Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol needs no introduction. He is known, in particular, for fighting the shortcomings of his modern society with the help of laughter. In 1835, Gogol planned to compose a play where truly Russian vices and characters would be presented. So in 1836 the comedy "The Examiner" was born. Its main character is Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov. Today we will talk about why Khlestakov was mistaken for an auditor, a big official from St. Petersburg. After all, it would seem that his true position in society was not difficult to unravel.
News of the Coming Soon of the Auditor
In order to answer the question of why Khlestakov was mistaken for an auditor, it is necessary to turn to the very beginning of the work. Gogol’s comedy begins with the fact that Anton Antonovich, the city manager, gathers officials together and says that he has “unpleasant news” for everyone. It turns out that the auditor should soon come from St. Petersburg with an audit. However, it is not known how he will look and when exactly he is going to arrive. This news, of course, shocked the officials of the city of N. She introduced some confusion into their measured and lazy life.
Status in the city of N
It should be said that the officials were bribe takers. Each of them is only concerned with how to get more money. It seems that at that time in the city of N, the usual things were spending officials of the city treasury and receiving bribes. Even the law was powerless against it.
The mayor, for example, was justified by the fact that his salary was insufficient. He allegedly was not even enough for tea with sugar. As for the city judge, he did not think at all that he was a bribe taker, since he took not puppies, but puppies. The postmaster of N. also distinguished himself. For information, he opened other people's letters.
Of course, such an irresponsible attitude of officials to official duties in the end led to the city becoming desolate. It is clear that the news of the upcoming audit aroused the local leadership. It is not surprising why Khlestakov was mistaken for an auditor in this turmoil.
Preparation for the arrival of the auditor
Waiting for the arrival of the authorities with a check, each of the officials began to frantically remember what needs to be done. Finally, they all began to attempt to clean up their departments. There was a lot of work. Servants in the courthouse dried clothes and lit the geese. Patients in a local hospital smoked tobacco and wore dirty clothes. The church should have been built a long time ago, 5 years ago, but its opening did not take place. The mayor told everyone to say that a fire destroyed this building. It was ordered to demolish the old fence, located near the shoemaker. In its place was ordered to put a model of straw. Gorodnichny Anton Antonovich himself, looking at such a deplorable state of affairs, self-critically admitted that it was a "bad city."
Arrival of Khlestakov
City officials, of course, were afraid of their superiors. Therefore, they were ready to see the inspector from the capital in any visitor. That is why officials Khlestakov took for the auditor. When a rumor spread that some unknown person had been living in a hotel in the city of N for a long time, everyone decided that this stranger would certainly have been an auditor. In addition, Khlestakov Ivan Alexandrovich (that was the name of the guest) arrived from St. Petersburg and was dressed in the latest capital fashion. Indeed, why should a resident of the capital come to a county town? There can only be one answer: to carry out a check! We hope that it is now clear to you why the officials of Khlestakov were mistaken for an auditor.
Meeting of the "auditor" with the mayor
Very interesting is the meeting between Ivan Alexandrovich and the mayor. The latter, in a panic, put a box on his head instead of a hat. The mayor gave on the go the last assignments to his subordinates before meeting with an important guest.
The comic scene of the meeting of these heroes is that both of them are afraid. The innkeeper threatened Khlestakov, who would hand him over to the local mayor, and he would be sent to prison. And then a city man appears ... Both heroes are afraid of each other. Ivan Alexandrovich also screams loudly and gets excited, which makes his guest shake with fear even more. The mayor tries to give him a bribe to appease him, invites the "auditor" to stay at his place. Faced with an unexpectedly warm welcome, Khlestakov calms down. At first, Ivan Alexandrovich does not even suspect who the mayor considers him. He does not immediately think about why he was received so warmly. Khlestakov is completely sincere and truthful. He turned out to be simpler, and not trickier, because he was not going to cheat at first. However, the mayor believes that the auditor is thus trying to hide who he really is. If Ivan Alexandrovich was a conscious liar, he would have a much greater chance of being unraveled and understood. The way Khlestakov was taken for the auditor is very revealing. Universal fear did not allow officials and the city mayor to open their eyes.
How Khlestakov in the comedy "The Examiner" played a role
Note that in the future, Ivan Alexandrovich was not at a loss. He played the role imposed by circumstances superbly. At first Khlestakov thought when he saw the officials and the city manager that they had arrived in order to put him in jail for non-payment of the debt for the hotel. However, then he realized that he was mistaken for some high-ranking official. And Ivan Alexandrovich was not averse to taking advantage of this. At first, he easily borrowed money from each of the city officials.
Khlestakov in the comedy "The Inspector General" has become a respected person and a welcome guest in any home. He charmed the daughter and wife of the city official, and his daughter even offered to marry him.
Lies scene
The scene of the lies of Ivan Alexandrovich is the culmination of the work. Khlestakov as an auditor, having drunk pretty much, talks about the fact that he has an excellent position in the capital. He is familiar with Pushkin, dines with the Minister, is an indispensable employee. And in his free time, Khlestakov allegedly writes musical and literary works.
It seems that because of his lies, he is about to be exposed, but the local audience catches every word of him and believes in all kinds of absurdities. Osip, the servant of Ivan Alexandrovich, is the only one who understood the mistake Khlestakov made. Fearing for his master, he takes him away from the city of N.
Cheating is detected
What city officials had to do when they discovered that they had been deceived by some petty employee who had arrived from Petersburg! In the play, a fight ensues between them. Each of them seeks to find out who did not manage to recognize the impostor, why Khlestakov was mistaken for an auditor. However, the misadventures of city N officials do not end there. After all, there is news that a real auditor has arrived! This concludes the play.
Goodie of the play
Nikolai Vasilyevich was often reproached for the lack of good characters in his work. Gogol answered that one such character nevertheless exists - this is laughter.
So, we answered the question: "Why did Khlestakov be mistaken for an auditor?" Briefly summarizing the above, we note that fear is the main cause of universal error. It is he who is the engine of the plot in the work of Gogol and creates a situation of error. It is the fear of losing warm places and the fear of verification that creates an absurd situation in which absolutely all the characters of the comedy got into.