The image of Khlestakov in brief. Characteristics of Khlestakov from “The Inspector General”

When creating the comedy “The Inspector General,” Nikolai Gogol set out to bring together all the worst things he saw in Russian society. This work, against the backdrop of 19th-century drama, was distinguished by rather complex issues. It is not easy to create a plan for the essay “The Image of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General”,” since this hero is quite complex and contradictory, as even the author himself has said more than once.

Laughter exposes evil

Gogol believed that the best way to expose evil is satire. The proof of this belief is his best works. When writing the essay “The Image of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General””, you need a good knowledge of the content of the play and the ability to analyze based on the phrases expressed and characteristic behavior. Who is the central character in this work?

Characteristic

Khlestakov is a small man, but not in the sense that we are used to putting into this phrase. He has nothing in common with Pushkin's stationmaster or Akaki Akakievich of the same Gogol. Khlestakov’s insignificance lies in his inability to work, laziness, limitations, and unwillingness to provide for himself and create conditions for at least a satisfactory existence.

The beginning of the essay “The Image of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General”” is a description of this unattractive hero. And he is, first of all, that person who is despised not only by those around him, but also by himself. When writing the essay “The Image of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General”,” one should also take into account that Gogol created in his work a character who experiences chronic dissatisfaction with his own life, but at the same time does not want to make any attempts to change anything for the better side. And when the author said that in this play he sought to depict the most unsightly sides of Russian society, he perhaps meant that he had met many similar “Khlestakovs” in his life.

Dreams

Khlestakov leads an idle lifestyle, although given his financial situation he can hardly afford it. He does not try to change his life for the better and does not rely on his own strength. The only thing he can pin his hopes on is a happy accident. The idea that little has changed since Gogol’s time is suggested by the image of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General.” A short essay on this topic should still be supplemented with a description of the society in which this character is located, and be sure to include this point in the plan.

Pushkin's friend

Khlestakov's tragedy lies in the fact that the world in which he lives is incomprehensible to him. He is not able to understand the connection of things and even imagine in general terms what the activities of the ministers are, as the great Russian poet, who suddenly became his “friend,” writes about. For Khlestakov, Pushkin is the same person as himself, only perhaps more fortunate.

Other heroes

It is very important to analyze the place of the image of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General”. The essay plan involves comparing this character with others. After all, the mayor and his associates are quite intelligent and knowledgeable people. However, they are not at all embarrassed by Khlestakov’s self-confident lies and boasting. They also seem to begin to believe that everything in life is decided by chance.

Philosophy of Khlestakov

In order to become a department director, there is no need to make any effort. All you need is luck. Personal merits, labor and intelligence are worth nothing, a person’s well-being does not depend on them. In order to achieve the goal, you just need to wait it out, and if necessary, “sit on” someone. These are the beliefs of the main character.

What is the difference between Khlestakov and other comedy heroes? The first one has outright vulgar stupidity. He lacked just a little intelligence to completely mislead the representatives of the city government. But at the same time, if his lie had been conscious, he would not have been able to deceive Anton Antonovich, who was very proud of his subtle knowledge of people. Khlestakov differs from other characters in that his lies are absolutely random. And this feature makes it extremely unpredictable.

Typical man of his era

Khlestakov was created from contradictions. His senseless and sometimes insane lies, on the one hand, correspond to the time depicted in Gogol’s comedy. Khlestakov is a typical figure of the Nicholas era. His image fully illustrates this time, revealing human vices, which especially developed in the atmosphere of the difficult social and political situation in Russia. Officials realize that he is stupid, but from the height of their rank they cannot carefully examine human qualities. On the other hand, it should be said that Khlestakov is a universal “phenomenon”. Such a character can arise at any time and in any environment.

Author's intention

"Khlestakovism" is present in every hero of the comedy. And this is Gogol’s main idea. The central image is of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General”. An essay with quotes, which will also contain characteristics of other characters, should be written in order to comprehend the author’s brilliant idea. Laziness, stupidity and the dream of a “golden” fish are present in the soul of every comedy hero, but in different concentrations. And these vices, according to the writer, were common in Russian society, and therefore extremely destructive.

The image of Khlestakov is a brilliant artistic generalization of Gogol. The meaning of this image is that it represents a combination of grandiose pretensions and insignificance, “significance” and emptiness.

Chameleon

Even when he is being starved in his hotel room, and the threat of arrest hangs over him, he continues to flatter the servant to bring him some provisions. When his request is fulfilled, he forgets about his recent humiliation and sincerely rejoices at dinner. And after a couple of minutes he begins to imagine himself as an important gentleman.

One of the main researchers of Nikolai Gogol’s work once compared the main character of this work with water, which has the property of taking the shape of any vessel. In a sense, the image of Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General” is unique in literature.

