But Khlestakov spoke the honest truth. He provoked the whole cunning game of the Mayor and the officials not with cunning, but with sincerity. “Let us also let the Turus in: we will pretend as if we don’t know at all what kind of person he is,” says the Governor, believing that he is taking up the challenge. But Khlestakov did not pose any challenge, he simply said and did reflexively what the given moment required of him. Fear paved the way for deception. But Khlestakov’s sincerity deceived him. The experienced rogue was unlikely to deceive the Governor: he would have figured it out, but the unintentionality of Khlestakov’s actions confused him. Well, he didn't expect this! It is interesting, by the way, that Khlestakov, in contrast to Gorodnichy and others, has almost no aside remarks at all. Such lines served the playwright to convey the character’s inner speech and his secret intentions. This was not required in relation to Khlestakov: what is on his mind is on his tongue. In the third and fourth acts, Khlestakov’s dizzying transformations begin - imaginary and real.

Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov “A young man... of good appearance... And in his face there is this reasoning... physiognomy... actions, and there is a lot, a lot of things here” “Young man... of good appearance... And in his face there is this reasoning... physiognomy... actions, and there is a lot, a lot of things “It would be good if it were really something worthwhile, otherwise you’re just a simple little elistrat!” “It would be good if it were really something worthwhile, otherwise the little elistratist is a simple one!” “Here it is, that means a man! Never in my life have I been in the presence of such an important person.” “Here it is, that means a man!” I’ve never been in the presence of such an important person.” “Neither this nor that: the devil knows what it is!” “Neither this nor that: the devil knows what it is!” “I mistook an icicle and a rag for an important person! Well, what was in this helipad…” “I mistook an icicle and a rag for an important person! Well, what was in this helipad..."

Critics' opinion: “...you need to think, but he doesn’t know how to think.” (V.G. Belinsky) “...you need to think, but he doesn’t know how to think.” (V.G. Belinsky) “He didn’t know that he was lying, and didn’t think of deceiving at all...” (V.G. Belinsky) “He didn’t know that he was lying, and didn’t think of deceiving at all...” (V. G. Belinsky ) “That Khlestakov who takes bribes... is already a completely different person: inspiration has faded...” “That Khlestakov who takes bribes... is already a completely different person: inspiration has faded...” “He is like everyone else: mind, and soul, and words, and he has a face like everyone else” (D.S. Merezhkovsky) “He is like everyone else: his mind, his soul, his words, and his face are like everyone else” (D.S. Merezhkovsky)

What is “Khlestakovism”? “I am everywhere, everywhere, everywhere” “I am everywhere, everywhere, everywhere” “Everyone, at least for a minute, if not for a few minutes, has become or is becoming Khlestakov... And a clever guards officer... and a statesman... and our brother, a sinful writer, will turn out to be sometimes Khlestakov" “Everyone, at least for a minute, if not for a few minutes, was or is becoming Khlestakov... And a clever guards officer... and a statesman... and our brother, a sinful writer, will sometimes turn out to be Khlestakov"

Khlestakov Khlestakov “I love to eat. After all, that’s what you live for, to pick flowers of pleasure.” “I love to eat. After all, that’s what you live for, to pick flowers of pleasure.” “Eh, Petersburg, what a life, really!” “Oh, Petersburg, what a life, really!” “And once I was mistaken for the commander-in-chief” “And once I was mistaken for the commander-in-chief” “Once I even managed a department” “Once I even managed a department” “Tomorrow I will be promoted to field marshal...” “Tomorrow I will be promoted to field marshal ..." Mayor Mayor "...there are two fish: vendace and smelt, such that your mouth will water" "...there are two fish: vendace and smelt, such that your mouth will water" "What will we do now, where will we live? Here or in St. Petersburg? “What will we do now, where will we live? Here or in St. Petersburg? “What kind of birds you and I have become now!” “What kind of birds you and I have become now!” “Now you can get a big rank... so that in time you will become a general.” “Now you can get a big rank... so that in time you will become a general.” “You’re having lunch somewhere with the governor, and there: stop, mayor!” “You’re having lunch somewhere with the governor, and there: stop, mayor!”

