The image of Sobakevich in the poem is dead. The image and characteristics of Sobakevich in the poem Dead Souls by Gogol essay
As a practical, cold-blooded and prudent nature, Sobakevich perfectly understands what is necessary and useful in his position. He is a sober realist, stands on the basis of facts and leads his own line. Sobakevich is very intelligent and intelligent, although he does not read books. If, despite all this, Sobakevich has an absurd, funny look, then this is explained not by his personal properties, but by his position: he leads his line very smartly and intelligently, but his line is completely meaningless. He is a soul-owner and lives as such, without contradicting himself, intelligently and prudently, but since the soul-ownership itself has become nonsense, Sobakevich’s whole life has acquired the absurd character of intelligent and prudent nonsense. Perhaps we can ask the question: why does Sobakevich, with his intelligence, not leave the meaningless line of spiritual ownership? Yes, simply because the mind alone is too little for such an act; this requires enthusiasm, even heroism, of which the apathetic, utilitarian Sobakevich is completely incapable. He does not even think about the question of whether soul-possessive existence is reasonable. He simply exists, lives in conditions of spiritual mastery and does not do stupid things that are incompatible with these conditions.
Sobakevich understands perfectly well that the phenomena of the new exchange culture are hostile to soul ownership, and therefore avoids them as much as possible. He scolds all sorts of city delicacies and prefers homemade products to everything. He prefers a fat “nanny” prepared by a serf cook to all kinds of store-bought fricassees, and a dress made by a serf tailor to all store-bought fashionable clothes.
It was impossible to apply either new science, new technology, or monetary capital to a serf estate. All attempts to apply them here should have taken on a stupid and stupid character; they should have only hastened the ruin of the fortress estate. Common practical sense saved Sobakevich from the role of a caricatured employee of the new culture. But that didn't make him any less funny. Refusing to participate in the construction of a monetary and exchange culture, Sobakevich necessarily refused all cultural construction and, therefore, a meaningful, rational existence. Sobakevich and no one in the world could revive the old natural-local culture, breathe a living soul into it. Sobakevich could not become a service man receiving food from the sovereign's peasants. He could only serve as an official for money, and not as a landowner, and he could only extract from the peasants corvée and quitrent for nothing, and not feeding. In a word, in Sobakevich’s life there was no room left for any serious creative activity, nor for serious deep thought, nor for any important duties. Therefore, his sober, practical mind, not finding any useful application for itself, turns into crude bullshit, in which there is absolutely no sense.
Sobriety, practicality and prudence of Sobakevich are expressed in gross gluttony, incredible sculpting, regular collection of quitrents, collection completely aimless, because all this will lie in the box without any use,
Sobakevich’s calculating tight-fistedness, essentially, makes no more sense than Nozdryov’s extravagance. Aimless spending is just as absurd as aimless accumulation, and Sobakevich’s accumulation and scrounging are completely aimless. No matter how much he accumulates in his box, this accumulated amount will not be needed either to expand his personal life or for other productive and creative purposes. This is not the prudence and accumulation of a worker for a rainy day, this is not the accumulation of a person who has grandiose creative plans in front of him, but simply collecting by inertia, completely unnecessary and worthless. All life is empty and insignificant, all of it is devoid of purpose, and it is natural that calculated accumulation turns out to be aimless, calculating nonsmoking.
All the nonsense of Sobakevichism will appear to us in all its clarity when we look at this phenomenon in its extreme expression. Imagine that Sobakevich’s tight-fistedness and hoarding acquire the character of passion, a painfully exaggerated need to collect and save. By the way, the environment and circumstances in which the Sobakevichs live are very favorable for such a rebirth. One has only to remember that this is a time of devastation of the estate economy under the influence of a money-exchange culture, that Sobakevich hears only the crash of collapsing estates from all sides and with a slight chill in his heart feels how, gradually fading, the echoing tremors are rolling towards him, in order to understand what anxiety and suspicion must have filled Sobakevich’s calculating and stingy soul. In his rude speech one can really hear bilious irritation and gloomy, although not entirely understandable to him, melancholy. Let this anxiety and suspicion build a strong nest in Sobakevich’s soul, and his prudence will acquire a more intense character; a vague fear of ruin will make him shrink even more, throw himself even more energetically into hoarding, until his tight-fistedness finally grows into unbridled stinginess. In a word, Sobakevich will turn into the miser Plyushkin.