According to the plan, the essay can be divided into the following points:

1. Characteristic.
2. Comparative analysis with other characters.
3. The role of Khlestakov in society.
4. Khlestakov is a typical personality of his era.

The main character of the comedy is a concentration of the characteristic features of that era. But, unfortunately, the Khlestakovs still exist today. They, like the “Nozdryovs,” the prototypes of one of the heroes of “Dead Souls,” “will not soon emerge, and still walk among us, perhaps only in a different caftan.”

In his explanations for the actors, Gogol described him as follows: “A young man, about 23 years old, thin, thin; somewhat stupid and, as they say, without a king in his head...” Having accidentally found himself in a society of lies and hypertrophied veneration of rank, Khlestakov felt quite comfortable in The Inspector General. For him, respect for officials and lying are also a natural state, just like for officials of the district city. True, his lies are special. Gogol warned: “Khlestakov is not cheating at all; he is not a liar by trade; he himself forgets that he is lying, and he himself almost believes in what he says.” That is, lying is not an exception for him, but the norm of life - he doesn’t even notice it.

The climax of Gogol's play "The Inspector General" is the scene in which the drunken Khlestakov, having gone into a rage, talks about his life in St. Petersburg. The complete discrepancy between what Khlestakov tells about himself and what he really is, as well as the discrepancy between what he was like in the county town and how officials saw him, creates a comic effect. It was he who revealed the true face of both Khlestakov and the officials. And it turned out that in the main things (in the ability to live in a lie and in orientation towards rank) they are very similar.

If the mayor sees himself in his dreams as a general who doesn’t care about anything, then Khlestakov even sees himself as a field marshal. The mayor is having lunch “somewhere with the governor,” and Khlestakov is “on friendly terms with Pushkin.” Although their appearance is completely different. He is “skinny” and “thin”, a “whistle”, as the deceived mayor called him, and almost all officials are fat and round. They are frozen in their habits, not wanting to change anything. He is in constant motion and is ready to change depending on the situation. This is clearly visible already in the first scenes of the comedy. At first, Khlestakov in the comedy “The Inspector General” is timid, ingratiating himself even with the tavern servant. But as soon as he noticed that they were afraid of him, he immediately turned into an important person even in his own eyes. And in the eyes of frightened officials, he was in this rank even earlier.

Khlestakov deceived the mayor because... he did not intend to do this. Because he behaved cunningly, he was simple-minded. Therefore, he prevailed over the experienced and not stupid mayor, because he was much stupider and smaller.

Upon superficial observation, it seems that in Gogol’s comedy the mayor and his company compete with Khlestakov in cunning, deceit, dexterity... But in fact, there is no competition, since one of the parties - Khlestakov - simply avoids the fight, not understanding neither the goals nor the intentions of their opponents. But thereby Khlestakov provides them with complete opportunity to fight the ghost that they built in their imagination. And not only fight, but even be defeated by him.”

The image of Khlestakov in “The Inspector General” is Gogol’s artistic discovery. Just like the derivative from his name - Khlestakovism. And the “prefabricated city” created by Gogol is an analogue of that big world in which everything is interconnected and mutually determined.

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Option 1:

Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov is the main character of N.V.’s comedy. Gogol "The Inspector General". A thin young dandy of twenty-three years old from St. Petersburg finds himself in a set of circumstances in which his true essence is revealed more than ever.

Returning home to his father in Saratov, Khlestakov loses all his money at cards. By chance, at the same time, in a small county town N, the city authorities receive a letter about an auditor who has come to conduct an inspection. Khlestakov is mistaken for an auditor and they begin to curry favor with him in every possible way and give bribes, and he, in turn, gets used to the new role, taking what is happening for granted.

“He speaks and acts without any consideration,” the author writes about Khlestakov. The character's remarkableness lies in his obvious love of showing off and showing off, thanks to which he manages to show off everyone around him. Praising himself to the mayor and the ladies, he himself believes in his own lies. He already imagines himself almost as a director of a department and an outstanding artist.

At the same time, Khlestakov is not a malicious intriguer. At first, he naively believes in the kindness and benevolence of those around him who give him “loans,” remaining polite with them, but still greedy. Ivan Alexandrovich is so flattered by himself and the location of the mayor that he dares to ask for the hand of Marya Antonovna, the mayor’s daughter, and receives consent. Only thanks to his more perceptive servant Osip does he manage to reverse in time and get out of the water unscathed.

It is not without reason that thanks to the bright character of Khlestakov, the concept of “Khlestakovism” appeared, characterizing shameless self-praise and lies, when emptiness and stupidity are hidden under a flashy pompous appearance. Nikolai Vasilyevich himself wrote that every person becomes Khlestakov at least once in his life. These words tell us about the relevance of the character in our time.

