly appeared on his wooden face passed just as instantly...” The metaphor “wooden face” defines the essence of Plyushkin. He had no normal human feelings left in his soul. Plyushkin is like a block of wood, he doesn’t love anyone, he doesn’t regret it at all. He can only experience something for a moment, in this case the joy of a good deal.
Soon the landowner's usual fear and concern return to him, because the deed of sale will entail some expenses. Plyushkin is unable to survive this.
The author emphasizes the discrepancy between the hero's words and his own behavior.
From the scene of the purchase and sale of “dead souls” one can learn new examples of his stinginess. So, at Plyushkin’s for all the servants; for both young and old “there were only boots, which were supposed to be in the entryway.” Or another example. The owner wants to treat Chichikov to a liqueur that used to contain “boogers and all sorts of rubbish,” and the liqueur was placed in a decanter that “was covered in dust, like a sweatshirt.” The grotesque helps to evoke a feeling of disgust and condemnation towards Plyushkin.
The scene also shows Plyushkin's rudeness and suspicion. He scolds the servants. For example, he addresses Proshka: “Fool! Ehwa, you fool! And the master calls Mavra “robber.” Plyushkin suspects everyone of stealing: “After all, my people are either a thief or a swindler: they will steal so much in a day that there will be nothing to hang a caftan on.” Plyushkin deliberately becomes poor in order to “snatch” an extra penny from Chichikov. What is characteristic in this scene is that Plyushkin bargains with Chichikov for a long time. At the same time, his hands tremble and shake with greed, “like mercury.” Gogol finds a very interesting comparison. We clearly understand that Plyushkin has lost his human appearance.
The author in this scene creates another bright comic situation. When we read the dialogue between Mavra and Plyushkin, we immediately notice a discrepancy. After all, the master accuses the servant of stealing a piece of paper. And for this little thing he threatens Mavra with the Last Judgment! When the housekeeper found the paper, Plyushkin had no choice but to accuse Mavra of another sin, of excessive wastefulness: “... you grab a tallow candle, lard is a hot matter: it will burn - yes and no, only a loss, and you bring me a splinter! » There is also an author’s assessment of the character in this scene: “And to what insignificance, pettiness, nastyness a person could condescend! Could have changed so much!” The writer calls on young people to preserve “all human movements” in order to avoid degradation, so as not to turn into Plyushkin and others like him.
↑ Biography of Plyushkin: history, life, family.
But it was not always so. Plyushkin, the only landowner, has a biography in the poem. Once upon a time he was only a thrifty owner, and neighbors came to him to learn “housekeeping and wise stinginess.” He was married and a family man: the friendly and talkative hostess was famous for her hospitality, two pretty daughters came out to meet the guests, and his son ran out. On the mezzanine lived a French teacher and a French governess. All the windows in the house were open, everything flowed lively and happened at a measured pace: mills, fulling mills were moving, cloth factories, carpentry machines, spinning mills were working, and everywhere everything was entered into by the watchful gaze of the owner, who at that time “appeared at the table in a frock coat at least somewhat worn, but neat...”
But the owner died, Plyushkin took over some of the worries, and he became more restless, suspicious and stingy. The eldest daughter soon ran away with the captain and got married in some village church. Her father cursed her.
The teachers were released; the son, sent to the city to serve in the ward, instead decided to join the regiment, soon lost, his father cursed him too “and was never interested in knowing whether he exists in the world or not.” Finally, the last daughter who was with him in the house died, and the old man found himself the watchman, guardian and owner of his wealth. Lonely life gave food to stinginess; human feelings, which had never been deep in him, became shallow every minute. “Every year the windows in his house were closed, until finally only two remained, one of which... was covered with paper; Every year more and more important parts of the economy disappeared from sight, and his shallow glance turned to the papers and feathers that he collected in his room... hay and bread rotted, luggage and stacks turned into pure manure, even if you planted cabbage or flour on them in the cellars it turned into stone, and it was necessary to chop it down; it was scary to touch cloth, canvas and household materials: they turned to dust. He had already forgotten how much of anything he had, and only remembered where in his closet there was a decanter with the remainder of some tincture, on which he himself made a mark so that no one would drink it by stealing, and where the feather lay or sealing wax. <...> It must be said that such a phenomenon rarely occurs in Rus', where everything likes to unfold rather than shrink..."