Mikhailo Semenych Sobakevich is the fourth “seller” of dead souls. The very name and appearance of this hero (he looks like a “medium-sized bear”, besides, his tailcoat is also bear-colored, his gait is at random, his face is “hardened and hot”) speak of the excessive power of his nature.
Literally from the very beginning, the image of money, calculation and thriftiness is firmly attached to Sobakevich. He is a very direct and open person.
When communicating with Chichikov, despite his thin hints, Sobakevich immediately gets to the heart of the question: “Do you need dead souls?” He is a true entrepreneur. The main thing for him is the deal, the money, the rest is secondary. Sobakevich skillfully defends his position, bargains well, not disdaining cheating (even slips Chichikov a “female soul” - Elizaveta Vorobey).
All the things around him reflect his spiritual appearance. Sobakevich’s house has been cleared of all unnecessary and “useless” architectural creations. The huts of his subordinates are also very austere and built without unnecessary decoration. In Sobakevich’s house you can only find paintings of ancient Greek heroes, in some places similar to the owner.
Chichikov introduced Sobakevich to us, the readers, as very similar to a medium-sized bear. The tailcoat he was wearing was bear-colored, his sleeves were long, his trousers were long, he walked with his feet this way and that, constantly stepping on other people’s feet. His complexion was red-hot, the kind you get on a copper coin.
In the living room of his house there are many paintings of Greek generals.
Talking with Chichikov, Sobakevich, not paying attention to Chichikov’s evasiveness, moves on to the essence of the question: “Do you need dead souls?” The main thing for Sobakevich is the price; everything else does not interest him. Sobakevich bargains knowledgeably and praises his goods.
By nature he is endowed with good qualities, he has rich potential and a powerful nature.
I remember Sobakevich for his greed and cunning, and his appearance. He loves to praise everything he owns. He knows how to conduct a business conversation.
Unlike Nozdryov, Sobakevich cannot be considered a person with his head in the clouds. This hero stands firmly on the ground, does not indulge himself with illusions, soberly evaluates people and life, knows how to act and achieve what he wants. When characterizing his life, Gogol notes the thoroughness and fundamental nature of everything. These are natural features of Sobakevich’s life. He and the furnishings of his house bear the stamp of clumsiness and ugliness.Physical strength and clumsiness appear in the appearance of the hero himself. "He looked like a medium-sized bear."He is devoid of any spiritual needs, far from daydreaming, philosophizing and noble impulses of the soul. The meaning of his life is to satiate his stomach.
The idea for the poem “Dead Souls,” which became immortal, was presented to Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol by the poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Creating a work is the main mission that Gogol had to fulfill. The writer himself thought so. Gogol's plans included writing three volumes of the poem (in the likeness of Hell, Purgatory, Paradise). Only the first volume of the work was written and published. Only he reached the reader. The sad fate of the second volume and the reasons that gave rise to it remain a mystery to this day. Modern philologists in their works try to unravel the mysteries associated with writing a work. For this purpose, the images created in the poem are carefully studied and analyzed, and characteristics of Sobakevich, Manilov, Korobochka and other main characters are given.
Gallery of poem images
In the poem “The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls,” and it was under this title that the work was published for the first time, a whole gallery of images is presented - different types of people and even inanimate objects. Using this technique, Gogol masterfully depicts the way of life in Russia in the 19th century.
It shows common features - the ignorance of officials, the arbitrariness of the authorities, the plight of the people. At the same time, the poem clearly presents the characters of individual characters and their individual characteristics.
For example, the image of Sobakevich, Plyushkin, Korobochka, Nozdrev, Manilov, Chichikov allows the reader to understand that the heroes are typical representatives of a certain era, although each brings something of their own, individual, different from the others. The appearances of characters in Gogol's poem are not random moments. Their presentation to the reader is subject to a certain order, which is very important for revealing the overall concept of the work.
Sobakevich's possessions
Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich in the poem “Dead Souls” appears before the readers as the fourth character in the gallery of images. Acquaintance with him begins long before the appearance of the hero himself.
A large village with strong and substantial buildings opens up to Chichikov’s gaze. The house of the landowner himself seemed to be destined for “eternal standing.” The buildings that belonged to the peasants also surprised Chichikov with their reliability and good quality.
