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The Government Inspector Nikolai Gogol

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The Government Inspector Nikolai Gogol The Government Inspector Nikolai Gogol Online Information For the online version of BookRags' The Government Inspector Premium Study Guide, including complete copyright information, please visit: http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-governmentinspector/ Copyright Information ©2000-2007 BookRags, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources. ©1998-2002; ©2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design® and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". © 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". © 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copywritten by BookRags, Inc. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher. www.24grammata.com Table of Contents Introduction...................................................................................................................1 Author Biography.........................................................................................................2 Plot Summary................................................................................................................4 Act 1......................................................................................................................4 Act 2......................................................................................................................4 Act 3......................................................................................................................5 Act 4......................................................................................................................5 Act 5......................................................................................................................6 Act 1, Scenes 1, 2, and 3................................................................................................7 Act 1, Scenes 4, 5, and 6..............................................................................................10 Act 2, Scenes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7..............................................................................12 Act 2, Scenes 8, 9, and 10............................................................................................15 Act 3, Scenes 1, 2, 3, and 4..........................................................................................19 Act 3, Scenes 5 and 6...................................................................................................22 Act 3, Scenes 7, 8, 9, and 10........................................................................................24 Act 4, Scenes 1 and 2...................................................................................................26 i www.24grammata.com Table of Contents Act 4, Scenes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7......................................................................................27 Act 4, Scenes 8, 9, 10, and 11......................................................................................30 Act 4, Scenes 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16............................................................................33 Act 5, Scenes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7..............................................................................36 Act 5, Scene 8...............................................................................................................39 Bibliography.......................................................................................................41 Characters....................................................................................................................42 Anna Andreyevna...............................................................................................42 Bobchinsky.........................................................................................................42 Dobchinsky.........................................................................................................42 The Governor......................................................................................................43 Hlestakov............................................................................................................43 Marya..................................................................................................................44 Ossip...................................................................................................................44 Postmaster...........................................................................................................44 Themes.........................................................................................................................45 Russian Bureaucracy..........................................................................................45 Corruption...........................................................................................................46 Deception and Self-deception.............................................................................46 Style..............................................................................................................................48 Russian Realism and Dramatic Comedy............................................................48 The Epigraph and Direct Audience Address......................................................49 ii www.24grammata.com Table of Contents Style The Tableau Vivant............................................................................................49 Historical Context.......................................................................................................51 Censorship..........................................................................................................51 Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature..............................................................51 Critical Overview........................................................................................................53 Criticism.......................................................................................................................56 Critical Essay #1..........................................................................................................57 Critical Essay #2..........................................................................................................63 Critical Essay #3..........................................................................................................81 Media Adaptations....................................................................................................100 Topics for Further Study..........................................................................................101 Compare & Contrast................................................................................................102 What Do I Read Next?..............................................................................................104 Further Reading........................................................................................................106 iii www.24grammata.com Table of Contents Sources.......................................................................................................................107 Copyright Information.............................................................................................108 iv www.24grammata.com Introduction The Government Inspector, by Nikolai Gogol, has also been translated into English under the titles The Inspector General, and The Inspector. The written play was brought to the attention of the Tsar Nicholas I, who liked it so much that he insisted on its production. The Government Inspector premiered at the Alexandrinsky Theatre, in Saint Petersburg, in 1836. The tsar, who was among the first to see the play, was said to have commented that the play ridiculed everyone--most of all himself. The plot of The Government Inspector hinges on a case of mistaken identity, when a lowly impoverished young civil servant from Saint Petersburg, Hlestakov, is mistaken by the members of a small provincial town for a high-ranking government inspector. The town's governor, as well as the leading government officials, fear the consequences of a visit by a government inspector, should he observe the extent of their corruption. Hlestakov makes the most of this misconception, weaving elaborate tales of his
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