The image of Chichikov: the childhood and youth of Pavel Ivanovich

The creation of the poem "Dead Souls" came just at the time when the traditional, outdated foundations of society were changing in Russia, reforms, changes in people's thinking were brewing. Even then it was clear that the nobility with its old traditions and views on life slowly dying out, a new type of man was to replace him. Gogol's goal is to describe the hero of his time, to speak about him in full voice, to describe his positive and negative character traits, to explain what his activities will lead to, and also how it will affect the destinies of other people.

The central character of the poem

Nikolai Vasilyevich Chichikova in the poem made a central character, he can not be called the main character, but it is on him that the plot of the poem holds. The journey of Pavel Ivanovich is the frame for the whole work. No wonder the author put the biography of the hero at the very end, the reader is not interested in Chichikov himself, he is curious about his actions, why he collects these dead souls and what it will lead to in the end. Gogol does not even try to reveal the nature of the character, but he introduces the features of his thinking, thus giving a clue where to find the essence of this action Chichikov. Childhood - that's where the roots come from, at a tender age, the hero formed his worldview, a vision of the situation and the search for ways to solve problems.

Description Chichikov

Childhood and the young years of Pavel Ivanovich are unknown to the reader at the beginning of the poem. Gogol depicted his character as faceless and voiceless: against the background of bright, picturesque images of landlords with their quirks, the figure of Chichikov is lost, becoming small and insignificant. He has neither his face nor the voice, the hero resembles a chameleon, skillfully adjusting to his interlocutor. He is an excellent actor and psychologist, he knows how to behave in this or that situation, immediately determines the character of a person and does everything to arrange it to him, says only what he wants to hear from him. Chichikov skillfully plays a role, pretends, conceals true feelings, tries to be his own among strangers, but he does all this for the sake of achieving his main goal - his own well-being.

Childhood of Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov

A person's outlook is formed at a young age, so many of his actions in adulthood can be explained by a good study of the biography. What guided him, why he collected dead souls, what he wanted to achieve - these are the characteristics of Chichikov. Childhood hero can not be called happy, he was constantly harassed by boredom and loneliness. Neither friends, nor entertainment did not know in his youth Pavlusha, he did a monotonous, tedious and completely uninteresting work, he listened to the reproaches of the sick father. The author did not even hint at maternal affection. One can draw a conclusion from this: Pavel Ivanovich wanted to make up for lost time, to receive all the benefits that were not available to him in his childhood.

But do not think that Chichikov soulless soup, thinking only of his own enrichment. He was a kind, active and sensitive child, subtly perceiving the world around him. The fact that he often escaped from his nanny, in order to explore unprecedented places, points to Chichikov's curiosity. Childhood formed his character, taught him to do everything himself. My father taught Pavel Ivanovich to save money and please the bosses and rich people, and he embodied these instructions.

Childhood and study Chichikov were gray and uninteresting, he tried in every possible way to break out into people. First he catered to the teacher to become a beloved disciple, then promised the boss to marry his daughter to get a promotion, working at customs, convinces everyone of his honesty and impartiality, and he himself makes a huge fortune on smuggling. But Pavel Ivanovich does all this not with malicious intent, but with the sole purpose - to realize the childhood dream of a big and bright house, a caring and loving wife, a bunch of merry kids.

Communing Chichikov with the landlords

Pavel Ivanovich to all could find an approach, from the first minutes of communication to understand what a person is. For example, with Korobochka he did not stand on ceremony, talking patriarchal-devout and even slightly patronizing tone. With the landowner, Chichikov felt uninhibited, used common, coarse expressions, completely adjusting himself to the woman. With Manilov, Pavel Ivanovich is tall and kind to sweethearted. He flattered the landowner, he used flowery phrases in his speech. Refusing to offer a treat, even Plyushkin pleased Chichikov. "Dead Souls" very well demonstrate the changing nature of man, because Pavel Ivanovich adapted to the mores of almost all landowners.

What does Chichikov look like in the eyes of other people?

Activity of Pavel Ivanovich very much frightened city officials and landlords. First they compared him to the romantic bandit Rinald Rinaldin, then they started looking for a similarity with Napoleon, thinking that the great commander had fled from the island of Helena. In the end, in Chichikov recognized the real antichrist. Of course, such comparisons are absurd and even somewhat comical, Gogol ironically describes the fright of the narrow-minded landowners, their speculation about why Chichikov actually collects dead souls. Characteristics of the character hints at the fact that the characters are not the same as they were before. The people could be proud, take the example of the great generals and defenders, and now there are no such people, they were replaced by mercenary Chichikov.

The real "I" of the character

One might think that Pavel Ivanovich is a wonderful psychologist and actor, since he easily adapts to the people he needs, instantly guesses their character, but is it really so? The hero was never able to adapt to Nozdrev, because unceremonious, arrogant, familiarity is alien to him. But here he also tries to adapt, because the landowner is incredibly rich, hence the reference to "you", the boorish tone of Chichikov. Childhood has taught Pavlos to please the right people, so he is ready to step over himself, forget about his principles.

At the same time, Pavel Ivanovich practically does not pretend to be with Sobakevich, because they are united by a "kopeck" service. And with Plyushkin has some similarity Chichikov. The character tore off the poster after reading it at home, folded it neatly and put it into the chest, which contained all sorts of unnecessary things. This behavior is very much like Plushkin, prone to the accumulation of various trash. That is, Pavel Ivanovich himself did not go so far away from the same landowners.

The main goal in the life of the hero

Money, money and money again - for this purpose Chichikov collected dead souls. Characterization of the character indicates that he is inventing various frauds not just for the sake of gain, there is no stinginess and miserly behavior. Pavel Ivanovich dreams that the time will come when he can finally take advantage of his savings, live a quiet, prosperous life, without thinking about tomorrow.

The attitude of the author to the hero

There is a suggestion that in subsequent volumes Gogol planned to re-educate Chichikov, to make him repent of his actions. Pavel Ivanovich in the poem is not opposed to landlords or officials, he is a hero of the capitalist formation, an "archetypal" who replaced the nobility. Chichikov is a skilled businessman, an entrepreneur who will not stop at anything to achieve his goals. The scam with the dead souls was not successful, but Pavel Ivanovich did not suffer any punishment. The author hints that in the country there is a huge number of these here chichikovyh, and no one wants to stop them.