The Lyapkin-Tyapkin characterization helps us better understand Gogol’s comedy "The Examiner", one of the characters of which he is. This judge, like all other officials of the county town, is far from sinless.
Judicial device
Ammos Fedorovich Lyapkin-Tyapkin, the characteristics of which are given in this article, served as a judge. It should be noted right away that in the times that Gogol describes, it was an elected post. County judges were chosen by local nobles, assessors were appointed for three years. So it turns out that the judges were in fact dependent on them, because the decision of those in power depended on who would solve various disputes. Often, verdicts were issued not in accordance with the letter of the law, but from personal, most often selfish preferences.
As a rule, the average county court consisted of a judge and two assessors. They had the right to deal with civil and small criminal cases. However, often their real powers were difficult to understand. A vivid proof of this is folklore. Numerous proverbs and sayings clearly reflected the attitude of an ordinary person to the judiciary. It was widely believed that the truth could not be achieved there, they advised not to be afraid of the court, but of the judge himself.
Lyapkin-Tyapkin characteristic
Giving the characterization of this character of the comedy Gogol "The Examiner", it is worth emphasizing that he was a poorly educated person. On the pages of the work it was separately noted that in his entire life he had read only five or six books. He was distinguished by freethinking. I met in all the conversations, trying to necessarily state my own point of view.
The following quotes characterize his personality well. Lyapkin-Tyapkin, when he finds out that an examiner is going to the city, immediately volunteers to explain to the people around this visit that Russia plans to wage a war, so "you see, the ministry sent the official to see if there was any betrayal" . On such ridiculous and unsubstantiated guesses, most of his conclusions are built.
Obviously, all this is far from the truth, moreover, it has nothing to do with what the small officials of the county town do. But Lyapkin-Tyapkin in The Examiner seeks to demonstrate that he does not feel any guilt, he has nothing to fear.
Comic tricks
Describing this character, Gogol uses an effective comic trick called "illogism." The author constantly demonstrates that in reality the judge is more concerned about issues related to hunting than cases that have come to court. That is why he takes bribes with greyhound puppies, and makes decisions accordingly. For purely personal purposes, he uses connections and acquaintances with the neighboring landowners.
For example, he tells the city manager that two neighbors started a lawsuit. He takes this opportunity to get permission to poison the hares on the ground, first of one, and then another participant in the case.
Mess in court
In the court, which is in charge of Lyapkin-Tyapkin, a complete mess is noticeable with the naked eye. The watchmen keep geese in the public places , and in the room where visitors are received, there is a hangover, that is, a long whip attached to a short wooden stick. This is a hunting accessory, hinting that in this court resort to corporal punishment.
The fact that the assessor is almost always drunk and things are doing very badly helps to characterize Lyapkin-Tyapkin is also very bad. This contains a clear allusion to the “speaking” name of the judge. But at the same time, the hero himself does not feel any fear or excitement before the upcoming visit of the auditor.
Using this official as an example, Gogol draws before us a portrait of a classical tsarist official who is not at all concerned with the defense of the rule of law. First of all, he cares about his own person.