This article will consider the characteristics of the landowner Sobakevich - one of the main characters in the work of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol "Dead Souls". It is interesting that the idea of ​​this poem belonged to the great poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, and Gogol only fulfilled his promise to him - he created the work.

It should be noted that he did not complete his mission, because it was originally planned to create three volumes of the poem (in the likeness of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise), but only the first one reached the reader. There is an assumption that the almost completely finished second volume was destroyed by the writer for unknown reasons, and Gogol did not have time to write the third. In order to get at least a little closer to unraveling the mysteries associated with the fate of these works of the great writer, philologists of our time carefully analyze and study the images of his heroes, creating Sobakevich, Korobochka, Manilov, Nozdrev, Plyushkin and other characters of the work.

History of writing

It must be said that the poem "Dead Souls", like many other works of the author, is an immortal work of literary art. It depicts the reality of Russia in the 19th century, which is reflected in today's day. The activities of ignorant officials, the arbitrariness of the authorities, the plight of ordinary people - all this is fully represented by the author on the pages of the work.

In addition to giving a description of different types of people, Nikolai Vasilyevich also describes inanimate objects in detail, which allows the reader to clearly imagine the way of life of the Russian people in the 19th century. The key figures of the poem allow creating a general idea of ​​​​the people of that time: Chichikov, Manilov, Korobochka, Plyushkin, Sobakevich. The characterization of the hero is presented by Gogol in such a way that each of them is endowed with both typical features of the representatives of the era, and individual ones that are different from others.

An interesting discovery of observers and researchers was also that the sequence of appearance of characters in Gogol's poem is not random, everything is subject to a certain order. This fact allows us to get closer to understanding the main idea of ​​the work.

Landowner Sobakevich: characterization of the hero

Dead souls were sold by many landowners. Sobakevich Mikhailo Semenovich deserves special attention among them. The author introduces the reader to this hero long before he appears in the plot. First, Gogol describes his possessions, as if preparing the reader for the perception of such a difficult character as Sobakevich. The characterization of the hero is revealed through a detailed depiction of his village, a large village with strong buildings. The house of Sobakevich himself was a solid structure and seemed to be eternal. Peasant estates were also distinguished by good quality and reliability. But, as Chichikov noticed when he entered the village of Sobakevich, that the owner of the property was not at all concerned about the aesthetics of the buildings, there was not a single superfluous "useless" decorative element on them. The appearance of the buildings was not distinguished by sophistication, practicality and functionality - this is the main feature of the buildings owned by the landowner Sobakevich.

The characteristic of the hero is also traced in the description of the surrounding nature. The author tells that there was a pine forest on one side of the village, and a birch forest on the other. He compares the forests with the wings of one bird, only one of them is light and the other is dark. So Gogol makes it clear to the reader that Sobakevich, the owner of the property, is endowed with different personal qualities.

Appearance of the landlord

A brief description of Sobakevich, in particular his appearance, is given by the author in the work itself. Gogol compares the hero with a medium-sized bear, focuses on his bear-colored tailcoat. Even the name, Mikhailo Semenovich, was not chosen by chance, it is involuntarily associated with a brown clubfoot animal. In addition, the landowner Sobakevich moved like a bear, now and then stepping on someone's feet.

The hero has a hot, red-hot complexion, which undoubtedly once again indicates the inviolability and strength of his nature.

Character features

The author's description of the character is excellent. He reveals himself not only in appearance, gait, gestures, but also in the manner of speaking, and in the whole way of his life. From the first words, the hero is credited with an absolute earthliness of views and interests.

Every detail in Sobakevich's room was very similar to its owner. The paintings hanging in his house depicted Greek heroes, reminiscent of Mikhail Semenovich in appearance. The walnut bureau and the black-spotted thrush were similar to it.

Presented by the writer as a strong, prudent owner Mikhailo Sobakevich. The characterization of the hero makes it clear that his peasants live safely and calmly under his command. And his efficiency and natural power, which began to look like a dull inertia, is a disaster, not the fault of the hero.

Outlook on life

Sobakevich is hostile to everything connected with spirituality. In his understanding, culture and enlightenment are harmful and useless inventions. The main thing for him is taking care of his own well-being and a well-fed existence under any circumstances.

