In the topical quotes of The Inspector General, everyone will be able to find for themselves the well-known facets of personality that Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogolâs talent turned into a real masterpiece of world literature. In the article we will consider this as an example of one of the heroes of the comedy, the district judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin.
The Thorny Path of the Examiner
Many works by Nikolai Vasilievich, including Dead Souls and The Examiner, received conflicting reviews from contemporaries during the life of Gogol himself. The urgency and causticity of his works determined their thorny road to the public. Quotes of the Inspector General quickly spread to both capitals and were especially fond of the provincial residents of the provinces.
Gogol was accused of a lack of humility and pride, but he himself to some extent saw himself as a prophet, feeling the mysterious power of his syllable and wanting to put his talent to the benefit of society.
âAnd bring Lyapkina-Tyapkina here! ..â
The image of the county judge has become a household name. He is known to us by the well-known phrase: "And bring Lyapkina-Tyapkina here!" The quotes from The Examiner truly enriched the Russian language, filling it with those incomparable thoughts and the brightest characters of the past era that we can easily find with you even now. Such judges were also frequent in large cities, but they especially tyrannized the rural district. There, their atrocities met no barriers.
City N, in which comedy events unfold, is a collective image of provincial towns, where power was in the hands of such leaders, as Anton Antonovich and others like him. The satrap sat on the satrap, and ordinary people groaned under the yoke of a bunch of tyrants, without defenders, because the heavenly court is far away, and the earthly court was not on the side of truth. Lyapkin-Tyapkin - a collective image, painting us a portrait of a provincial official.
Portrait of Lyapkin-Tyapkin
"... Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin, judge ... collegiate assessor ..." - the hero seems to us. But what does Gogol himself write about him?
Lyapkin-Tyapkin, judge, person who has read five or six books, and therefore is somewhat freethinking. The hunter is a big guess, and therefore gives his own word weight. Representing him must always keep in his face a significant mine. Says bass with an oblong extension, wheezing and glanders - like an old watch that previously hiss, and then beat.
Š N.V. Gogol
In this characteristic, the author presents the reader with a very comical image. Behind the pompous posture, "wheezing and glanders" there is essentially nothing suggestive of thought. This is one of those fake personalities that are so gracious to Gogol's pen. They guess living people and living characters. Somewhere, of course, they are grotesque, but this makes them no less realistic.
âJudge Lyapkin-Tyapkin is very bad manners ...â Hero characterization
Passionate hunter, scorch and dishonest crook. However, Ammos Fedorovich confidently states:
Sins to sins - discord. I tell everyone openly that I take bribes, but how do I take bribes? Greyhound puppies. This is a completely different matter.
The understanding of a bribe by a greyhound puppy is not the same as a money bribe. This is another bright touch, very accurately and subtly showing us the character of a person. The dogs and hunting are much more concerned with Lyapkin-Tyapkin, but he obviously presents his direct duties with vague results.
Iâve been sitting on the judicial chair for fifteen years, and when I look into the memorandum - ah! Iâll just wave my hand. Solomon himself will not allow what is true in her and what is untruth.
The mundane mind and ingenuousness of thinking are seen everywhere from Lyapkin-Tyapkin, although the appearance of a judge, his manner of leisurely speech, and âfree-thinkingâ give importance to this figure. This alogism of appearance and nature gives sharpness and expressiveness to the image. The surname Lyapkin-Tyapkin shows the true state of affairs in court, that everything is done through a stump-deck, tyap-lyap.
But in the everyday sense, Lyapkin-Tyapkin was not distinguished by prominent piety. Persistent rumors circulated around the city that he often visited the wife of the landowner Dobchinsky.
... as soon as this Dobchinsky leaves the house somewhere, he [Lyapkin-Tyapkin] sits there with his wife ... And deliberately look at the children: none of them resemble Dobchinsky, but thatâs all, even a little girl, like a spilled judge ...
Bit of history
The court in Russia was going through hard times. This problem especially concerned the province, and quotes from the comedian âThe Examinerâ with a well-aimed shot reflected this on paper. Two centuries later, they come to mind when, even nowadays, one has to see the likes of the Lyapkins-Tyapkins.
The man received the post of judge, being elected by the noble assembly for a term of three years.
"From eight hundred and sixteenth he was elected to a three-year period at the behest of the nobility and continued his position to this day."
On paper, the judge and assessors resolved minor criminal and civil cases. In fact, as we see from the quotes from the âExaminerâ, Gogol showed the complete failure of the judicial system in the province. Lyapkin-Tyapkin turned the court into a real inn. When talking with him, the mayor notes:
In your front hall, where the petitioners are usually, the watchmen brought home geese with small geese ... Of course, it is commendable for everyone to start a housekeeping, and why should the watchman not start it? Only, you know, in such a place itâs indecent ... itâs bad that you have dried up in the very presence of all rubbish and hunting arapnik over the very cabinet with papers ... "
When neighboring landowners started a lawsuit, Lyapkin-Tyapkin did not hesitate to use it.
... and now I have a luxury: harassing hares on the lands of both of them.
But bullying caused serious damage to agriculture, as crops suffered. In the subtext of this episode, we read the complete autocracy of officials who, like chain dogs, poison people like hares.
Being on a short foot with the mayor, Lyapkin-Tyapkin proudly announces his regalia:
For three three years, he was presented to Vladimir of the fourth degree with the approval of the authorities.
Needless to say, the award did not find its hero.
"Examiner" abroad
The beloved quotes of the âInspector Generalâ have replenished the rich arsenal of Russian speech, but even abroad Gogolâs immortal creation was well known even then, and still remains beloved. About ten years, Nikolai Vasilievich spent abroad, traveling around Europe. It was this significant period that gave us the finished version of Dead Souls and Overcoat. The first foreign productions of The Examiner were played back in the mid-nineteenth century in Paris, Prague, later in Berlin, Dresden, London, and the list goes on.
Lyapkins-Tyapkins of our day
So, we studied the portrait of the judge according to the characteristic with quotes. âThe Examinerâ, of course, is a comedy, but you want to cry from such a comedy when you understand that all this is not farce, but sarcastic examples of incompetent local authorities, bribery and embezzlement. These malicious crops always grow in abundance on the fertile soil of disorder and lack of control. When preventive measures in the form of reforms are not carried out in time in the country, then problem areas with purulent abscesses appear on the body of society, requiring surgical intervention. Gogol outlined this picture, and we can observe the same picture in our days. Talking names and immortal quotes of the works of Nikolai Vasilyevich gave us vivid images that everyone can meet on their way.