People consider that Russian writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (袧懈泻芯谢邪泄 袙邪褋懈谢褜械胁懈褔 袚芯谐芯谢褜) founded realism in Russian literature. His works include The Overcoat (1842) and Dead Souls (1842).
Ukrainian birth, heritage, and upbringing of Gogol influenced many of his written works among the most beloved in the tradition of Russian-language literature. Most critics see Gogol as the first Russian realist. His biting satire, comic realism, and descriptions of Russian provincials and petty bureaucrats influenced later Russian masters Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev, and especially Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Gogol wittily said many later Russian maxims.
Gogol first used the techniques of surrealism and the grotesque in his works The Nose, Viy, The Overcoat, and Nevsky Prospekt. Ukrainian upbringing, culture, and folklore influenced his early works, such as Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka . His later writing satirized political corruption in the Russian empire in Dead Souls.
袪械胁懈蟹芯褉 = The Inspector General = The Government Inspector, Nikolai Gogol
The Government Inspector, is a satirical play by the Russian and Ukrainian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836.
The play is a comedy of errors, satirizing human greed, stupidity, and the extensive political corruption of Imperial Russia.
The corrupt officials of a small Russian town, headed by the Mayor, react with terror to the news that an incognito inspector (the incognito one) will soon be arriving in their town to investigate them.
The flurry of activity to cover up their considerable misdeeds is interrupted by the report that a suspicious person has arrived two weeks previously from Saint Petersburg and is staying at the inn. That person, however, is not an inspector; it is Khlestakov, a foppish civil servant with a wild imagination.
Having learned that Khlestakov has been charging his considerable hotel bill to the Crown, the Mayor and his crooked cronies are immediately certain that this upper-class twit is the dreaded inspector.
For quite some time, however, Khlestakov does not even realize that he has been mistaken for someone else. Meanwhile, he enjoys the officials' terrified deference and moves in as a guest in the Mayor's house. He also demands and receives massive "loans" from the Mayor and all of his associates. He also flirts outrageously with the Mayor's wife and daughter. ...
隆Qu茅 m谩s puedo agregar de Nikol谩i G贸gol que ya no haya comentado antes! Padre de las letras rusas junto a su gran amigo Alexandr Pushkin, escritor multifac茅tico y narrador aut茅nticamente original, creador de la novela moderna rusa a partir de su libro Almas Muertas considerado el 鈥淨uijote ruso鈥�, fue tambi茅n pionero en su maestr铆a a la hora de relatar cuentos. Con s贸lo recordar El capote, La nariz, Viy, Diario de un loco, el lector sabr谩 del calibre de escritor que era. Escribi贸 tambi茅n una peque帽a novela hist贸rica acerca de la vida de los cosacos que se llam贸 Tar谩s Bulba. Pero tambi茅n escribi贸 un obra de teatro maravillosa como es el caso de 茅sta, El Inspector, debido a la cual tuvo grandes inconvenientes luego de que fuera representada en el teatro por primera vez en 1836. No era para menos: la forma en la que ridiculiza a los bur贸cratas de la 茅poca le vali贸 grandes enemistades, al punto tal de tener que emigrar a Italia, dado que ni sus grandes influencias por parte del Zar pudo apaciguar los 谩nimos de los pol铆ticos y funcionarios. Es que la excelencia de esta obra es retratar tan mordaz e ir贸nicamente a al bur贸crata en real sentido de la palabra, dejando entrever todo ese mundillo de corrupci贸n y negociados turbios que caracterizan al pol铆tico tanto de peque帽os pueblos como de las m谩s altas esferas, y para variar, poniendo al martirizado pueblo en contra, que ponen el grito en el cielo producto de la opresi贸n del poder contra ellos es realmente sorprendente. Los personajes que m谩s destacan en esta obra son el supuesto inspector, Iv谩n Aleks谩ndrovich Jl茅stakov, un astuto brib贸n de veintitr茅s a帽os, adicto a los naipes quien se hospeda en una pensi贸n sin un rublo luego de haberlo perdido todo en una mala noche de naipes. Junto a su criado 脫sip se encontrar谩 con esta situaci贸n impensada, la de que el Alcalde del pueblo, el inescrupuloso y temperamental Ant贸n Anton贸vich Skv贸znik Dmuj谩knovsky, quien ante una mala informaci贸n de dos ineficaces hacendados, cree que Jl茅stavok es un temible Inspector enviado por San Petersburgo para investigar el estado de todas las instituciones en el pueblo. Obviamente, Jl茅stakov, acuciado por las deudas y varado en el medio de la nada se aprovecha de esta confusi贸n para divertirse con los pobres funcionarios, enamorar tanto a la esposa y la hija del Alcalde y aprovechar para pedir dinero a diestra y siniestra. Realmente es una comedia muy divertida, llena de escenas hilarantes y poblada de toda la iron铆a y la cr铆tica despiadada a la corrupci贸n como s贸lo G贸gol pod铆a hacerlo. Muchos saben que es Fi贸dor Dostoievski a quien m谩s admiro en la literatura rusa, pero el Maestro supo decir alguna vez "Todos descendemos del Capote de G贸gol" y es verdad. Sin G贸gol ni Pushkin otra hubiera sido la historia de la literatura para Rusia y el mundo.