In a conversation with Chichikov, our hero shows himself to be a predator with a stranglehold, ready to seize prey at any cost. It is in this vein that the author characterizes Sobakevich. Dead souls - that's what Chichikov came to him for, and Mikhailo Semyonitch immediately called a spade a spade, without waiting for him to be weary of allusions. He was not ashamed to bargain and even cheat, slipping Elizaveta Sparrow to Chichikov. During the transaction, the main qualities of the landowner Sobakevich appeared. His straightforwardness and ingenuity sometimes bordered on rudeness, cynicism and ignorance.

Mikhailo Semenovich personally wrote a list of all his deceased peasants, in addition, he spoke about each of them - what he did, what character traits he possessed. At first glance, it might seem that Sobakevich is worried about his subordinates, since he knows so much about them. But in fact, he is guided by a simple calculation - he does not care who lives in his possessions, and he knows well who and how can be useful to him.

Sobakevich's relationship with the environment

An attentive reader will undoubtedly notice what Sobakevich is similar to other heroes and what are his differences. The main ones have already been mentioned above. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that Sobakevich does not accept stinginess, as evidenced by his desire for his subordinates to live well, and criticism towards the landowner Plyushkin, who, having eight hundred souls of peasants, eats like a shepherd. Sobakevich himself loved to eat delicious food. He also understands that one can get more from a strong peasant economy, which is probably why he keeps his wards in abundance.

The landowner speaks unflatteringly about officials, calling them "Christ-sellers" and swindlers. But this does not prevent him from doing business with them and making deals. And in general, not a single kind word came out of his mouth when he spoke about people with whom he is friends or communicates.

conclusions

That the author leaves Sobakevich a chance for revival, attributing to him many good qualities, there is no doubt that the soul of the landowner is dead. He, like many others, does not allow changes around and within himself, because only the person who has a soul can change.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is a remarkable Russian writer. His talent as a satirist and exposer of serfdom reached its peak in the poem Dead Souls. The writer managed to create an unforgettable gallery of images of feudal lords: irresponsible and deceitful, greedy and unscrupulous, unable to even organize their lives, but endowed with power over the peasants.
Belinsky called the poem "a truly national work." Gogol was able to show that serfdom cripples not only the peasants, making them dumb slaves, but also the landowners,

Turning them into parasites living at the expense of others. Consider the two heroes of the poem - Manilov and Sobakevich, polar opposite images, but united by one common feature - they are serf landowners.
Manilov is a fruitless dreamer, painting castles in the air and useless searchlights. “Looking from the porch at the yard and the pond, he talked about how good it would be if suddenly an underground passage was built from the house or a stone bridge was built across the pond, on which there would be shops on both sides, and so that merchants and sold various small goods needed by the peasants.” As if visible concern for their own peasants. But in fact, he is not at all interested in the state of affairs, he never goes to the fields and does not delve into the reports of the clerk, the requests of the peasants. This is a fruitless dreamer, living in contentment and warmth, because he enjoys the natural right: to appropriate the labor of serfs. Outwardly, he is even a pleasant person, but, having understood his essence, you understand that he is almost more disgusting than others.
Sobakevich is the direct opposite of Manilov, he is a strong owner, who knows his estate very well, appreciating the peasants for their skill and hard work. It is Sobakevich who tells Chichikov about the excellent peasant craftsmen who know how to fold an oven and build a spring carriage no worse than a foreign one. But Sobakevich praises his peasants not out of philanthropy, but by inflating their price. The landowner is not at all embarrassed by the fact that he trades in the dead. Knowing the price of the peasants, Sobakevich cares about them not for the sake of philanthropy, he realized his own benefit: if the peasants are not ruined, they bring great benefit to the landowner, and sacredly observes this rule.
Manilov only creates the appearance of a cultured person. He named his sons Themistoclus, after the Greek general, and Alkid, after Hercules. But this is more of a show than a true culture. There has been a book in his office for three years, open to the same page. Manilov graciously agrees to Chichikov's offer to sell him dead souls. Moreover, he gives them, copying them with his own hand on beautiful paper, tying everything with a silk ribbon. What is this? Stupidity? The desire to isolate oneself from life, its problems? Most likely, it's both. Manilov is a windbag fluttering through life, trying not to notice its difficulties.
Sobakevich, on the contrary, perfectly feels the onset of the “new time”, when money, big capitals will rule, and prepares for this in advance so as not to be taken by surprise.
Despite the seeming difference in character, both landlords are disgusting to the author with their dependent psychology.
The images created by Gogol overstepped the time for which they were written. The enormous power of satirical denunciation of the ugliness of the possessive world, contained in the writer's works, has not lost its relevance in our days.