Option 2:

One of the main characters of the famous comedy work by N.V. Gogol “The Inspector General” is a slightly stupid, but cunning guy who will not miss any good opportunity - Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov.

When local officials became worried and mistakenly mistook him for a visiting auditor traveling incognito, Khlestakov supported this convenient situation and began to desperately lie and play along. For his own benefit, he either appears to everyone as an absolute loser as a reveler asking for lunch, or adds considerable importance to himself by pretending that he has good connections with dukes and counts, or even a real womanizer and ladies' man. One can only envy Khlestakov’s artistry.

In this comedy work, on the one hand, our hero is a simple-minded guy, a talkative joker who does not have much knowledge, but only superficial ones, and always walks around on his own. He plays what the local environment wants to see in him, any role, as long as no one suspects that he is not an auditor. His speech is quite primitive, in which literary cliches and the incorrect use of beautiful French words he heard are clearly audible.

One can characterize Khlestakov as a home-grown rogue, the kind you just need to look for, a lazy and uneducated person who does not hesitate to brag and skillfully lie. Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov never took the words he said seriously and was not going to answer for them.

Thanks to the main character of N. V. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General,” a new word for everyone has appeared in everyday life - “Khlestakovism,” which is defined as lies, boasting and irresponsibility all rolled into one.

Option 3:

Ivan Andreevich Khlestakov is the main character of N.V. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General.” He is presented as a contradictory and ambiguous personality. The young man is constantly dissatisfied with his life and never has money. Khlestakov does absolutely nothing to change his life, but only hopes that the day will come and everything will be decided by itself.

His position is fully consistent with his character. The character is by nature an adventurous person and partly a swindler. If he were an honest person, he would not turn to practically strangers (Dopchinsky and Bobchinsky) with a request to borrow money without being able to give it back. Moreover, he would not have shown interest in both his daughter and her mother at the same time.

Khlestakov is an inveterate liar and deceives people very easily and naturally, as little children do when they invent some kind of fable. His stories bring him pleasure. During conversations, the hero behaves irresponsibly and does not talk about anything specifically or seriously. Even Gogol himself emphasizes the spiritual emptiness and lack of morality in him. He, as a narrow-minded person, believes that to achieve success you do not need to make efforts, have certain knowledge and talent. Khlestakov is confident that just a chance to achieve a goal is enough, everything can be decided, for example, luck during the card games that he loves so much.

Gogol managed to create an image that demonstrates to readers many human vices. In the modern world, corrupt officials would hardly mistake Khlestakov for an auditor, but, nevertheless, many of us have his traits.

Option 4:

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol creates the image of a young man who, due to circumstances, becomes the center of attention of a small county town. The heroes of the comedy mistake him for an auditor, and he, in turn, brilliantly plays his role. His name is Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov.

In notes for actors, the author describes the hero’s appearance as follows: “a young man of about twenty-three, thin, thin; somewhat stupid “...” - one of those people who in the offices are called empty-headed. He speaks and acts without any consideration. "..." Dressed in fashion."

The development of the plot introduces the reader even closer to Khlestakov. In addition to the listed characteristics, others will be added to it. Ivan Alexandrovich is a dreamer. He tries to realize his dreams in conversation with the townspeople, especially the ladies. He assures them that he personally knows A.S. Pushkin, that he is part of the high society of society, that it was he who owned the famous works: “Frigate of Hope”, “Moscow Telegraph”, “Yuri Miloslavsky”.

Despite the stupidity noted by Gogol, Khlestakov is not without resourcefulness and cunning. Understanding his position, he robs frightened officials under the guise of a monetary debt and manages to “get away with it” from the love triangle. Moreover, he sends a letter to his St. Petersburg friend Tryapichkin about all the adventures that happened to him. In it, Khlestakov mocked deceived people, not skimping on insults: “The mayor is stupid, like a gray gelding...”, “The overseer of the charitable establishment, Strawberry, is a perfect pig in a yarmulke,” etc.

N.V. Gogol portrayed a “little man” who is not distinguished by outstanding qualities, but strongly wants to have wealth and fame. Khlestakov laughs not only at the officials and the mayor, but also at himself, because he is no better than them. Unless he’s “dressed in fashion.”

It is very important to characterize Khlestakov from The Inspector General, because it is by creating the image of this false auditor from St. Petersburg that the author manages to reveal the essence of officials who are accustomed to solving everything with the help of bribes.

So, when describing Khlestakov and characterizing him, it should be noted that this is the main character of the comedy, with whom the author introduces us at the beginning of his work. Characteristics of Khlestakov with quotes from the work will allow us to create an accurate image of the hero.