The Inspector General by Gogol is one of the best satirical plays that I've read. Gogol is well known for his satire, either subtle or presumptuous. Satire is his forte. And in The Inspector General, it is expressed in its best.
Gogol voiced strongly against the greed, corruption, and inefficiency of the government officials. His various works are proof of this. But in my view, it is in The Inspector General, that Gogol discloses his views strongly.
The story is set in a provincial town, and it exposes the greed, corruption, inefficiency, and the despotism of the local officials on an official scale, and also vanity, self-importance, and opportunism on a personal scale. These officials squander government money which is granted to improve the facilities in the town. They make the life of the people miserable by demanding exorbitant bribes for work to be done or for trade to be carried on and harass them unnecessarily just to show their power. And when the news of an official visit from Petersburg reaches their ears, these officials concoct a joint venture on how to deceive him. Could they deceive him or would they be deceived in turn?
The play conveys a powerful message and the satire is presumptuous. The comical tone that is so perfectly maintained is most entertaining. Despite the gravity of the story, it was altogether hilarious. I can't remember the last time I've laughed over a play this much. It was so entertaining. Had I watched a performance, I'm sure to have died of laughter!
Gogol has expressed his views so boldly through the play that while it won him critical acclaim it also incurred severe disapproval of the "subjects" of his play that he was compelled to leave Russia. That in itself is proof of its success.
The Inspector General is undoubtedly one of the best works by Gogol, seconding only to Dead Souls, and as I've already said one of the best satirical plays that have come across me.
Great work by Gogol. Well known fact is that this play is considered one of the best comedies ever, and that alone says much.
Portrayal of some of the worst flaws in human nature such as corruption, greed and envy is at that level that even after almost 200 years after its first publication is still valid.
Also, what was almost unimaginable to me, the jokes and funny moments are capable to make me cry out of laughter even thought they were written so long time ago.
This is a book that everyone should read but also, if at chance, to see in theatre.
Kakva je ovo samo komedija bila - najburnija reakcija koju sam imala bilo je zevanje. Mislim, ovo je ipak vi拧e tu啪no nego sme拧no jer verujem da je slika tog malog ruskog gradi膰a i vi拧e nego istinita slika i prilika na拧e drage nam Srbije danas. Ali ipak, osavremenite nam lektire, preklinjem vas.
This play is satire at its best. Corruption, greed, vanity, opportunism, and snobbism are comically displayed. And before the spectator has a chance to get on a high horse, Gogol reminds us that these characters are taken from real life and each of us has some of the same vices. The writing is brilliant, astute, and a pleasure to read. I haven't seen this play performed.
To start off I feel that suggesting that Gogol is a Russian would be a bit of an insult to the Ukrainians, especially at this point in time, since his biography on 欧宝娱乐 indicates that his mother was Polish and the father was a Ukranian Cossack (and he also wrote in both Russian and Ukrainian, though no doubt the languages are little more than a dialect of each other 鈥� though I would not be running around Maiden Square screaming that at this point in time).
I did not realise that I would actually enjoy this play as much as I did before I started reading it, but within the first couple of pages I suddenly discovered that the theme that Gogol works with is a very common theme in a lot of modern comedies: the idea of the mistaken identity. This is similar to the idea that comes out of Shakespeare's (which is included in the book in which I read this particular play) however the mistaken identity does not come about because of identical twins, but rather because a visitor to a small town is mistaken for a high official who is believed to be on his way to audit the town's books.
The play itself has been turned into a movie staring Danny Kaye (the video that I watched on Youtube has since been taken down):
though there are a number of differences (both minor and major) between this film and the original play .
One sort of wonders whether Gogol is actually being critical of the corrupt bureaucracy of the Russian Empire at the time (though it is interesting to note that even some of the most advanced states in the world are open to corruption, though sometimes the corruption is much more subtle). What we have is a bunch of corrupt officials who have effectively bought their way into office and by the strength of their wealth are able to remain entrenched in that position. However, they are then warned that an inspector general from St Petersburg is coming to perform an audit on the town's finances.