The behavior of the characters is the situation “How dare he, fool? How dare he refuse? I don't care about your master! Kanagli! Scoundrels! “How dare he, fool? How dare he refuse? I don't care about your master! Kanagli! Scoundrels! “But what can I do?.. It’s not my fault... I’ll... pay.” “But what can I do?.. It’s not my fault... I’ll... pay.” “Give me, lend me...” “Give me, give me a loan...” “I I don’t like to joke, I’ll give them all a joke...” “I don’t like to joke, I’ll give them all a joke...” “Look! You’re not taking it according to rank!” "Look! You’re not taking it according to rank!” “Sorry, I’m really not guilty... “Sorry, I’m really not guilty... “Have mercy, don’t ruin me...” “Have mercy, don’t ruin me...” “I still can’t wake up from fear.” “I still can’t.” “Wake up from fear” “Wait, now I’ll give all these hunters a hard time submitting requests and denunciations!” “Wait, now I’ll give all these hunters a reason to submit requests and denunciations!”

General Cowardice, deceit in front of superiors Cowardice, deceit in front of superiors Desire to please, hypocrisy Desire to please, hypocrisy Impudence, rudeness towards inferiors Impudence, rudeness towards inferiors Desire to play a role more significant than the allotted Desire to play a role more significant than allotted Throw dust in the eyes Throw dust in eyes Compensate for your humiliation by humiliating others Compensate for your humiliation by humiliating others Climb the career ladder without making any effort. Climb the corporate ladder without any effort.

Homework: Re-read the ending of the comedy (8.9 events of act 5) Re-read the finale of the comedy (8.9 events of act 5) To whom are the mayor’s words addressed? To whom are the mayor's words addressed? How do you understand N.V. Gogol’s words that no one saw the positive hero of the play? Who or what is meant? How do you understand N.V. Gogol’s words that no one saw the positive hero of the play? Who or what is meant? What is the meaning of the play's epigraph? What is the meaning of the play's epigraph? Prove using the example of any character in the play that he is also “Khlestakov”. Prove using the example of any character in the play that he is also “Khlestakov”. Explain the meaning of words, choose, related to Khlestakov’s characteristics. Explain the meaning of words, choose, related to Khlestakov’s characteristics.