My daughter and children came twice, Plyushkin took gifts, but he himself did not give anything. He became more unyielding to the buyers, who finally turned their backs on him. Everything was going to waste for Plyushkin, but the income on the farm was still collected, again becoming rotten and a hole, and he himself finally turned into some kind of “hole in humanity.”
In response to Chichikov’s compliment regarding economy and order, Plyushkin muttered something unfriendly through his lips (he had no teeth), but still invited him to sit down. He informed Chichikov that he had dined long ago, and there was at least a tuft of hay on the farm, so there was nothing to feed the guest’s horse. According to him, he also has few peasants - the last three years the fever has wiped out a hefty sum of peasants, from the date of the last audit to 120 souls. The men, he said, are lazy and don’t like to work.
Reaction to Chichikov's proposals
During the time of buying up dead souls, Chichikov traveled to many estates and met different landowners. Each of them reacted in their own way to the protagonist’s unusual proposal to buy up dead souls. So what was the reaction to Chichikov’s proposal from the main characters of the poem?
- Manilov and Korobochka's reaction to Chichikov's proposal
- Reaction of Nozdryov and Sobakevich to Chichikov’s proposal
- Plyushkin's reaction to Chichikov's proposal
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Manilov and Korobochka's reaction to Chichikov's proposal
Manilov is the first character Chichikov meets during his journey. This man constantly makes many unrealizable plans, indulges in idle idleness and does not even know how many of his peasants have died. Chichikov's proposal surprised him a lot. For a long time he could not understand why this pleasant gentleman needed “dead souls.”
“Strong-browed” and “club-headed,” as the author dubbed her, Nastasya Korobochka is the only woman among the landowners with whom Chichikov meets. She is a true entrepreneur and businesswoman. What is Korobochka’s reaction to Chichikov’s proposal? Although she was surprised, as befits a clever and lively seller who does not hesitate to sell anything and anyone, she is ready to sell dead souls. She is not at all surprised by the hero’s proposal. The only thing she cares about is how not to sell it too cheap. The landowner does not even immediately agree to the deal, but wants to go to the city to find out how much “dead souls” are worth today.
Reaction of Nozdryov and Sobakevich to Chichikov’s proposal
Nozdryov is a brawler and brawler who has no moral principles. Having two children, he does not care about them at all and does not pay attention to them. He loves the dogs and wolf cub that live in his house more than his own offspring. What is Nozdryov’s reaction to Chichikov’s proposal? Unlike Korobochka and Manilov, he was not at all surprised. In this proposal he saw only an opportunity to spend time profitably. He invited Chichikov to play for “dead souls”, and if he wins, he takes them for free. As a result, they almost started a fight, and Chichikov managed to escape. Nozdryov is the only landowner in the work from whom Chichikov could not buy serfs.
Plyushkin's reaction to Chichikov's proposal
Plyushkin is the last of the heroes whom Chichikov meets. This miser and miser starves his serfs, although in his bins food and things no one needs are rotting. He accumulates his wealth not for the sake of any goal, but for the sake of the process of accumulation itself. Many years ago he was a decent and respected landowner who adored his wife and children. But after the death of his wife and the departure of his children from home, he lost the remnants of noble feelings, and the spark went out in his eyes. Hearing Chichikov’s proposal, the old man was very happy, realizing that good money could be earned for people who no longer existed. Why Chichikov was doing such a strange business did not interest him, since he did not pay attention to anything other than profit.