This sends the council into a tailspin because, well, they know if the books are audited then they are going to get found out and are probably going to face the chopping block. However, when a low level government employee arrives in the town the council, who have no idea what this inspector general looks like, immediately mistake this guy for the general and begin to court (and bribe) him in an attempt to get him to turn a blind eye. Obviously, having all this food and money thrown at him (especially since he has none of his own) encourages him to keep up the charade (though when he is caught out he promptly disappears from the town).
I'm not all that sure if Gogol really meant to be very deep in this play because on the face of it it looks like your standard comedy, and one that works well. Further, this is one of those plays that could easily be lifted out of this current setting and placed in any other number of settings and it will still hold true (the movie places it in the Austro-hungarian empire, though it does get confusing with the suggestion that Napoleon is the emperor, when that was not the case). What it is also suggesting is that the central beauracracy is actually not all that corrupt because the people on the fringes fear their interference, and it is also suggested that corruption becomes more evident the further out you go, though in this modern world there are many that believe that corruption exists within our central halls of power and as you go out to the fringes, the corruption begins to diminish.
So Funny! Stories of Gogol were unique and full of humor. His novel was a great piece of art. and Now His 'play' is also amazingly funny! I loved it! A carefree and jolly read for me!
I was looking forward to this play, but although the translator's introduction praised it to the skies, I ended up not being able to get too interested. It may have shown the standard operating procedure of the corrupt Russian officials of the day, and it certainly was funny at times, but it was also predictable.
When I read something and think 'oh, this or that is going to happen', I write down the idea and then see how long it takes to come true, if at all. This time I was right on every count. Mistaken identity, swindling, faked romance, expected ending, the works.
Gogol may have been The Author of his day, but I skimmed through the last three acts in this five act play: I was bored. However, I do want to read a couple of his short story collections that are available at Project Gutenberg, so I won't give up on the man completely just yet.
This play is a satire on the rampant corruption in governments and the public adminstration offices. I found it pretty funny.
A town full of neck-deep corrupt officials come to know that the government was sending an Inspector general to their town for inspection. They are scared shitless and everyone scrambles to fix and cover-up their corruption before the inspector arrives.
One of these gang of officials notices a man in an inn refusing to pay his bills and he ASSUMES that only a high standing official from the capital can be so adamant and get away with not paying bills, while infact, the man was not paying the bills because he had no money. The official runs and passes the information that the inspector has arrived. What follows is every corrupt official trying to soften up the pretend-inspector who plunders them for his own ends.
Kemal Sunal'谋n "Deli Deli K眉peli" filmini and谋ran, Rus B眉rokrasisinin 莽眉r眉m眉艧l眉臒眉yle alay eden, 莽谋kar ili艧kilerini ve yozla艧may谋 irdeleyen trajikomik bir yap谋t. Baz谋 yerlerinde 莽ok g眉ld眉m. 19. yy 'da yaz谋lmas谋na kar艧谋n g眉n眉m眉ze bu kadar benzemesi d眉艧眉nd眉r眉c眉. 脟arp谋c谋 ya da 眉zerinde d眉艧眉nd眉recek diyaloglar yoktu. Alt谋n谋 莽izdi臒im yer olmad谋 ancak okumak keyifliydi!
poco a poco Gogol se quiere convertir en uno de mis escritores favoritos, con todo y que los finales considero que le fallan un poco, pero el resto de la historia se disfruta mucho, te hace re铆r, sentir angustia, sentirte en su atm贸sfera rusa, y para considerar que estas historias tienen cerca de 200 a帽os de ser escritas, Gogol demuestra un estilo muy claro, sencillo y eficaz a la hora de transmitir sensaciones y emociones.
脟ok e臒lenceli bir oyun, zaman zaman kahkaha att谋臒谋m yerler oldu. Ayr谋ca sadece Rus b眉rokrasisini ve Rus toplumunu de臒il t眉m toplumlar谋 ele艧tirdi臒ini s枚yleyebiliriz bence.
Apenas voy a comentar la obra porque es muy corta y revelar铆a argumento innecesariamente. Me pareci贸 muy divertida, alocada y con personajes desopilantes (empezando por el alcalde que trata de tapar su propia incompetencia). Eso s铆: rozan lo desagradable. Gogol juega con los equ铆vocos y las personalidades corruptas de los personajes para lograr una obra muy amena, que se deja leer en un d铆a (me gustar铆a verla representada, por supuesto) y que te hace soltar m谩s de una risa. La 煤ltima escena es genial y hasta insospechada. Me gustan mucho los cuentos de Gogol, pero ahora s茅 que le puedo dar tranquilamente una oportunidad al teatro sin que me decepcione.
Gogol was the first great Russian novelist with Dead Souls (and Taras Bulba). But also well known for his short stories and this plays. This perhaps being his most popular.
