A county town and its inhabitants. Essay on the topic: A district town and its inhabitants in Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General”
There is no point in blaming the mirror if your face is crooked.
Popular proverb
N.V. Gogol was outraged by the translated plays that were staged on the stages of Russian theaters. “We ask for Russians! Give us yours! What do we need the French and all the overseas people?” - he wrote. “The Inspector General” was the play where “Russian characters” were brought onto the stage and “our rogues” were ridiculed.
The plot of “The Inspector General” was taken from life, and the characters reminded almost everyone of someone; in any character one could recognize a familiar official. All this made Gogol's comedy very modern. Gogol himself said that he did not invent anything, he took everything from life: “I decided to collect everything bad that I knew and laugh at everything at once.”
The plot of the comedy is simple, it can be expressed in one phrase: Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov arrives in the district town of N, whom everyone mistakes for an auditor. Who are they - the inhabitants of this provincial town, preparing to meet the auditor, who, according to information received by the governor, is going to arrive secretly - incognito.
Chief among them is the mayor Anton Antonovich Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky. Important for us in his characterization are the remarks made by Gogol himself for the “gentlemen actors”: “The mayor, already old in the service and not very stupid, is a man in his own way. Although he is a bribe-taker, he behaves very respectably; quite serious; ...speaks neither loudly nor quietly, neither more nor less. His every word is significant. His facial features are rough. The transition from fear to joy, from baseness to arrogance is quite quick, like in a person with roughly developed inclinations of the soul...” The mayor is a careerist and a bribe-taker. He worked his way up from the bottom, and with his zeal and diligence achieved a position that gave him the opportunity to rob the treasury and the inhabitants of the city “entrusted” to him.
Mistaking the capital's wily Khlestakov for an auditor, for an important person, he loses his sanity in fright and, wanting to cover up his own “sins,” he cajoles the capital’s guest in every possible way. The mayor advises the trustee of charitable institutions, Strawberry, to put clean caps on the sick; Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin - to remove geese and goslings from the front court; The superintendent of schools should not worry about what the teachers teach, but pay attention to their appearance and manners. He gives the order to sweep the streets, but not all of them, but only the one that leads to the hotel where the auditor lives. The mayor is also worried about the fact that money was allocated for the construction of the church, which, of course, was stolen. Therefore, when asked about the church, one must answer that it was built, but burned down. He also cares about one of his subordinates, the Derzhimord policeman, who, at least under the auditor, “didn’t give too much rein to his fists.”
Having himself taken bribes from merchants, he instantly believed that the person who had been living in a hotel for the second week and had not paid anything was the same auditor from St. Petersburg.
Under the leadership of the mayor, other officials live quietly in the city, not forgetting to line their pockets.
Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin is known as a freethinker, as he has read five or even six books. He takes bribes like greyhound puppies, so he doesn’t consider himself a bribe-taker. He conducts paperwork very poorly, he is more interested in hunting, and not in court cases, where the assessor is always drunk and stinks of “all sorts of rubbish.” Material from the site
The trustee of charitable institutions, Strawberry, is a very fat, clumsy and clumsy man, but for all that, he is a sneak and a rogue. His patients smoke strong tobacco and are dirty. Doctor Christian Ivanovich doesn’t know a word of Russian. The treatment itself is carried out “closer to nature”, that is, practically without drugs.
The postmaster at work is busy opening other people's letters, which he reads out of curiosity.
Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky just run around the city and spread gossip.
There are still many characters in the comedy who don’t even need to appear on stage, they have such expressive “speaking” surnames: private bailiff Ukhovertov, police officers Svistunov, Pugovitsyn, Derzhimorda, merchant Abdulin.
Laughing at the negative phenomena of life, Gogol makes you think about them, understand their harmfulness and try to get rid of them.