Chichikov in Plyushkin (analysis of a fragment of the 6th chapter of the first volume of N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”)
On the meaning of the title of the poem by N.V. Gogol can be approached from different angles. The direct meaning of the phrase “dead souls” is serfs, numbered only on paper. There is also a figurative meaning of this expression - people with a dead soul, insensitive, inhuman people. All the landowners brought onto the stage in the poem can be considered such “dead souls”. The appearance of landowners before the reader has a symbolic meaning: they are arranged according to the degree of death of the human soul. We meet first with Manilov, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Sobakevich, and then with Plyushkin. Why is Plyushkin the last of all whom Chichikov visits? Let us turn to the episode of Chichikov’s visit to Plyushkin in the sixth chapter of the novel. Chichikov, approaching the village, sees many huts and streets. But he notices some special disrepair of peasant houses: rotten logs, leaky roofs. The master's house also did not leave the best impressions, since “this strange castle looked like some kind of decrepit invalid”: two of all the windows were open, and even then patched. Only the garden “alone was quite picturesque in its picturesque desolation.” Nature takes its toll, everything in it is free and beautiful. But Chichikov had to give up contemplation of natural beauty in order to switch to the landowner’s house and the owner himself. Up close, the house turned out to be even sadder than from a distance. Time has worked on him wonderfully: “Nothing was noticeable to enliven the picture - no doors opening, no people coming out from somewhere, no living troubles and worries at home!” All this was quite strange and surprising for Chichikov. However, Pavel Ivanovich was even more surprised when he saw the figure of the “housekeeper” who sent him into the house. But this was not the last thing that surprised the guest. The disorder in the rooms was extraordinary. A lot of things were piled here, from furniture to “a lot of all sorts of things”: “a lemon, all dried up,” a glass with some kind of liquid and three flies, a piece of a rag picked up somewhere and other rubbish that no one needed. All this was reminiscent of a petty thief’s storeroom: “It was impossible to say that a living creature lived in this room.” However, nothing compares to the shock that Chichikov experienced when he learned that this “housekeeper” was in fact the richest landowner Plyushkin. Having learned this, our hero involuntarily stepped back. From Plyushkin’s portrait description we learn that he was a thin old man, except that his chin protruded noticeably forward: “The small eyes had not yet gone out and ran from under his high eyebrows, like mice.” His clothes were no different from those of a beggar. One could simply think that he was an impoverished landowner. But we see through the eyes of Chichikov all the goodness that literally filled Plyushkin’s rooms. In addition, this landowner had about a thousand souls, his barns were bursting with an abundance of goods. But everything has long since disappeared. Chichikov did not know where to start the conversation. He used to start like this: “I have heard about virtue and rare properties of the soul, and considered it my duty to personally pay tribute...”. However, this was not the case. There could be no talk of any “rare properties of the soul,” since Plyushkin is the most dead soul. “Economy” and “order”—that’s where Chichikov decided to start. Although, of course, stinginess and disorder reigned in Plyushkin’s house. Plyushkin immediately made it clear that the uninvited guest should not count on treats or even hay for the horse. The heroes’ business conversation went quite smoothly, although at first Chichikov’s proposal surprised Plyushkin. It’s interesting to watch the change in expression on the old man’s face. “The joy that so instantly appeared on his wooden face” from the realization that Chichikov was ready to pay taxes for the dead peasants was replaced by a concerned expression on his face. Finally, the hero began to look at Chichikov with suspicion. But he soon calmed down, though not for long. Every thing in Plyushkin’s house proved that his greed knew no bounds: a hundred-year-old liqueur, a piece of paper, a candle replaced with a splinter, and a cracker, which Chichikov, naturally, did not touch. How could a person come to this? The answer is in Plyushkin's life story. It should be noted that Gogol in his poem gives biographies of only two people: Chichikov and Plyushkin. Chichikov is the main character in the poem. What does Plyushkin have to do with it? It’s just that this is the last stage of a person’s mortification, when avarice crushes everything. It turns out that Plyushkin was once an excellent family man and owner. But after the death of his wife, everything changed. He became stingy, and loneliness after his son’s departure finally killed everything human in him: “Lonely life provided satisfying food for stinginess.” So gradually Plyushkin turned into “a hole in humanity.” Nasty, insignificance, callousness and pettiness are all that dominate in Plyushkin’s house. Isn't this the death of the soul? Plyushkin cannot even be frank with himself. After Chichikov’s departure, he thinks to thank the guest by giving him a silver watch, but still decides to leave it to him after his death. We understand that this will never happen. If he didn’t give anything to his grandchildren, if he cursed his son by abandoning him, what can we say about Chichikov!..