1. N. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" opens with an extensive exposition, which presents a picture of the scene - the city of NN. He looks different in the eyes of Chichikov and the author. So, Chichikov's city is quite ...
2. Which of the heroes of Gogol's story "Taras Bulba" did I like more? Gogol's story "Taras Bulba" tells about the heroic deeds of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, who defended the Russian land from enemies. I really liked this story...
3. Chichikov, having met the landowners in the city, received an invitation from each of them to visit the estate. The gallery of the owners of "dead souls" is opened by Manilov. The author at the very beginning of the chapter gives a description of this character. Appearance...
4. The origins of Nikolai Gogol's creativity are in Ukrainian culture. A Ukrainian by origin, he knew Ukrainian fairy tales, songs, epics well from childhood. It was they who sated his imagination, which created the wonderful “Evenings on...
5. Detailing is a special artistic technique that is necessary to create the most complete image. Through a detail, you can show some kind of comic situation, designate something typical in the characters, or, on the contrary, emphasize individual traits....
6. Manilov is a character in N. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls". The name Manilov (from the verb “beckon”, “lure”) is played ironically by Gogol. It parodies laziness, fruitless daydreaming, projecting, sentimentality. (The historical prototype, according to D. Likhachev, could ...
7. During the Patriotic War of 1812, fifteen Cossack regiments were formed in the Poltava and Chernihiv provinces. According to the revision of 1819, there were “male Cossacks 450,365 souls”. Ukrainian Cossacks...
8. In the content of the comedy, the author introduces “Remarks for gentlemen of the actors”, which everyone has not seen in other dramatic works. Gogol called these "Remarks" "Characters and Costumes", but here he says not only...
9. NV Gogol conceived the first part of the poem "Dead Souls" as a work that reveals the social vices of society. In this regard, he was looking for a plot not a simple life fact, but one that ...
10. The plot of the comedy The Inspector General, as well as the plot of the immortal poem Dead Souls, was presented to Gogol by A. S. Pushkin. Gogol had long dreamed of writing a comedy about Russia, ridiculing the shortcomings of the bureaucratic system, which are so...
11. Reading Gogol's stories, we still remember more than once how an unlucky official in a cap of indefinite shape and in a blue fleece overcoat, with an old collar, stopped in front of the window to look through the whole ...
12. The era reflected by N.V. Gogol in the comedy “The Inspector General” is the 30s. XIX century, during the reign of Nicholas I. The writer later recalled: “In the “Inspector General” I decided to collect in one measure ...
13. As conceived by N.V. Gogol, the theme of the poem was to be all of contemporary Russia. By the conflict of the first volume of Dead Souls, the writer took two types of contradictions inherent in Russian society in the first half of the XIX...
14. The critical evaluation of The Inspector General dates back to the very first performance of the comedy, which was attended by the Petersburg nobility, led by the tsar himself. The audience expected to see a new vaudeville on the stage, they hoped for fun ...
15. In his famous address to the “bird-troika”, Gogol did not forget the master to whom the troika owes its existence: “Not a cunning, it seems, road projectile, not an iron screw, but hastily, alive, with one ax ...
16. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol studied history a lot. The Zaporizhzhya Sich, the first democratic “state” in Europe, attracted the writer's special attention. The story is dedicated to depicting a complex and controversial period of Ukrainian history...
17. Each artist strives to create such a pearl that would find a worthy place in his work. The poem "Dead Souls" is considered the crowning achievement of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. The theme of the work was the image of the reality of feudal Russia,...
18. Creating his stories, Gogol skillfully and widely used folk art, drawing from there not only plots, but also many images (a funny devil, an evil woman, a simpleton peasant, a gypsy rogue), the character and techniques of folk humor, ...
19. Gogol's appeal to the theater was quite natural. His interest in theatrical art manifested itself in Nizhyn. At one time he even considered becoming a professional actor. According to Gogol's deep conviction, the theater is...
20. N.V. Gogol is an unsurpassed master of words, using satire to reveal the vices and shortcomings of human society in his works. His comedy The Inspector General, which appeared in 1836, attracted the attention of all layers ...