It's an outrageous comedy. At times it nearly reminded me of movies like Airplane. It's not quite that absurd, but the way the characters get so scared of Khlestakov and wrapped up in their theory that he's the government inspector is hilarious.
There's also two characters that are clear inspiration for the Tintin characters Thomson and Thompson. Here we have Pyotr Ivanovich Bobchinsky and Pyotr Ivanovich Dobchinsky - two guys that are always together and talk over each other. They argue about who discovered what, and are the two responsible for the town thinking that Khlestakov, just a random broke nobleman travelling through town, is in fact the incognito Government Inspector the town is worried about.
Khlestakov is more than happy to have the whole town doting on him, in fact he's so shameless he almost expects it without even realizing they have him mistaken for someone else.
The Plot: The officials of a little town headed by the mayor are panicked when news hits that an incognito government inspector is arriving in their town. They need to cover up all their misdeeds! Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky tell the Mayor about Khlestakov, a guy that's been staying at the inn for two weeks. Khlestakov is just a lowly broke civil servant waiting to go back home and beg money off his upper class father.
Khlestakov's been living at the hotel on IOUs but the hotel is now fed up and refuses to feed him. The Mayor arrives and invites Khlestakov to his house. Only Khlestakov and Khlestakov's servant Osip know the truth.
Khlestakov obliges and while there talks to the Mayor and all the high ranking townspeople individually - asking for loans from each of them, which they oblige thinking it'll prevent Khlestakov from saying anything bad about them. The Mayor ends up thinking Khlestakov is close to the emperor! His and the other towns people's imagination runs wild. The Mayor's wife and daughter both think Khlestakov is into them.
Later the town's merchants tell Khlestakov all the bad thing the Mayor has been doing. Khlestakov just asks for more "loans" and promises to report the Mayor.
Khlestakov proposes to the Mayor's daughter. Later Khlestakov leaves the village with his servant Osip taking all the loans with him. The postman opens a letter Khlestakov sent to a friend and read it - it absolutely ridicules the whole town. Later its announced that (the real) government inspector has arrived.
'El inspector' puede que sea la obra m谩s divertida que he le铆do nunca, la comedia m谩s perfecta que me he encontrado nunca, hilarante y seria a la vez, grotesca pero equilibrada, una s谩tira implacable pero tambi茅n una reflexi贸n moral de lo m谩s pesimista.
En un peque帽o pueblo ruso de provincias, delante del anuncio de la llegada de un inspector general de Moscou con instrucciones secretas, las autoridades locales (el director del hospital, la directora del colegio, el jefe de correos, el juez, el jefe de policia y sobre todo el alcalde) se acojonan de lo lindo porque todos alguna vez u otra han recibido un soborno o han cometido alguna que otra irregularidad en su oficio, nada que no sea algo habitual, pecados de nada, minucias como mandar azotar una viuda.
La obra tiene un timing c贸mico que es impecable y un humor absurdo de lo m谩s inteligente. Mezcla gags cl谩sicos y f铆sicos con un humor inteligente basado en juegos de palabras y mordacidades incisivas. Es como un episodio del Monty Python's Flying Circus decimon贸nico. A ver si alg煤n d铆a encuentro el momento para leerme 'Las almas muertas'.
Gogol era un escritor sat铆rico immejorable, el mejor que he conocido, pero se ve que el pobre quer铆a ser un moralista. Se ve que no le gust贸 ninguna representaci贸n de 'El inspector' que tuvo la oportunidad de ver, porque todas la representaban como si fuera una s谩tira y no un cuento moral. Se ve que quem贸 dos veces la segunda parte de 'Las almas muertas' porque era muy bueno escribiendo s谩tira pero cuando quer铆a ser un escritor moralista era mal铆simo.
Se ve que muri贸 medio loco por no poder aceptar que era un escritor sat铆rico. Una pena porque la s谩tira cuando est谩 bien hecha, trasciende las situaciones concretas y se acaba convirtiendo en una reflexi贸n sobre la naturaleza humana tan profunda como cualquier otro subg茅nero con mayor prestigio. Pero Gogol muri贸 medio loco por no poder aceptar lo que era. Pidi贸 que dejaran su cuerpo sin enterrar hasta que empezara a mostrar signos de descomposici贸n porque ten铆a miedo a ser enterrado vivo. Evidentemente no le hicieron caso y dice la leyenda que cuando durante el centenario de su muerte exumaron su tumba encontraron dentro del ata煤d evidentes signos de lucha. No quiero intentar averiguar si esto es cierto o s贸lo una leyenda, porque quiz谩s sea com Nikolai Vassilievitx y no me guste aceptar la realidad. Eso s铆, espero no acabar como 茅l.