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On this page there is material on the following topics:
- auditor essay peace district
- the image of a district town in N.V. Gogol’s comedy The Inspector General
- essay the district governor and its inhabitants
- district town and its inhabitants in the comedy The Inspector General
- county town and its inhabitants
County town and its inhabitants
The comedy "The Inspector General" has been topical for more than 150 years. Tsarist Russia, Soviet Russia, Democratic Russia. But people do not change, the old order, the relationship between superiors and subordinates, city and countryside, is preserved, so when we read “The Inspector General” today, we recognize a modern provincial city and its inhabitants. Gogol wrote a comedy in which he ridiculed the ignorance of provincials, for example, judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin read five or six books and is therefore a freethinker, attaches great weight to his words, his speech, like many other officials, is incoherent and abrupt. The trustee of charitable institutions, Zemlyanika, treats his wards without understanding anything about medicine, and the doctor Gibner does not know a word of Russian, that is, he is hardly capable of healing. A local teacher makes such grimaces that those around him are simply horrified, and his colleague explains with such fervor that he breaks chairs. It is unlikely that after such an upbringing, students receive the proper knowledge. When students grow up, they move into public service. And here everything is the same: drunkenness, bribery, abuse of one’s position, veneration of rank. It is enough to recall just some of the heroes of the comedy and their habits: the assessor who is always drunk; Lyapkin-Tyapkin, confident that if he takes bribes with greyhound puppies, then this is not a crime; money embezzled by officials for the construction of a church that allegedly burned down; complaints from merchants that the mayor could have taken any fabric or other goods from them; Dobchinsky’s phrase that “when a nobleman speaks, you feel fear.” The wives of these provincial inhabitants were brought up on magazines subscribed to from the capital and local gossip. It is not surprising that the arrival of an official from St. Petersburg caused such a stir among them - provincial suitors were up for grabs, and the young gallant man managed to court both the mayor’s wife and daughter. However, Khlestakov embodied the ideal of life not only in the eyes of the ladies, but also of all other inhabitants of the district town. They believed his fantastic stories because their content corresponded to the dreams of every provincial: the first house in St. Petersburg, thousands of couriers, friends - foreign ambassadors and the like, soup straight from Paris... It is not surprising that the mayor did not immediately believe what Khlestakov promised marry Marya Antonovna. When other inhabitants of the district town found out about this, their envy of their former friends clearly manifested itself. And how they gloated when they found out that the auditor was not real! Thus, he describes all the vices of the inhabitants of the district town, of which there were hundreds throughout Russia. This is hypocrisy, duplicity, vulgarity, envy, bribery, ignorance. And yet I would like to believe that reading and staging “The Inspector General” today will help change the moral image of Russia, and its inhabitants will help to realize their own vices.
City N and its inhabitants.
One of the most expressive, impressive images of Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” is certainly the image of the city N.
The reader gets acquainted with him almost from the first pages of the famous work. From the dialogue of those frightened by the imminent arrival of an official, a small provincial town appears in all its glory: Ivan Kuzmich Shpekin, the local postmaster, who opens other people’s correspondence without any remorse and reads it with pleasure, seems to blow up the city authorities with his news.
We can safely say that in a small work, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol manages to brilliantly show all layers of society: the people, the merchants, the bureaucrats. “The Inspector General” reflects the main areas of life: trade, social, spiritual.
From the very first pages of the play we learn about the dirt that has not been removed from the city streets for many years. Particular attention is paid to the huge puddle in the central square, which is impossible to pass through in bad weather. However, the Mayor is convinced that the deplorable state of the city is not his fault, but that the same townspeople are to blame. “What a nasty city this is! Just put up some kind of monument somewhere or just a fence - God knows where they’ll come from and they’ll do all sorts of crap!”
It turns out that officials had previously highlighted these shortcomings, but did not consider it necessary to put everything listed above in order. They suddenly begin to care about the comfort of the townspeople only after the news of the arrival of the auditor.
And what morals reign in this amazing town! People. who represent the state, turn the lives of city residents into survival rather.