• Manilov

• box

• Nozdrev

• Sobakevich

• Plushkin

The image of the landowner Manilov

way Manilov A Gogol starts gallery landowners. Before us there are typical characters. In each portrait created by Gogol, according to him, "the features of those who consider themselves better than others" are collected. Already in the description of the village and the estate Manilova shows the essence of his character. The house is located on a very unfavorable place open to all winds. The village makes a miserable impression, since Manilov does not take care of the household at all. Pretentiousness, sweetness are revealed not only in the portrait Manilova , not only in his manners, but also in the fact that he calls the rickety arbor "the temple of solitary reflection", and gives the children the names of the heroes of ancient Greece.

Essence of character Manilova - perfect idleness. Lying on the couch, he indulges in dreams, fruitless and fantastic, which he will never be able to realize, since any work, any activity is alien to him. His peasants live in poverty, disorder reigns in the house, and he dreams of how good it would be to build a stone bridge across the pond or lead an underground passage from the house. He speaks favorably of all, all of whom are most preferable and most amiable. But not because he loves people and has an interest in them, but because he likes to live carefree and comfortable. About Manilov, the author says: "There is a kind of people known by the name: people are so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan, nor in the village of Selifan, according to the proverb." Thus, the author makes it clear that the image of Manilov is typical for his time. It is from the combination of such qualities that the concept"manilovism".

The image of the landowner Korobochka

Next image in the gallery landowners is box image . If Manilov is a landowner - a spender, whose inactivity leads to complete ruin, then Korobochka can be called a hoarder, since hoarding is her passion. She owns a subsistence economy and trades in everything that is available in it: lard, bird feathers, serfs. Everything in her house is arranged in the old fashioned way. She neatly stores her belongings and saves money by putting them in bags. Everything works for her. In the same chapter, the author pays great attention to Chichikov's behavior, emphasizing that Chichikov with box behaves more simply, more cheekily than with Manilov . This phenomenon is typical of Russian reality, and, proving this, the author gives a lyrical digression about the transformation of Prometheus into a fly. Nature boxes especially brightly revealed in the scene of sale. She is very afraid of selling cheap and even makes an assumption, which she herself is afraid of: “what if the dead ones will come in handy in her household?”, And again the author emphasizes the typicality of this image : "Another and respectable, and even a statesman, but in reality it turns out perfect box "It turns out stupidity boxes , her "club-headedness" is not "such a rare phenomenon. In each of the landowners, the author notices moral deformity. Manilov, in his idleness and laziness, goes to the extreme. As a result of stinginess, Korobochka becomes club-headed.

The image of the landowner Nozdryov

Next in the gallery of landowners -Nozdrev . A carouser, a gambler, a drunkard, a liar and a brawler - this is a brief description Nozdreva . This is a man, as the author writes, who had a passion "to spoil his neighbor, and for no reason at all." Gogol claims that Nozdryov typical of Russian society: " Nozdryov will not be out of the world for a long time. They are everywhere between us ... "Messy nature Nozdreva reflected in the interior of his rooms. Part of the house is being repaired, the furniture is arranged somehow, but the owner does not care much about all this. He shows the guests the stable, in which there are two mares, a stallion and a goat. Then he boasts of a wolf cub, whom he keeps at home for no reason. Lunch at Nozdreva poorly prepared, but alcohol in excess. An attempt to buy dead souls almost ends tragically for Chichikov. Along with dead souls Nozdrev wants to sell him a stallion or a hurdy-gurdy, and then offers to play checkers on the dead peasants. When Chichikov is indignant at the dishonest game, Nozdryov calls the servants to beat the intractable guest. Only the appearance of the police captain saves Chichikov.

