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The main character of N. V. Gogol's comedy “The Inspector General” is Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, a petty St. Petersburg official. What is Khlestakov like? It's more like a ghost. He is a nobleman, commander-in-chief, and almost second in command after the emperor.
Khlestakov is a rogue and a spendthrift, a lover of a cheerful, idle life, so he constantly needs money. His lies are like the creative inspiration of an artist. He lies disinterestedly, not demanding anything at this moment, as long as they believe. He lies harmlessly, but so skillfully that he begins to believe himself and deceives himself.
Outwardly, Khlestakov looks like the most unremarkable passerby. The author describes him as a young man of approximately 23 years old, of a thin build. And at the same time he notes that he is a little stupid and “without a king in his head.” But the whole city takes him for a formidable inspector and tries to appease this insignificant little man. There is also nothing special or memorable about the officials who please him.
It is the image of the main character that personifies Khlestakovism - a special phenomenon of the Russian bureaucracy. In the comedy, the author ridicules the stupidity and ignorance of the service people, who are afraid of everyone and everything. Officials are presented as bribe takers, fools and worthless little people. The author mercilessly criticizes all the characters; there is not a single positive character in the play.
Khlestakovism is like a virus, everyone becomes infected with it: the mayor and his family, the flogged widow of a non-commissioned officer. She does not need to punish the offender; it is more important to compensate for the damage in money. Greed and stupidity prevail in society.
The surnames of the characters are symbolic: the trustee Strawberry distracts everyone and leads them away from the main thing with sweet talk; the disputes between the landowners Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky are like a dialogue with a mirror; Mayor Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky and Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin show a careless and negligent attitude towards service. Gogol exposes the corruption of officials, their cowardice and cowardice, their inability to take responsibility for their actions, the lies and hypocrisy that characterize them in order to save their careers.
Khlestakovism is an original set of vices, which in the society of the writer’s contemporaries was considered permissible. This concept is usually associated only with corruption, but the author has put a deeper meaning into this term. In fact, all the negative aspects of a person’s character can be included here and viewed as a global problem of human imperfection.
Essay No. 2
The words “Khlestakov” and “Khlestakovshchina” are analogous words in Gogol’s work “The Inspector General”. Before the publication of this comedy, literature had not yet known a similar hero. His behavioral traits were not similar to any of the previously described heroes. The play is about a simple clerical worker living in St. Petersburg, Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov. The role of the rest of the heroes of the work was played by local officials who were horrified by the news of the arrival of the auditor. The author portrayed Khlestakov as an infantile person who experiences neither hatred nor love, and knows neither good nor evil. All that aroused the hero's interest was money and card games. His cowardly nature pushed him to make claims at the right time. When he began to be flattered, it stimulated his tendency to boast and flights of imagination. Khlestakov did not consider it necessary to refuse gifts, bribes and women's persuasion.
“Khlestakovism” personifies the useless wasting of life, which keeps pace with lies and hypocrisy. Arriving in the town, Khlestakov began to behave so lordly that Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, without even checking the information, decided that he was an auditor. Our hero's servant told his master that there was no need to dissuade people. Next, Khlestakov, with the help of his penchant for lying and boasting, began to behave like a fish in water. He lied without stopping, every word was a lie. His lies touched all areas of life. He said that he eats dishes from Paris, is friends with Pushkin’s brother, and works in the public service. The officials were so paralyzed by general fear that they completely lost their vigilance.
The rural people, seeing how frightened the officials were, caught up with the wave of Khlestakovism and also found themselves involved in the general paralysis. Each offender tried to pay off the prescribed punishment with money. This incident simply poisoned the city.
Khlestakov thought little and did not think at all about the consequences of his behavior. It was impossible to predict what he would come up with next. The situation with the Inspector General even amused him. It is worth remembering the speech that he gave while visiting the mayor. It was all lies. At the end of the work, he deceives everyone and runs away from the city with the money of the officials. Khlestakov’s character has traits inherent in an official, a dreamer, an inspirer, an important and simple-minded person. This is a truly unique hero.
Khlestakov and Khlestakovism
Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” is perhaps one of the few works that, “gathering into one pile everything bad in Russia,” managed to reveal one of the most dangerous phenomena of both that time and modern Russia - Khlestakovism.
If we turn to Ozhegov’s dictionary, we will find in it a very simple definition of this phenomenon: “shameless, unbridled boasting”, used in colloquial speech. But the concept is much broader. It includes, first of all, such a phenomenon as opportunism.
But speaking about the unscrupulousness of the bureaucratic world, Gogol, first of all, ridicules the stupidity and ignorance of the people themselves, who are “afraid of everyone and everything.”
Why, according to the author, are the mayor and officials of the city of N not afraid of anything? Yes, they are simply sure that a person is essentially corrupt. Based on this, they act.
Let's pay attention to the main character of this comedy. Who is he anyway?
Khlestakov Ivan Aleksandrovich is a minor official in one of the departments of St. Petersburg, who accidentally got stuck in a provincial town. The author portrays him as a frivolous and irresponsible young man with the talent of a brilliant liar. One could even say that Khlestakov is a kind of collectively generalized image of a Russian man who himself “has become all lies” and, what’s worst, doesn’t notice it. Sometimes, “due to their stupidity and superficiality,” the actions of Gogol’s officials are perceived by the same Khlestakov not as “greasing,” but as sincere cordiality of disinterested people.