The reader learns with horror about the order in the local hospital. Here, sick people walk around in scary gray caps, and few people actually think about curing them. As Strawberry put it, “...the closer to nature, the better - we don’t use expensive medicines. The man is simple: if he dies, he will die anyway; if he recovers, then he will recover.”
The teaching also amazes with the “flight of imagination”. One of the teachers “makes scary faces”, another talks with such inspiration about the affairs of “bygone days” that the students are simply afraid of him: “He is a learned head - it’s obvious, and he’s picked up a ton of information, but he only explains with such fervor that he doesn’t remembers himself. I listened to him once: well, for now I talked about the Assyrians and Babylonians - nothing yet, but when I got to Alexander the Great, I cannot tell you what happened to him. I thought it was a fire, by God! He ran away from the pulpit and slammed his chair on the floor with all his might. Of course, Alexander the Great is a hero, but why break the chairs? This is a loss to the treasury."
What is justice like? Law and order certainly reign here! However, from the wishes expressed by the Governor, the reader can learn that here, too, the picture is far from being the best. Bribery, condoning illegal actions - all this does not decorate the city of N.
I even feel sorry for the inhabitants of this town, but they, in my opinion, are so accustomed to this way of life that they cannot imagine their existence without such wonderful “little things” as bribery, flattery, laziness, stupidity of the commanding officials...
Gogol wrote this work in the first half of the 19th century, but how recognizable some of its scenes are now! Russia is certainly changing for the better, but some features of city life, it seems to me, are far from being corrected...
The comedy "The Inspector General" is one of those works that take the reader by surprise. N.V. Gogol himself said about his work that he wanted to collect into it all the worst things he knew and laugh at it at once. The plot of the comedy is considered topical, as it remains relevant to this day. It develops around a small provincial town and an ordinary official passing by. In one county town the author managed to collect all the social vices.
At the head of the city was the mayor, who did not care about the lives of the townspeople, but only about his own needs. To do this, he greedily robbed merchants and spent government money. Being a fraudster himself, he also saw all the other bosses as fraudsters waiting for a bribe. For this reason, mistaking Khlestakov for an important official, he tried in every possible way to please him. He didn’t even notice the obvious inconsistencies in the guest’s story. And when Khlestakov complained about the lack of money, he took this as a hint of a bribe.
Other officials in the city are the same inveterate scammers. Among them are judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin, trustee of charitable institutions Zemlyanika, superintendent of schools Khlopov, postmaster Shpekin, and others. The news of the arrival of the auditor greatly frightened these officials, and they decided to restore order in their subordinates. For the sake of the “important” guest, it was decided to expel unnecessary patients from the hospital, cover unfinished buildings with fences, fire bad workers, remove garbage from the roads, etc. As the action develops, it turns out that a perpetually drunk assessor works for the judge, an unbalanced teacher teaches at the school, that is, the true face of the people inhabiting the city is revealed.
The vices of the officials themselves can be listed endlessly. Strawberry believed that if ordinary people die out in a hospital, then this is their fate. At the same time, he did not consider it necessary to purchase any medicines or even change the linen in the wards. Lyapkin-Tyapkin took bribes with greyhound puppies, spent all his time hunting and was not particularly interested in cases in court. As a result, complete chaos reigned at his work, and even after fifteen years of working as a judge, he himself did not know how to distinguish right from wrong. Shpekin opened all the letters that passed through his mail, as he himself said, out of curiosity and pleasure.
The female half of the city, represented primarily by the wife and daughter of the mayor, does not appear in the best shape to the reader. The only thing they are interested in is outfits, over which they often quarrel with each other. In addition, both are extremely flirtatious. When they see an “important” guest, they vying with each other to please him. Among other female characters in the city, the daughters of Strawberry, the non-commissioned officer and mechanic Poshlepkina stand out.