It’s immediately obvious that the owner doesn’t care about the outside of the buildings or their aesthetics at all. What is important is the functionality, the practical benefit of what surrounds it.
When describing the landscape, you need to pay attention to the forests that surround the village. On one side there was a birch forest, and on the other, a pine forest. This also indicates the thriftiness of the owner of the estate. Gogol compares the forest with the wings of the same bird, but one of them is light and the other is dark. Perhaps this is an indication of the character's character. This is how Gogol prepares the reader to perceive the complex image of the landowner Sobakevich.
Appearance of the hero
Gogol gives a description of Sobakevich and his external characteristics in comparison with animals and inanimate objects.
This is a medium-sized clumsy bear. He moves by stepping on someone's feet. His tailcoat is bear-colored. Even the name, Mikhailo Semenovich, evokes in the reader an association with an animal.
It was not by chance that Gogol did this. The characterization of Sobakevich, the description of his inner world begins precisely with the perception of the character’s appearance. After all, we first of all pay attention to such features.
Sobakevich’s complexion, which was red-hot, hot, like a copper coin, also indicates some kind of strength, inviolability of character.
Description of the interior and the image of the hero of the poem
The interior of the rooms where Sobakevich lived is unusually similar to the image of the owner. Here the chairs, the table, and the table were just as clumsy, bulky, and heavy as he was.
The reader, having familiarized himself with the hero and his environment, can assume that his spiritual interests are limited, that he is too close to the world of material life.
What distinguishes Sobakevich from other landowners
The attentive reader will definitely notice this difference. The image of the landowner Sobakevich, having many common features with other characters in the poem, is at the same time very different from them. This brings some variety.
The landowner Sobakevich not only loves reliability and strength in everything, but also gives his serfs the opportunity to live thoroughly and stand firmly on their feet. This demonstrates the practical acumen and efficiency of this character.
When the deal with Chichikov to sell dead souls took place, Sobakevich personally wrote a list of his deceased peasants. At the same time, he remembered not only their names, but also the crafts that his subordinates owned. He could describe each of them - name the attractive and negative aspects of a person’s character.
This indicates that the landowner is not indifferent to who lives in his village and who he owns. At the right moment, he will use the qualities of his people, of course, to his benefit.
He absolutely does not accept excessive stinginess and condemns his neighbors for it. This is what Sobakevich says about Plyushkin, who, having eight hundred souls, eats worse than a shepherd. Mikhailo Semenovich himself is very happy to please his stomach. Gluttony is perhaps his main business in life.
Make a deal
This is an interesting point in the poem. The moment of concluding a deal related to the purchase of dead souls tells a lot about Sobakevich. The reader notices that the landowner is smart - he understands instantly what Chichikov wants. Once again, such traits as practicality and the desire to do everything for one’s benefit come to the fore.
In addition, in this situation Sobakevich’s straightforwardness is manifested. Sometimes it turns into rudeness, ignorance, cynicism, which is the real essence of the character.
What is alarming in the description of the hero’s image?
The characterization of Sobakevich, some of his actions and statements make the reader wary. Although much of what the landowner does, at first glance, seems worthy of respect. For example, the desire to ensure that the peasants stand firmly on their feet does not at all indicate Sobakevich’s high spirituality. This is done only to benefit oneself - there is always something to take from the strong economy of the subjects.
Sobakevich says about city officials that they are swindlers, “Christ-sellers.” And this is most likely true. But all of the above does not prevent him from having some profitable business and relationships with these scammers.
The reader is also alarmed by the fact that he did not say a single kind word about a single person with whom Sobakevich knew, with whom he was friends, if you can call it that.
His attitude towards science and education is sharply negative. And Mikhailo Semenovich would hang the people who are doing this - he hates them so much. This is probably due to the fact that Sobakevich understands: education can shake the established foundations, and this is unprofitable for the landowner. This is where his heaviness and stability of views come from.
Mortality of Sobakevich's soul
The characterization of Sobakevich with all its positive and negative aspects allows us to draw the main conclusion: the landowner Mikhailo Semenovich is dead just like his neighbors, officials from the city, and the adventurer Chichikov. The reader clearly understands this.
Having an established character and way of life, Sobakevich and his neighbors will not allow any changes around them. Why do they need this? To change, a person needs a soul, but these people don’t have it. Gogol never managed to look into the eyes of Sobakevich and other characters in the poem (except Plyushkin). This technique once again indicates the absence of a soul.