The presentation was made by a student of the 8th grade "MOU" Lyceum School in Otradnoye Smirnova Roxana Khlestakov and Khlestakovism What is the mystery of Khlestakov's character? “Khlestakov is the first of Gogol’s artistic discoveries...” Characteristics of the hero. Gogol considered Khlestakov the central character of the comedy “The Inspector General.” Aksakov recalled: “Gogol always complained to me that he could not find an actor for this role, that because of this the play loses its meaning and should rather be called “Governor” rather than “The Inspector General.” Khlestakov, according to the author, is not a second-line character on whom the anecdotal plot of the work rests, he is the main character in the comedy. Unfortunately, Khlestakov’s character still remains a mystery to the viewer, who perceives only the external manifestation of the character. The “imaginary auditor” is often seen as a “talented” liar. But the psychological roots of Khlestakov’s rampant lies are much deeper and more serious. The central character of the comedy is Khlestakov. He represents a typical character, embodies a whole phenomenon that is called “Khlestakovism.” Khlestakov is a “metropolitan thing”, a representative of those noble youth who flooded the St. Petersburg offices and departments, completely neglecting their duties, seeing in the service only an opportunity for a quick career. Even the hero’s father realized that his son would not be able to achieve anything, so he summons him to his place. But accustomed to idleness, not wanting to work, Khlestakov declares; “...I can’t live without St. Petersburg. Why, really, should I ruin my life with men?...” The main reason for Khlestakov’s lies is the desire to present himself on the other side, to become different, because the hero is deeply convinced of his own uninterestingness and insignificance. This gives Khlestakov’s boasting a painful character of self-affirmation. He extols himself because he is secretly full of contempt for himself. The bifurcation that will become the object of artistic research in Dostoevsky’s novels has already been laid down by Gogol in Khlestakov. Becoming different in your own eyes, even if only for a few moments, is very tempting. Let us remember that even the mayor, no longer the clerical “rat” that Khlestakov is, humiliates his current self, intoxicated by the prospect of becoming a general. His relationships with women are also full of deceit. Not loving anyone, he drags after both his daughter and his mother. He does this based on the only and main goal of his empty life, which he formulates in this way: “After all, you live to pick flowers of pleasure.” Another striking feature of Khlestakov is his short memory, which makes him, in particular, incapable of complex calculations of self-interest and gives him those “sincerity and simplicity” that Gogol reminded the actors of as the main personality traits of the hero. Khlestakov is undoubtedly gifted with the talent of imitation. But what is instantly acquired is just as instantly lost, leaving no trace. Khlestakov is a rogue, a flighty person, but the curious thing is that his behavior never arouses suspicion. The more fantastic Khlestakov’s lies, the more confidence officials have in him. The mayor himself does not find anything reprehensible in his lies. He even sincerely admires Khlestakov, as he sees his ideal in him. Gogol emphasizes the typicality and generality of the image of Khlestakov as a representative of the contemporary noble-bureaucratic society in his “Excerpt from a Letter”: “What is, if you look at it, Khlestakov, really? A young man, an official, and empty, as they call it, but containing many qualities belonging to people whom the world does not call empty!” One of the mysteries of “The Inspector General” is why the stupid, simple-minded, outwardly insignificant Khlestakov leads the smart “in his own way” and experienced mayor by the nose? Perhaps the best answer to this question will be the words from Krylov’s fable “Razors”: People with intelligence are afraid. And they tolerate fools more willingly... The “emptiest” person was mistaken for an important person, because this person was not supposed to be distinguished by special intelligence, and would certainly stand out with “significance”. Khlestakov could not transform himself into a smart person, but he very easily assumed significance. For officials frightened by the news of the auditor's arrival, this was enough. Gogol had reason to insist that Khlestakov, who embodies the idea of ​​lies, is the main character of the comedy “The Inspector General.” In the author’s perception, Khlestakov is “a phantasmagoric face, which, like a lying personified deception, was carried away along with the troika to God knows where.” Indeed, Khlestakov can be called a common noun. The word “Khlestakovism” stigmatizes any manifestation of arrogance, frivolity, inner emptiness, deceit and worthlessness, the desire to appear more significant and important than you really are. It acquired a broad social and psychological meaning. The image of Khlestakov is one of the deeply found and guessed phenomena of life and retains its accusatory power and accuracy to this day. “Khlestakovism” is a timeless concept. And really, what? It depends on the understanding and imagination of the reader. Perhaps the question is whether Khlestakov is a simple-minded dreamer or a cunning pretender? Unfortunately, Khlestakov’s character still remains a mystery to the viewer, who perceives only the external manifestation of the character. The “imaginary auditor” is often seen as a “talented” liar. But the psychological roots of Khlestakov’s rampant lies are much deeper and more serious. Boastfulness and arrogance, combined with the stupidity of provincial officials, help him remain undetected. He is agile, as seen in the love confession episode. He instantly “switches” from his daughter to his wife, and none of them has time to suspect anything. The development of the plot was also influenced by Khlestakov’s inability to reason logically and consistently. He was used to “going with the flow” and not thinking about the future. An indicator of this is the absence of his “to the side” remarks. Often he is unable to stop (as during lunch with the mayor). Having started to talk about something, he “lies”, trying to present himself in the most favorable light. Khlestakov has pride (he is afraid of the moral teachings of Osip, his servant), but does not disdain to cheat and talk. His character contains many negative aspects of the society of that time - reverence for rank, sycophancy (remember how he humiliatingly asks for dinner!), ignorance... Khlestakov is a symbol, a designation of a very specific part of humanity. “The image of Khlestakov is a type of many things scattered in different Russian characters,” Gogol himself writes about him. He ridicules such people, calls for the extermination of “Khlestakovism” of self-affirmation due to his arrogance and resourcefulness. That is why St. Petersburg society, which relies on precisely such people, was indignant. Russian