Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls” is one of the most significant literary works of the 19th century. In it, the author reveals the most important problems of Russia at that time. However, do not forget that the work is not finished, since shortly before his death Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol burned the second volume of this poem.
Contrary to popular belief, the main reason that the author decided not to continue Dead Souls is not that he had problems with his mind. The reasons for this act are much deeper and they are, first of all, in the ideological basis of the poem.
The meaning of the work
Initially, Gogol conceived not 2, but 3 whole volumes of the poem. It was to be composed on the principle of Dante’s Divine Comedy. In the original, the hero first goes through the circles of hell, after that he ends up in purgatory, and then paradise awaits him. It was these three places that were to become the ideological basis for the three volumes of dead souls.
However, in the process of working on the work, Gogol realized that his plan was not feasible, because he writes a book about Russia, and those problems that should have been solved actually require a much deeper analysis. Therefore, the author decides that neither the second nor the third volume makes any sense.
Building
In Dante's Divine Comedy, the main character goes through all the circles of hell, and each circle is a more terrible place than the previous one. Dead Souls have a similar construction.
The main character, Chichikov, takes turns visiting different landowners, each of whom has more disgusting vices than the previous one. The main character’s visit is to buy dead souls, that is, serfs who are already dead. This in theory could bring him profit, but in reality everything turned out differently.
Heroes of the poem
Stopping by a new landowner, Chichikov always tries to be as helpful and helpful as possible, because his main goal is to earn money. He does this dishonestly, but most landowners do not refuse the main character.
Each landowner embodies certain human vices, which are manifested both in his behavior and in the economy. Next, we will talk about the economy of one of the landowners - Nozdrev, and on his example it will become clear how the estate characterizes the character in Gogol's poem.
Manor of Nozdrev
First of all, it is worth noting that Nozdrev does not deal with the affairs of his own estate, since they are completely not interesting to him. He entrusted all the worries to the clerk, whom he regularly curses, and it does not matter whether it is for the case or not. Therefore, the Nozdrev estate is in a deplorable state.
The main pride of the landowner is the stable. It was there that he first leads Chichikov, showing him his estate. In total, the inspection of the estate took the heroes no more than two hours, since there was nothing special to show.
Nozdrev himself is a character very quarrelsome and unpredictable. At any moment, he can shout at and swear at someone. This characterization of the hero is perfectly complemented by the fact that the Nozdrev estate, in addition to ordinary cattle, contains a real wolf on a leash in its farm. They feed him only raw meat, substantiating their actions as follows:
“Here is a cub! - he said. “I purposely feed him raw meat.” I want him to be a perfect beast! ”
Speaking about the features that the Nozdrev estate has (Dead Souls), quotes from the protagonist must be taken into account first of all, because exactly how he himself speaks about his estate gives the most complete description of his personality.
It is enough to recall, for example, the episode where the landowner tells Chichikov about what huge fish are found in his pond. According to Nozdrev, even two people hardly pull out one fish, although in reality this is not at all the case. This episode reveals the character as a bouncer and a chatterbox.
The absurdity, ignorance and recklessness of Nozdrev is complemented by the fact that many loud furious dogs live in his estate, which he loves very much. According to the author, the landowner was among the dogs as a father among the family.
Nozdryov’s estate has no decent roads, and this once again underlines the fact that he absolutely does not care about his household and manages his estate. And not just not able, but has no desire to do it.
No matter how poor the Nozdrev estate is, there are also dead souls in it, so Chichikov is trying to buy them. However, he does not succeed, as the owner insists that first you need to play cards. Chichikov refuses, so Nozdrev’s estate (Dead Souls) does not bring what he wants, which greatly upsets the hero.
In custody
In Gogol's poem Dead Souls, great attention is paid not only to the landowners themselves, who are visited by Chichikov, but also to the conditions under which they live. Every detail in the character’s household helps to better reveal his personality, which can be clearly seen on the example of Nozdrev. This character is an absurd ignoramus, therefore, Nozdrev’s estate is in poor condition, and its main advantage is dogs and horses. However, do not forget about the hero himself. Speaking about what features Nozdryov’s estate has in the poem “Dead Souls”, the hero’s quotes should also be remembered, because they give the most complete characterization of the character.