But what helped Khlestakov deceive the officials so cleverly? The answer is obvious: fear. Fear for one's greed, bribes and awareness of one's own guilt.
Of course, any sane person would immediately have a thought: what if I was confused with someone? But not with Khlestakov. He takes everything that happens to him for granted. And yet, he has enough sense to emerge as a “winner” from this situation: the mayor and his entourage remain fools.
But the trouble with this ending is its duality. Yes, on the one hand, “evil” seems to be punished. And that is great.
But where is the guarantee that Khlestakov, having felt his impunity, will not continue to “perform” such frauds in the future? And again he will get away with everything. After all, Gogol writes that the rest of Russia consists of towns such as the city of N.
A completely logical question arises: where do the Khlestakovs come from? And again, the answer lies on the surface: they were formed by the political system that gave birth to the same “derzhimorords and mayors”: Khlestakov, although a “dummy,” is also a completely secular person. Lightly read, slightly literate.
In the end, Khlestakov is the main, albeit not entirely positive, face of comedy. Through his image, Gogol ridicules not only spiritual emptiness and simplicity, coupled with boasting, but also the desire of a person to pass off wishful thinking as reality. One can even argue that “Khlestakovism” in this case means only the following: it is the “insignificance increased many times over” of all the heroes of the comedy.
In conclusion, I would like to draw the reader’s attention to this. “The Inspector General” is a comedy, truly immortal, but as long as there is life on our planet, the Khlestakovs will “reign” on it.
And even the fact that generations replace each other will not change anything: after all, the ways of achieving their own goals remain the same. The question arises: what to do? Learn to live correctly. Or, in simple terms, learn to live “according to your conscience.”
That's all. Good mood to everyone and bye.
Discussion on the topic of Khlestakov and Khlestakovism
Gogol's new comedy excited people with exciting emotions. It is not surprising, because the Russian public met with a true masterpiece. About two centuries have passed, but “The Inspector General” sounds no less poignant. You don't have to look for confirmation for a long time. Everyone knows that real life is populated by Gogol’s characters.
According to the author, the most difficult thing for the viewer to understand is the image of Khlestakov. Gogol gives a deep characterization of this hero in instructions to the artist performing this role. Khlestakov plotted in the district town without any malicious intent. This character looks like a dancer. With his movement, he enlivens the action and makes events develop. Khlestakov masterfully pretends to be an auditor, but realizes that the officials considered him a statesman only after three actions. It is characteristic that this discovery did not evoke any feelings in the false auditor.
District officials are amazed by Khlestakov's behavior. He seemed to them a calculating and cunning man who should be feared. None of them were able to expose the desperate lies of Khlestakov, who brilliantly played up various situations. Khlestakov himself is not evil or cruel. He is an absolutely soulless creature, capable of becoming anyone at any moment: even a secret auditor, even an insignificant bureaucrat. Khlestakov’s short memory lacks the past, and he does not think about the future. He lives for one minute, and at that moment he artistically changes his appearance.
The writer, familiar with the life of petty metropolitan officials, gave the image of Khlestakov the features of a typical illiterate braggart. The hero uses French words, the meaning of which he does not understand, and does not disdain vulgar phrases and literary cliches. A spiritually poor character, like a soap bubble, learned to inflate under favorable circumstances.
The comedy turned the self-consciousness of Russians upside down. The name Khlestakov forever became a household name. The concept of Khlestakovism combines restless verbiage, deception, shameless fanfare combined with inexhaustible frivolity. Gogol fished out the false inspector from the deep abyss of the national character. The writer is sure that it is common for any Russian person to sometimes become Khlestakov, regardless of his position in society, education, or age.
Only laughter can eradicate Khlestakovism. Taking it too seriously is easy to plunge into despair, but a humorous approach will allow you to follow the path of self-improvement and find the road to a new life.
Essay-reasoning: Khlestakov and Khlestakovism
Khlestakov is one of the central characters in the comedy “The Inspector General” by the legendary Russian writer N.V. Gogol, embodying the mores of Russian society of the 19th century. His brief description is given to us in the second act by his own servant Osip. The empty and stupid son of a rich father, who did not live up to the hopes placed on him, who surrendered to all the vices of metropolitan life. A spender, unable to think ahead, with endless pride. Plus he's a spineless coward.
After the appearance of Khlestakov himself, there remains no doubt about the truth of Osip’s words. Due to frivolity and laziness, our hero falls out of favor with his own father, and then loses all his money at cards and gets stuck in a provincial town without the opportunity to leave. However, unable to give up old habits, even despite the fear of being imprisoned in prison, Ivan continues to demand special treatment, becoming increasingly entangled in debt.