writer K.A. Fedin said that “Khlestakov absolutely does not need any epithet, because he himself has become an unsurpassed epithet for all kinds of whistlers, boasters, empty talkers...” But the words of the modern literary critic N.N. Skatov: “Every at least for a minute or a few minutes he becomes or will become Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov. But only those who do not suspect this in relation to themselves will remain so.” Gogol warned more than once: Khlestakov is the most difficult character in the play. Why? Because, having become the culprit of universal deception, Khlestakov did not deceive anyone. He successfully played the role of the auditor, not only without intending to play it, but without even realizing that he was playing it. Only by the middle of the fourth act, vague guesses begin to dawn in Khlestakov’s head that he is being mistaken for a “statesman.” But it is precisely in unintentionality that Khlestakov’s “strength” lies. He says that he has earned nothing in St. Petersburg and is going home to the Saratov province, and the Mayor thinks: “Huh? and won't blush! Oh, yes, you need to be careful with him...", "He lies, he lies, and he won’t stop anywhere!” The mayor was struck not by Khlestakov’s “lies” - after all, he was preparing for the fact that the “auditor” would play a role, but by the fact that he “would not blush.” But Khlestakov spoke the honest truth. He provoked the whole cunning game of the Mayor and the officials not with cunning, but with sincerity. “Let us also let the Turus in: we will pretend as if we don’t know at all what kind of person he is,” says the Governor, believing that he is taking up the challenge. But Khlestakov did not pose any challenge, he simply said and did reflexively what the given moment required of him. Fear paved the way for deception. But Khlestakov’s sincerity deceived him. The experienced rogue was unlikely to deceive the Governor: he would have figured it out, but the unintentionality of Khlestakov’s actions confused him. Well, he didn't expect this! It is interesting, by the way, that Khlestakov, in contrast to Gorodnichy and others, has almost no aside remarks at all. Such lines served the playwright to convey the character’s inner speech and his secret intentions. This was not required in relation to Khlestakov: what is on his mind is on his tongue. In the third and fourth acts, Khlestakov’s dizzying transformations begin - imaginary and real. The transition from imaginary situations to real ones for Khlestakov is insensitively easy, like the transition from the “thousand rubles” that he initially asked from Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky to the amount found in the pockets of both friends. “Okay, let it be sixty-five rubles. It’s all the same.” “It’s all the same” - because in all cases Khlestakov is equally unintentional; it is all within a given minute. How this minute differs from the previous one, Khlestakov does not ask. More precisely, he notices some changes in his position; but he cannot understand what caused them. “I like that you show people passing everything in the city. In other cities they didn’t show me anything.” This observation alone might suggest that there was some kind of misunderstanding. But for Khlestakov there are no misunderstandings, because even the simplest analysis of the situation is impossible. He is like water, taking the form of any vessel. Khlestakov has extraordinary adaptability: the entire structure of his feelings and psyche is easily and involuntarily rearranged under the influence of place and time. But in all cases - even in the moment of the most incredible lies - Khlestakov is sincere. Khlestakov invents things with the same sincerity with which he previously told the truth - and this again deceives the officials. But this time they accept as truth what was fiction. Gogol wrote in “Pre-Notification...”: “Khlestakov, in himself, is an insignificant person... Even for a very long time he was able to guess why there was such attention and respect for him. He felt only pleasantness and pleasure, seeing that they were listening to him, pleasing him, doing everything he wanted, greedily catching everything he said... Speaking about the most important feature of Khlestakov - “the desire to show off,” Gogol emphasized: “. ..an actor for this role must have a very versatile talent that would be able to express different human traits, and not some constant, one and the same ones.” “The features of the role of some mayor,” Gogol wrote in “Excerpt from a Letter...”, “are more motionless and clear.” The image of Khlestakov is inexhaustible, fraught with stunning surprises. However, they are all located within the same range. The image of Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov is one of the most characteristic and remarkable in Gogol’s work, “the beloved child of his imagination.” It reflected the artist’s passion for hyperbole, almost grotesque exaggeration, and love for depicting “multi-sided” 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 obsession: 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 officials gripped by fear are deceiving themselves (“they flogged themselves”). But in such a situation, in the place of the auditor, a person endowed 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 characteristic of each of us “at least for a minute,” according to Gogol. The enchanting scene of lies at the mayor's reception demonstrates this quality of the hero with unprecedented force. 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” rush at full speed to find the hero, without him there is no one to manage the department. The soldiers, when they see him, “make a gun.” 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 starts talking, 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’m everywhere, everywhere...” But what is this? Everything will be resolved just like in a fairy tale: “When you run up the stairs to your fourth floor...” No, no, he’s already come to his senses: “Why am I lying, I and I forgot that I live in the mezzanine." But now is his time. He is a hero-lover, charming mother and daughter, the mayor's son-in-law. He is a "significant person" to whom bribes are humbly offered. And with each bribe, Ivan Alexandrovich changes noticeably. He enters to taste 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 spent money on the road,” then from Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky he immediately demands: “And you don’t have money?” Khlestakov disappears in a special way. This “phantasmagoric face”, “like a lying personified deception, rushed away with the troika to God knows where” (Gogol). ? 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 degree, “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. It is a collection of many qualities. He contains both a small official, a great dreamer, and a simple-minded man who lies with inspiration and happiness. But this is also a symbolic, generalized image of the modern Russian man, “who has become all lies, without even noticing it.” (N.V. Gogol).