Thus, describing the inhabitants of the district town, the author tried to create a collective image of Russian society of his time. He clearly showed that the activities of officials were directed not at the people, but against them. Moreover, “state” people committed many crimes, remaining unpunished, and the population resignedly endured and, through their behavior, only supported this state of affairs.
“The Inspector General” belongs to those works that capture the reader and viewer instantly and as if by surprise. Gogol wrote about his work: “I decided to collect everything bad that I knew and laugh at it at once - this is the origin of “The Inspector General.”
The author paints us an unsightly picture of the district town and its “fathers” - bribe takers and slackers, busy only with satisfying their desires and whims.
The mayor does not care about the townspeople subordinate to his authority, robs merchants, and spends government money on his own needs. He himself is a swindler and in every boss he sees a swindler waiting for bribes. Mistaking Khlestakov for an important official, Anton Antonovich pleases him in every possible way, hoping that he will remain in his position. Other officials behave in the same way: judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin, trustee of charitable institutions Zemlyanika, postmaster Shpekin. These officials have no idea that they can honestly fulfill their duties, live in the interests of society, and work for the benefit of people. They don’t even know such words.
The discovery of a deception with a false auditor and the arrival of a genuine official from St. Petersburg leaves them confused. And most likely not for long.
The author makes it clear that everything will happen again with several nuances. Maybe there will be more bribes, they will suffer from fear, but everything will work out, they “played the dress rehearsal” with Khlestakov perfectly.
Gogol was an honest artist, he showed the true life of Russia, harsh and dramatic, and this is his merit.
The comedy "The Inspector General" has been topical for more than 150 years. Tsarist Russia, Soviet Russia, democratic Russia.. But people do not change, the old orders, relationships between superiors and subordinates, city and village, are preserved, so when we read “The Inspector General” today, we recognize a modern provincial city and its inhabitants. Gogol wrote a comedy in which he ridiculed the ignorance of provincials, for example, judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin read five or six books and is therefore a freethinker, attaches great weight to his words, his speech, like many other officials, is incoherent and abrupt. The trustee of charitable institutions, Zemlyanika, treats his wards without understanding anything about medicine, and the doctor Gibner does not know a word of Russian, that is, he is hardly capable of healing. A local teacher makes such grimaces that those around him are simply horrified, and his colleague explains with such fervor that he breaks chairs. It is unlikely that after such an upbringing, students receive the proper knowledge. When students grow up, they switch to state education. service. And here everything is the same: drunkenness, bribery, abuse of one’s position, veneration of rank. It is enough to recall just some of the heroes of the comedy and their habits: the assessor who is always drunk; Lyapkin-Tyapkin, confident that if he takes bribes with greyhound puppies, then this is not a crime; money embezzled by officials for the construction of a church that allegedly burned down; complaints from merchants that the mayor could have taken any fabric or other goods from them; Dobchinsky’s phrase that “when a nobleman speaks, you feel fear.” The wives of these provincial inhabitants were brought up on magazines subscribed to from the capital and local gossip. It is not surprising that the arrival of an official from St. Petersburg caused such a stir among the people - provincial suitors were up for grabs, and the young gallant man managed to court both the mayor's wife and daughter. However, Khlestakov embodied the ideal of life not only in the eyes of the ladies, but also of all other inhabitants of the district town. They believed his fantastic tales because their content corresponded to the dreams of every provincial: the first house in St. Petersburg, thousands of couriers, friends - foreign ambassadors and the like, soup straight from Paris. It is not surprising that the mayor immediately believed that Khlestakov promised to marry Marya Antonovna. When other inhabitants of the district town found out about this, their envy of their former friends clearly manifested itself. And how they gloated when they found out that the auditor was not real! Thus, he describes all the vices of the inhabitants of the district town, of which there were hundreds throughout Russia. This is hypocrisy, duplicity, vulgarity, envy, bribery, ignorance. And yet I would like to believe that reading and staging The Inspector General today will help change the moral image of Russia, and its inhabitants will become aware of their own vices.