The image of Sobakevich occupies a worthy place in the gallery of landowners. "A fist! Yes, and a beast to boot" - Chichikov gave him such a description. Sobakevich is undoubtedly a landowner-hoarder. His village is large and well-organized. All buildings, though clumsy, are strong to the extreme. Sobakevich himself reminded Chichikov of a medium-sized bear - big, clumsy. In the portrait of Sobakevich, there is no description of the eyes at all, which, as you know, are the mirror of the soul. Gogol wants to show that Sobakevich is so rude, uncouth, that in his body "there was no soul at all." Everything in Sobakevich's rooms is as clumsy and large as he is. The table, the armchair, the chairs, and even the thrush in the cage seemed to say: "And I, too, Sobakevich." Chichikov's request Sobakevich takes it calmly, but demands 100 rubles for each dead soul, and even praises his goods like a merchant.

Speaking about the typicality of such an image, Gogol emphasizes that people like Sobakevich , are found everywhere - in the provinces, and in the capital. After all, the point is not in appearance, but in the nature of a person: "no, whoever is a fist cannot straighten into a palm." Rough and uncouth Sobakevich - Lord over his peasants. And if such a person could rise higher and give him more power? How much trouble could he do! After all, he adheres to a strictly defined opinion about people: "A scammer sits on a scammer and drives a scammer."

The image of the landowner Plyushkin

Last in gallery landlords worth Plushkin . Gogol gives him this place, because " Plushkin is the result of the idle life of a person living off the labor of others. "This landowner more than a thousand souls, "and he looks like the last beggar. He has become a parody of a person, and Chichikov does not even immediately understand who is standing in front of him -" a man or a woman. "But there were times when Plushkin was a thrifty, wealthy owner. But his insatiable passion for gain, for acquisitiveness, leads him to complete collapse: he has lost a real idea of ​​​​objects, has ceased to distinguish the necessary from the unnecessary. He destroys grain, flour, cloth, but saves a piece of stale Easter cake, which his daughter brought a long time ago. For example Plushkin the author shows us the disintegration of the human personality. A pile of rubbish in the middle of the room symbolizes life Plushkin . This is what he has become, this is what the spiritual death of a person means. Krestyan Plushkin considers thieves and swindlers, starves them. After all, the mind has long ceased to guide his actions. Even to the only close person, to the daughter, Plushkin no paternal affection.

Sobakevich Mikhailo Semenovich - one of the characters in the work of N. V. Gogol "Dead Souls", the fourth "seller" of dead souls. The appearance of this hero is the best match to his character. This is a large, slightly angular and clumsy landowner with a "bulldog" grip, similar to "a medium-sized bear." Hence the name with the surname - Mikhailo Sobakevich. Looking at him, it seems to Chichikov that nature cut from his shoulder, creating him. She grabbed it with an ax, and the nose came out, again - and the lips came out. The same heaviness and asymmetry can be seen in the landowner's house.

By nature, Sobakevich is a businesslike hoarder. He does not hover in the clouds like Manilov, but immediately gets down to business. He is distinguished from the rest of the characters by hypertrophied practicality. The way he bargains with Chichikov, indicates that he is a prudent and economic landowner. Its peasants live well and securely. Sobakevich loves to stuff his stomach. He does not deny himself good and plentiful food, unlike Plyushkin. He talks negatively about people. Almost all the officials and landlords in the city of NN, in his opinion, are Christ-sellers and swindlers. He considers the prosecutor to be the only decent person, and even calls him a “pig”. Sobakevich can hardly be called a negative hero. His strength and will deserve respect, although if given more power, he could cause trouble.