The deadness of the characters is also evidenced by the fact that the author tells very little about the family ties of the heroes. One gets the impression that they all came from nowhere, they have no roots, which means they have no life.
Article menu:
When we talk about aristocrats, what often appears in our imagination is a fit, slender, handsome young man. When it comes to landowners, we are always lost, because in literature we often see two types of such heroes. The former try to imitate aristocrats and are used mainly in comic situations, since imitation is more like a caricature of aristocratic life. The latter are masculine-looking, rude and not much different from peasants.
In N.V. Gogol’s story “Dead Souls” the reader has a unique opportunity to analyze different types of landowners. One of the most colorful of them is Sobakevich.
Appearance of Sobakevich
Mikhailo Semenovich Sobakevich is one of the landowners to whom Chichikov turns with a request to sell dead souls. Sobakevich's age varies between 40-50 years.
"Bear! perfect bear! You need such a strange rapprochement: he was even called Mikhail Semenovich” - this is the first impression of this man.
His face is round and rather unattractive in appearance, resembling a pumpkin. “The complexion had a red-hot, hot complexion, the kind you get on a copper coin.”
His facial features were unpleasant, as if hewn with an ax - rough. His face never expressed any emotion - it seemed that he had no soul.
He also had a bearish gait - every now and then he would step on someone’s feet. It is true that at times his movements were not without dexterity.
Mikhailo Semenych has unique health - in his entire life he has never been sick, he has never even had a boil. Sobakevich himself thinks that this is not good - someday he will have to pay for it.
Sobakevich family
Sobakevich’s family is small and is limited to his wife Feodulia Ivanovna. She is as simple and a woman as her husband. Aristocratic habits are alien to her. The author does not directly say anything about the relationship between the spouses, but the fact that they address each other as “darling” indicates a family idyll in their personal lives.
The story also contains references to Sobakevich's late father. According to the recollections of other heroes, he was even larger and stronger than his son and could walk against a bear alone.
The image and characteristics of Sobakevich
Mikhailo Semenovich is an unpleasant looking person. In communication with him, this impression is partially confirmed. This is a rude person, he has no sense of tact.
The image of Sobakevich is devoid of romanticism and tenderness. He is very straightforward - a typical entrepreneur. It's rare to surprise him. He calmly discusses with Chichikov the possibility of purchasing dead souls as if it were the purchase of bread.
“You needed souls, so I’m selling them to you,” he says calmly.
The images of money and thrift are firmly attached to the image of Sobakevich - he strives for material gain. On the contrary, the concepts of cultural development are completely alien to him. He doesn't strive to get an education. He believes that he has a great understanding of people and can immediately tell everything about a person.
Sobakevich does not like to stand on ceremony with people and speaks extremely disapprovingly of all his acquaintances. He easily finds flaws in everyone. He calls all the landowners of the county “swindlers.” He says that among all the noble people of the district, only one is worthy - the prosecutor, but at the same time adds that if you look carefully, then he is also a “pig”.
We invite you to get acquainted with the “Image of Chichikov” in the poem by N.V. Gogol “Dead Souls”
The measure of a good life for Sobakevich is the quality of dinners. He loves to eat well. Russian cuisine is preferable for him; he does not accept culinary innovations, considers them stupidity and nonsense. Mikhailo Semenovich is sure that only he has food of good quality - the cooks of all the other landowners, and even the governor himself, prepare food from poor quality products. And some of them are prepared from such that the cook throws it in the trash.
Sobakevich's attitude towards the peasants
Sobakevich loves to take part in all work, along with the peasants. He takes care of them. Because he believes that employees who are treated well work better and more diligently.
When selling his “dead souls,” Sobakevich praises his serfs with might and main. He talks about their talents and sincerely regrets that he lost such good workers.
Sobakevich does not want to be left in the cold, so he asks Chichikov for a deposit for his peasants. It is difficult to say exactly how many “souls” were sold. It is certainly known that there were more than twenty of them (Sobakevich asks for a deposit of 50 rubles, stipulating the price for each at 2.5 rubles).
Sobakevich's estate and house
Sobakevich does not like sophistication and decoration. In buildings he values reliability and strength. The well in his yard was made of thick logs, “of which mills are usually built.” The buildings of all peasants are similar to a manor's house: neatly built and without a single decoration.