He is saved from eviction and arrest by city officials who mistook him for the capital's auditor. Surrounded by care and attention, Khlestakov instantly adapts to the situation, willingly playing his role. Finding himself in an advantageous position, he instantly gives vent to his passions: he robs both officials and ordinary people, flirts with the mayor’s wife and daughter, lies uncontrollably, wanting in every possible way to evoke even more fear and respect in those around him. In one of the most striking scenes of the entire play, he takes credit for The Marriage of Figaro, Robert the Devil, and Norma, declares his close friendship with Pushkin, and places himself above the state council. Indulging his ego, Khlestakov is unable to stop even for a minute, his lies become more and more absurd, but the most amazing thing is that he gets away with everything. Having deceived, robbed and, in addition, ridiculed the naive residents of the city, the hero left them forever, returning to his luxurious world of salons and buffets.
Khlestakov is one of the most striking images of Russian literature. His surname became a household name, and his thinking and behavior gave rise to a phenomenon called Khlestakovism, which means the desire to always seem larger than you really are, the desire to stand out not with real, but with fictitious merits.
Unfortunately, the image of Khlestakov had a real basis. The nobility of the 19th century, which served as a support for the autocracy and the Russian Empire, was subject to many vices. And dissolute noble offspring like Ivan were common. Yes, and these days “The Khlestakovs” have not gone away, which makes Gogol’s work still relevant.
Author: Mikhail Shchepin
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Essay on the topic: Khlestakov and Khlestakovism in the comedy by N.V. Gogol "The Inspector General".
Composition. Khlestakov and Khlestakovism in the comedy by N.V. Gogol "The Inspector General".
The image of Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov is one of the most characteristic and remarkable in Gogol’s work, “the beloved child of his fantasy.” It reflected the artist’s passion for hyperbole, almost grotesque exaggeration, and love for depicting “many-sided” (in Nozdrev’s sense) characters. And Ivan Aleksandrovich’s way of thinking is typical of most of Gogol’s heroes: the illogicality and incoherence of his speeches are simply stunning. And, of course, there is a certain “devilishness” associated with the image of Khlestakov, a touch of the fantastic. Well, really, isn’t it an insult: a respectable and experienced mayor mistakes a “wine” for a “significant person.” Moreover, the whole city, following him in a fit of insanity, pays tribute to the “auditor”, begs for protection, tries to “cajole” this insignificant little man. The plot of the comedy is simple and ingenious. A special, Gogolian feature in him is the absence of any conscious actions on the part of the imaginary auditor to deceive officials. He himself finds himself in an unpredictable situation and behaves in accordance with it. If Khlestakov had been a fraudster, the depth of the plan would have disappeared. The main thing here is that the officials, gripped by fear, are deceiving themselves (“flogged themselves”). But in such a situation, instead of an auditor, a person gifted with very special properties is needed. Not really. have mercy. These properties are the most common. Well, for example, the desire to show off, to play a role a little higher than the one that the person is “intended for.” After all, this is also characteristic of each of us “at least for a minute,” according to Gogol. The enchanting scene of lies at the reception of the city manager demonstrates this quality of the hero with unprecedented power. From an employee who “only rewrites”, in a few minutes he grows almost to a “commander-in-chief” who “goes to the palace every day.” Khlestakov is a genius of lies, he is experiencing his finest hour. The homeric scale stuns those present “thirty-five thousand couriers” rushing at full speed to find the hero, without him there is no one to manage the department. The soldiers, when they see him, “make guns.” The soup in the saucepan is coming to him from Paris. In the blink of an eye, like a fairy-tale genie, he builds and destroys an entire fantasy world - the dream of the modern mercantile age, where everything is measured in hundreds and thousands of rubles. Khlestakov’s speech is fragmentary, he begins to speak, but gallops on at full speed: “What really? That's who I am! I won’t look at anyone... I tell everyone: “I know myself, myself. I am everywhere, everywhere...” But what is it? Everything will be resolved just like in a fairy tale: “As you run up the stairs to your fourth floor...” No, no, he had already come to his senses: “Why am I lying, I forgot that I live on the mezzanine.” But now is his time. He is a hero-lover, charming mother and daughter, the son-in-law of the mayor. He is a “significant person” to whom bribes are humbly offered. And with every bribe, Ivan Alexandrovich noticeably changes. He is getting a taste for it. He has already realized himself in the new role, and the hero likes it. If he shyly asks the first visitor for a loan, justifying himself: “I ran out of money on the way,” then from Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky he immediately demands: “Don’t you have any money?” And Khlestakov disappears in a special way. This “phantasmagoric face”, “like a living personified deception, was carried away along with the troika to God knows where” (Gogol). After all, this is just a mirage, a ghost generated by a bad conscience and fear. So, what is “Khlestakovism”? This is the embodiment of the desire to play a role higher than the one that is intended for you, but also the embodiment of the emptiness of existence. Insignificance raised to the Nth power, “emptiness that has arisen to the highest degree,” in Gogol’s amazing expression. Yes, the image of Khlestakov is beautiful - Gogol’s great creation. He is all inspiration, flight. This is a collection of many qualities. There is a little official in him, and a great dreamer, and a simple-minded man who lies with inspiration and happiness. But this is also a symbolic, generalized image of modern Russian man, “whose entire lie has become, without even noticing it.” (N.V.Gogol).