There is a kind of people known by the name: people are so-so, neither this nor that, neither in the city of Bogdan nor in the village of Selifan, according to the proverb.
N. V. Gogol.
Wealth does not reduce greed.
Sallust.
"Dead Souls" is one of the brightest works of Russian and world literature, the pinnacle of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's artistic skill. One of the main themes in the writer's work is the theme of the Russian landlord class, the Russian nobility as the ruling class, its fate and role in public life. It is characteristic that Gogol's main way of depicting landowners is satire. Their images reflect the process of gradual degradation of the landlord class, revealing all its vices and shortcomings. Gogol's satire is colored with irony. The writer's laughter seems good-natured, but he spares no one, each phrase has a deep, hidden meaning. The poem is built as the story of the adventures of Chichikov, an official who buys up “dead souls”. The composition of the poem allowed the author to tell about different landowners and their villages. Gogol creates five characters, five portraits that are so different from each other, and at the same time, typical features of a Russian landowner appear in each of them. Our acquaintance begins with Manilov and ends with Plyushkin. This sequence has its own logic: from one landowner to another, the process of impoverishment of the human personality deepens, and an ever more terrible picture of the disintegration of serf society unfolds.
Opens the portrait gallery of the Manilov landowners. To create his image, Gogol uses various artistic means, including the landscape of the hero's estate, the interior of his home. The things surrounding him characterize Manilov no less than the portrait and behavior. Gogol writes: "Everyone has his own enthusiasm, but Manilov had nothing." The description begins with a picture of the village of Manilovka, which "could lure few with its location." With irony, the author describes the master's courtyard, with "an English garden with an overgrown pond", sparse bushes and a pale inscription "Temple of solitary reflection." The main feature of Manilov is uncertainty. Speaking of him, the author exclaims: "God alone could tell what Manilov's character was." He is kind by nature, polite, courteous, but all this has taken ugly forms with him. Manilov is beautiful-hearted and sentimental to the point of cloying. Relations between people seem to him idyllic and festive. Manilov does not know life at all, reality is replaced by his empty fantasy. He likes to think and dream, sometimes even about things that are useful for the peasants. But his projecting is far from the demands of life. He does not know about the real needs of the peasants and never thinks about it. Manilov lives in a world full of illusions, and the very process of fantasizing gives him great pleasure. He is a sentimental dreamer incapable of practical action. Manilov spends his life in idleness. He has retired from all work, he doesn’t even read anything: for two years a book has been lying in his office, all laid down on the same fourteenth page. Manilov brightens up his idleness with groundless dreams and meaningless projects, such as building an underground passage, a stone bridge across a pond. Instead of a real feeling - Manilov has a “pleasant smile”, instead of a thought - some kind of incoherent, stupid reasoning, instead of activity - empty dreams. While this landowner prospers and dreams, his estate is being destroyed, the peasants have forgotten how to work. Manilov fancies himself a bearer of spiritual culture. Once in the army, he was considered the most educated officer. Ironically, the author speaks about the atmosphere of the hero's house, in which “something was always missing”, about his sugary relationship with his wife. In comparison with other landowners, Manilov really seems to be an enlightened person, but this is only one appearance.
Korobochka has a completely different attitude to the household. She has a “pretty village”, the yard is full of all kinds of birds. But Nastasya Petrovna sees nothing further than her nose, everything “new and unprecedented” frightens her. Her behavior is guided by a passion for profit, self-interest. In this she resembles Sobakevich. Gogol refers Korobochka to the number of those "small landowners who complain about crop failures, losses and hold their heads somewhat to one side, and meanwhile they are gaining a little money in motley bags placed in drawers of a chest of drawers." Manilov and Korobochka are in some way antipodes: Manilov's vulgarity is hidden behind lofty phrases, behind arguments about the good of the Motherland, while Nastasya Petrovna's spiritual scarcity appears in its natural form. The box does not pretend to be a high culture: in all its appearance, a very unpretentious simplicity is noticeable. This is emphasized by Gogol in the appearance of the heroine: he points to her shabby and unattractive appearance. This simplicity reveals itself in relationships with people. The main goal of her life is the consolidation of her wealth, incessant accumulation. It is no coincidence that Chichikov sees traces of skillful management on the entire estate, which Nastasya Petrovna's inner insignificance reveals. She, apart from the desire to acquire and benefit, has no feelings. Confirmation is the situation with “dead souls”. Korobochka sells peasants with the same efficiency with which he sells other items of his household. For her, there is no difference between an animate and an inanimate being. There is only one thing that scares her in Chichikov’s proposal: the possibility of missing something, not taking what can be obtained for “dead souls”. The box is not going to give them up to Chichikov for a small price. Only after much persuasion, Nastasya Petrovna understands the benefits of the deal and agrees to sell such an unusual product as “dead souls”.
Sobakevich is very different from Korobochka. He is, in Gogol's words, "the devil's fist." The passion for enrichment pushes him to cunning, makes him seek various means of profit. Therefore, unlike other landlords, he uses an innovation - cash dues. He is not at all surprised by the sale and purchase of dead souls, but only cares about how much he will receive for them. Unlike Nozdryov, Sobakevich cannot be counted as people hovering in the clouds. This hero stands firmly on the ground, does not entertain illusions, soberly evaluates people and life, knows how to act and achieve what he wants. When characterizing his life, Gogol notes solidity and fundamentality in everything. These are natural features of Sobakevich's life. On him and on the furnishings of his house lies the stamp of clumsiness, ugliness. Physical strength and clumsiness appears in the guise of the hero himself. “He looked like a medium-sized bear,” Gogol writes about him. In Sobakevich, the animal principle prevails. He is devoid of any spiritual inquiries, far from daydreaming, philosophizing and noble impulses of the soul. The meaning of his life is to saturate the stomach. Sobakevich has a negative attitude towards everything connected with culture and education: "Enlightenment is a harmful invention." Unlike Korobochka, he understands well the environment and the time in which he lives, knows people. He differs from the rest of the landowners in that he immediately understood the essence of Chichikov. Sobakevich is a cunning rogue, an impudent businessman who is difficult to deceive. He evaluates everything around him only from the point of view of his own benefit. In his conversation with Chichikov, the psychology of a kulak is revealed, who knows how to make the peasants work for themselves and extract the maximum benefit from this. Sobakevich is straightforward, rather rude. Unlike Manilov, in his perception all people are robbers and scoundrels. Everything in Sobakevich's house was surprisingly reminiscent of himself. Each thing seemed to say: "And I, too, Sobakevich."
Gogol in his poem "Dead Souls" created a whole gallery of characters and types, they are all diverse, but they have one thing in common - none of them have a soul. Comparing the three landowners, I concluded that only Sobakevich had a future. Manilov and Korobochka live off the estate they inherited. They themselves do not contribute to the development of the economy. Manilov handed over his estate to the manager, and at Korobochka we see a backward corvée type of management. Sobakevich is the owner of a large estate, who is engaged in farming. I think that after the abolition of serfdom, this landowner would have switched to hired labor, and his estate would continue to generate income. This cannot be said about Korobochka and Manilov, who, most likely, would have mortgaged their estates to a pawnshop, and after a while went bankrupt. The poem "Dead Souls" is a brilliant denunciation of serfdom, the class that is the arbiter of the fate of the state. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is seriously worried that most of the landowners of that time led an idle life, did not care about their household. Peasants suffered from this, and indeed the whole state as a whole. Having depicted the life of the landowners in a satirical form, showing their shortcomings, Gogol wants to help people get rid of their vices.

