(365 words) “A pretty beautiful spring small cart drove into the gates of the hotel in the provincial city of NN” - it is with these words that the first chapter of N.V. Gogol's poem “Dead Souls” begins. It’s not without reason that the main scene (along with the landlord estates) is introduced from the first line of the work: an understanding of the spiritual life of the Russian province plays an important role in revealing the purpose of the book.
N.V. Gogol does not specify the city, we only learn from the argument of men that it is between Kazan and Moscow. Like many writers (A.P. Chekhov, I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky), the author gives a generalized name - the city of NN. Despite this, in the poem, this image not only becomes a separate bright hero, but also turns into a detailed picture with the image of the whole people. Gogol embodied in him all the features of the Russian hinterland, allowing you to see Russia from all sides.
As a real hero, the city of NN has its own "character": measured, slow, but at the same time vigilant and observant. The smooth rhythm of provincial life is revealed in the manner of narration: the name of the protagonist becomes known only on the third page; the narrator describes each detail in detail, "without rushing" anywhere. Of course, in order to understand the "inner world" of the city, it is necessary to get acquainted with its inhabitants. The main person in it is the governor, who "was a big man and sometimes even embroidered on tulle himself ...". He becomes the embodiment of innocence, tenderness. The governor leads an idle life, often gives balls, and abuses bribery, like many officials in this city. One of them is the police officer. Gogol ironically describes the activities of this character: Alexei Ivanovich took bribes, but tried to do this as discreetly as possible, with dexterity.
He baptized their children [merchants], was idolizing with them, and although he sometimes fought with them strongly, he was somehow extremely dexterous: he would pat him on the shoulder, and laugh, and give him tea to drink ...
Chichikov visited all the most important residents of the city, and all the characters are somewhat similar to each other. The officials are innocent, trusting; they love code flatter them. Bribery, deceit, greed are the dark sides of their characters. N.V. Gogol also describes the ladies: women in the city of NN dressed with great taste, “as the last fashion prescribed”, in the speech they avoided ugly, in their opinion, expressions (“I blew my nose”, etc.). They were like living dolls.
All these descriptions help to make a conclusion about the city itself: it is inhabited by fake and idle people, ordinary people who believe that the highest values in life are power and wealth. This city froze, almost all the souls in it are “dead”, however, “the eyes have not gone out yet.”