The decoration inside the house is not much different from the outside. In Sobakevich’s house there are only the most necessary things, and even those, in appearance, resemble a bear - they are just as clumsy.
Mikhail Semenovich lives with a blackbird, but he also reminds Chichikov of Sobakevich in appearance. Of the various options for decorating the interior in Sobakevich’s house, there are only paintings - mostly of Greek commanders - also similar in build to the owner of the house.
It follows from this that the image of Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich is devoid of any attractiveness - he is a rude and unpleasant person. However, he is not devoid of positive qualities - he diligently takes care of his peasants and tries to be a good owner.
Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich is a small landowner 40 years old. The buyer of the dead souls of Chichikov comes to him for the fourth time. He appears to the reader as a strong and big man. Gogol had a special talent for giving surnames to his characters based on their character traits. So Sobakevich, initially presented as kind and strong, later turns out to be dissatisfied and swearing.
Sobakevich lives in a remote outback, which left a unique imprint on him. He is actively involved in his estate, leading a measured and long-established life with his wife Fedulia Ivanovna. The wife is presented as a tall and at the same time thin person. Yes, they make quite a harmonious couple.
(Sobakevich's estate in his village)
The village of Sobakevich is equipped with strong peasant huts, which have a rather awkward appearance, but are solid and reliable. Sobakevich surrounded his estate with a secure fence. In his house, all the furnishings are strong and reliable, it seems that every chair shouts: “I, too, am Sobakevich.” Everything looks a bit like a bear's den. There are large and bulky chairs and beds, and paintings in equally bulky frames are hung everywhere.
Characteristics of the hero
("Sobakevich", artist Alexander Agin, 1846-47)
Sobakevich is the simplest landowner who stands firmly on his land, knows how to soberly and quickly evaluate people, without feeling the slightest sympathy for them. According to Mikhail Semenovich himself, his life was a success, which he managed to arrange fundamentally and thoroughly. He has no sense of fear towards anyone, although he is an excellent conversationalist with a certain rudeness, straightforwardness and asinine stubbornness.
Mikhail Semenovich is deprived of any emotional impulses and spiritual experiences; he is completely free from daydreaming and philosophizing. Sobakevich perceives with complete disgust everything new that does not fit into his consciousness, believing that all these delights of enlightenment are harmful inventions for the people. His life credo is “A swindler sits on a swindler and drives the swindler around.”
He scolds everyone and believes that the most decent person for him is only the prosecutor, but he considers the chief of police to be a fraudster, and the governor to be a robber. For him, every person is a liar and dishonest. Although he himself calmly lies to the chairman of the chamber that he decided to sell the coachman Mikheev, despite the fact that the chairman himself already knew about his death.
("Sobakevich presents his wife to Chichikov", artist Alexander Agin, 1846-47)
Opinion about Chichikov. Unlike the landowner Korobochka, cut off from the realities of life and the sebarite dreamer Manilov, Sobakevich quickly understood the essence of the scoundrel Chichikov and did not give himself the opportunity to be deceived.
Having listened to Chichikov’s request to sell him dead souls, Sobakevich, despite his clumsiness and eccentricity, quickly realized what Chichikov was talking about, which is why he set such a high price - 100 rubles for each dead soul sold. During the conversation with Chichikov, the psychology of Sobakevich is fully revealed - a strong landowner-fist who managed to organize the work of his peasants in such a way that he extracted maximum benefit for himself. Sobakevich will never miss his profit, so he firmly decided not to deviate from the appointed price.
The image of the hero in the work
("Lunch at Sobakevich's", illustration by P.P. Sokolov, early 1890s)
Sobakevich is one of the main characters of Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”, in which he created a collective image that was found both in the remote provinces and in the capital’s salons. The poem reflects the reality that existed in Russia at the end of the 19th century, when peasants were serfs, and their life was completely dependent on the landowner.
Gogol, describing Sobakevich’s appearance, compared him to a clumsy bear, who suddenly pierced his interlocutor with his close-set eyes, which made him feel uncomfortable. For all his monumentality, Mikhail is not without some weaknesses, the main one being gluttony. Boasting to Chichikov, he said: “When I have pork, put the whole pig on the table!”
To describe the image of Sobakevich, Gogol used all the techniques of compositional storytelling: landscapes, portraits and the speech of his hero.