Characteristics of Khlestakov with quotes

This is a “thin, skinny” guy, he is “twenty-three years old.” He is “stupid,” “without a king in his head,” “dressed in fashion.” Village life “my soul thirsts for enlightenment” is not for him; he is attracted to the capital. This is exactly how the author presents his hero to us. Having failed to conquer St. Petersburg, having squandered his money, he goes back home, not forgetting to dress up in fashionable clothes. This is what played a cruel joke on the officials of a small town who mistook Khlestakov for an auditor.

Brief description of Khlestakov

Khlestakov is a fraudster, a loser, and how surprised he was when they began to offer him money, mistaking him for an auditor. And this only plays into his hands, because he doesn’t even try to dissuade people from believing otherwise, but only “spreads dust.” A brief description of Khlestakov allows us to call the hero an arrogant person who does not hesitate to take money from strangers.

Khlestakov lies so much that officials tremble. There are also vulgar words, maybe calling him a “fool”, “a brute” to his servant, “scoundrels”, “idlers” when shouting at the owner of the inn. His spiritual world is poor, since he cannot focus on anything specific, making abrupt speeches.

At the end, he leaves the city, not forgetting to write a letter in which he reports that the mayor is stupid, Strawberry is a pig, and so on. This speaks of Khlestakov’s ungrateful attitude towards others.

The characterization of Khlestakov’s image allows us to call the hero of the work an empty, worthless person. And the truth here is that such mayors, the Khlestakovs, exist to this day, therefore “The Inspector General” is more relevant in our time than ever, and the created image of the hero is immortal, because it will exist until officials start working and live correctly, and therefore forever.

Gogol warned more than once: Khlestakov is the most difficult character in the play. Let's see what this hero is like. Khlestakov is a petty official, an insignificant person, despised by everyone. Even his own servant Osip does not respect him. My father can pull me by my hair. He is poor and is not able to work in such a way as to provide himself with at least a tolerable existence. He is deeply dissatisfied with his life, even subconsciously despises himself. But emptiness and stupidity do not allow him to comprehend his troubles and try to change his life. It seems to him that if only a chance presents itself, everything will change, he will be transferred “from rags to riches.” This allows Khlestakov to feel so easily and naturally that he is a significant person.
The world in which Khlestakov lives is incomprehensible to him. He is unable to comprehend the connection of things, to imagine what the ministers are really doing, how he behaves and what his “friend” Pushkin writes. For him, Pushkin is the same Khlestakov, but happier, more successful. It is interesting that both the mayor and his associates, who cannot but be recognized as sharp-witted people who know life and are not stupid in their own way, are not at all embarrassed by Khlestakov’s lies. They also think that it’s all a matter of chance: if you’re lucky, you’re the director of the department. No personal merit, labor, intelligence or soul is required. You just need to help the occasion, to hook someone up. The only difference between them and Khlestakov is that he is frankly stupid and lacks even practical insight. If he were smarter, if he immediately understood the delusion of the city elite, he would begin to deliberately play along. And, undoubtedly, it would have failed. A cunning, a well-thought-out lie would not have deceived the attentive mayor. He would have found a weak point in a pre-created invention, it’s not for nothing that Anton Antonovich is proud: “I’ve been in the service for thirty years; ...he deceived swindlers on swindlers. He deceived three governors!” The mayor could not assume only one thing in Khlestakov - sincerity, inability to consciously, thoughtfully lie.
Meanwhile, this is one of the main features of Khlestakov. The inner emptiness makes his behavior completely unpredictable; at every given moment he behaves as he “turns out.” He was starved in a hotel, the threat of arrest hung over him - and he flatteringly begged the servant to bring at least something to eat. They bring lunch - and he jumps on his chair with delight and impatience. At the sight of a plate of soup, Khlestakov forgets how a minute ago he humiliatingly begged for food. He has already assumed the role of an important gentleman. “Well, master, master... I don’t care about your master!”
Each of the characters in the play contains a lot of Khlestakovism. This is the author's intention. That’s why Khlestakov is the main character, because his traits are inherent in every person to one degree or another. They are comical only when put together and displayed on stage. The most striking illustration is the mayor’s dreams of a future life as the father-in-law of a great man: “... If you go somewhere, couriers and adjutants will gallop everywhere... Heh, heh, heh, that’s what a bastard is tempting!” Thus, we see that Khlestakov’s and Skvoznk-Dmukhanovsky’s ideas about luxurious life basically coincide.

Tasks and tests on the topic "The image of Khlestakov in N.V. Gogol's comedy "The Inspector General""

• SPP with adverbial adverbs (adverbial comparisons, manner of action, measure and degree) - Complex sentence 9th grade
• Aspect, reflexivity and transitivity of verbs - Verb grade 5

  Lessons: 3 Assignments: 7 Tests: 1