Composition

Gogol warned against understanding his characters as caricatures and grotesques: “...none of the persons cited have lost their human image.” And “this makes the viewer’s heart shudder even deeper.” The writer himself believed that the most complex and “difficult” thing in comedy is the image of someone who was mistaken for an auditor. “Khlestakov himself is an insignificant person... Never in his life would he have done something that could attract anyone’s attention, but the power of universal fear created a wonderful comic face out of him.” At first, Khlestakov does not even realize that he was mistaken for who he is. He lives for the moment and devotes himself entirely to the “pleasantness” of the new situation. And his main quality: the desire to show off, to show off - is fully manifested. He inspiredly composes fables about his situation in St. Petersburg.

According to Gogol, “Khlestakov does not cheat at all; he is not a liar by trade, he himself forgets that he is lying, and he himself almost believes what he says.” It begins to seem to Khlestakov that he really did what he so eloquently describes (he managed the department, and went to the palace, and “was on friendly terms with Pushkin”). A little official, he feels special pleasure in portraying a strict boss, “scolding” others. Reveling in unexpected happiness, Khlestakov is not aware of his actions; he has “extraordinary lightness in his thoughts.” He borrows money from officials - and this request unexpectedly comes out of his mouth. His behavior is devoid of any logic, he alternately falls in love with the mayor’s wife and daughter and asks for Marya Antonovna’s hand in marriage, completely forgetting that he had just declared his love to her mother.

Khlestakov is Gogol's brilliant discovery. Excessive and unfounded claims, the desire to seem “higher in rank,” the ability to “shine” in the face of complete mental and spiritual emptiness and frivolity are revealed in a pointed form; “microscopic pettiness and gigantic vulgarity” (Belinsky) are traits so characteristic of noble and bureaucratic Russia. The dizzying transformation of a nonentity into a significant “person” reflected the nonsense of social order, the cult of “rank.” The nature of existing relations, combined with the fear that officials experience, makes everyone believe the absurd logic of Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky: “For mercy, if not him! And he doesn’t pay money, and he doesn’t go - who should it be if not him?.. By God, he’s... So observant: he looked at everything... and even looked into our plates to find out what we were eating?” That’s why the comedy of the scene in the hotel is so deep, when the mayor is convinced that the visiting official is a “subtle little thing” and admires his brilliant performance: “Huh? - and won’t blush! - the mayor says to the side. “Oh, yes, you need to be careful with him.” But the whole point is that it is here that Khlestakov innocently expresses the whole truth about himself.

The paradox of the central situation is that universal fear creates something phantasmagoric, creates an imaginary auditor. Khlestakov has nothing in common with traditional comedic rogues and plays the role of an auditor unconsciously. It was, as it were, suggested to him, imposed on him by frightened officials. But it is in this role that Khlestakov is the center of the comedy. As a result, under the guise of a powerful auditor, it turns out to be an “icicle”, a “helicopter”, a dummy. In this regard, Yu. V. Mann speaks of the “mirage intrigue” of “The Inspector General,” which dispelled and turned into nothing the aspirations and expectations of an entire city. Its rulers were deceived by the phantom of their own imagination; Using the mayor’s curious statement, we can say that they “flogged themselves,” but at the same time remained unrepentant. Gogol's comedy is free of edification here too.

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