Essay on literature on the topic: Comparative characteristics of Manilov and Sobakevich, Manilov and Korobochka

Other writings:

1. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is a remarkable Russian writer. His talent as a satirist and exposer of serfdom reached its peak in the poem Dead Souls. The writer managed to create an unforgettable gallery of images of feudal lords: irresponsible and deceitful, greedy and unscrupulous, unable to organize even their lives, but endowed with Read More ......
2. Many writers of the first half of the 19th century devoted a special place in their work to the theme of Russia. Like no one else, they saw the gravity of the situation of the serfs and the ruthless tyranny of officials and landowners. Moral values ​​fade into the background, and Read More ......
3. Many writers of the first half of the 19th century assigned a huge role in their work to the theme of Russia. Like no one else, they saw the gravity of the situation of the serfs and the ruthless tyranny of officials and landowners. Moral values ​​fade into the background, and Read More ......
4. One of the highest achievements of the individualization of Gogol's heroes is their speech characteristics. Each hero speaks in his own unique language, which is brilliant! an indicator of his character, level of culture, interests, etc. The speech of the beautiful-hearted Manilov, “an exceptionally kind and courteous person,” is distinguished by the same qualities. Read More ......
5. Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol noted that the main theme of "Dead Souls" was contemporary Russia. The author believed that "it is impossible otherwise to direct society or even the whole generation towards the beautiful, until you show the full depth of its real abomination." That is why satire is presented in the poem Read More ......
6. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" is primarily remarkable for the fact that it reveals many characters typical of Russia in the 19th century: landowners, officials, peasants. One of these representatives of the era is Manilov. To reveal his image, to show his character, Gogol uses various Read More ......
7. N. V. Gogol's poem "Dead Souls" was first published in 1842, almost twenty years before the abolition of serfdom in Russia, in the years when the first sprouts of a new, capitalist formation began to appear in the country. The main theme in the poem is the image Read More ......