Why did Khlestakov take officials for the inspector?

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol needs no introduction. He is known, in particular, for struggling with the shortcomings of modern society with the help of laughter. In 1835 Gogol decided to write a play where true Russian vices and characters would be presented. So in 1836 the comedy "The Inspector General" was born. Its main character is Khlestakov Ivan Aleksandrovich. Today we will talk about why Khlestakova was mistaken for an inspector, a big official from St. Petersburg. Indeed, it would seem that his true position in society was not difficult to solve.

The news of the imminent arrival of the auditor

In order to answer the question of why Khlestakova was mistaken for the auditor, it is necessary to turn to the very beginning of the work. Gogol's comedy begins with the fact that Anton Antonovich, the governor, brings together the officials and says that he has "unpleasant news" for everyone. It turns out that soon the inspector should come from St. Petersburg with a check. It is not known how it will look and when it is going to come. This news, of course, shocked the officials of the city of N. She brought some confusion to their measured and lazy life.

State of affairs in city N

It should be said that the officials were bribe-takers. Each of them is concerned only with how to get more money. It seems that at that time in the city of N, the usual things were spending by officials of the city treasury and receiving bribes. Even the law was against it is powerless.

The governor, for example, was justified by the fact that his salary was inadequate. He allegedly did not have enough even for tea with sugar. As for the city judge, he did not believe that he was a bribe-taker, because he did not take money, but puppies. Distinguished and postmaster of the city N. To obtain information, he opened someone else's letters.

Certainly, such irresponsible attitude of officials to official duties eventually led to the fact that the city came to desolation. Clearly, the news of the impending test was aroused by the local authorities. It's no wonder why Khlestakov was mistaken for the inspector 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 remember frantically what needs to be done. At last all of them have started to make attempts to put things in order in their departments. There was a lot of work. The servants in the courthouse dried their underwear and lit geese. Patients in the local hospital smoked tobacco and wore dirty clothes. The church had to be built long ago, 5 years ago, but its opening did not take place. The governor told everyone to say that the fire destroyed this building. It was ordered to demolish the old fence, which is near the shoemaker. In its place was ordered to put a model of straw. The governor Anton Antonovich himself, looking at this deplorable state of affairs, self-critically admitted that it was "a bad city".

Arrival of Khlestakov

Of course, city officials were afraid of their superiors. Therefore, they were ready to see the inspector from the capital in any visitor. That's why the officials of Khlestakov were mistaken for the inspector. When the rumor spread that an unknown person had been living in the hotel of the city of N for a long time, everyone decided that this stranger must necessarily have been an inspector. In addition, Khlestakov Ivan Aleksandrovich (so called the guest) arrived from Petersburg and was dressed in the latest fashion in the capital. Indeed, why should a resident of the capital come to a district city? The answer can only be one: to carry out verification! We hope you now understand why the officials of Khlestakov were mistaken for the inspector.

Meeting of the "inspector" with the governor

Very interesting is the meeting of Ivan Alexandrovich with the governor. The latter in panic put on a hat instead of a hat on his head. The governor distributed on the run the last instructions to his subordinates before meeting with an important guest.

The comedy of the scene of the meeting of these heroes lies in the fact that both of them are afraid. Khlestakov was threatened by an innkeeper that he would hand him over to the governor, and he would be put in jail. And now the governor appears ... Both heroes are afraid of each other. Ivan Alexandrovich also loudly screams and gets excited, which causes his guest to tremble with fear even more. The governor is trying to give him a bribe to appease, invites the "auditor" to stay at home. Having met with an unexpectedly warm welcome, Khlestakov calmed down. Ivan Alexandrovich at first does not even suspect what the governor 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 simple-minded, but not trickier, because he was not going to deceive them first. However, the governor believes that the auditor thus tries to hide who he really is. If Ivan Alexandrovich was a conscious liar, he would have a much better chance of being unraveled and understood. The way Khlestakov was taken for the auditor is very revealing. The general fear did not allow officials and the governor to open their eyes.

How Khlestakov in the comedy "The Inspector General" played his part

We note that in the future Ivan Alexandrovich did not lose his head. He imposed a role imposed by circumstances perfectly. At first Khlestakov thought, after seeing the officials and the mayor, that they had arrived, so that for not paying the debt for the hotel, he would be put in jail. But then I realized that he was mistaken for some high-ranking official. And Ivan Alexandrovich was not unwilling to take advantage of this. At first he easily took money out of debt 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 fascinated the daughter and the wife of the mayor, and even suggested to his daughter to marry him.

Scene of lies

The scene of Ivan Alexandrovich's lies is the culmination of the work. Khlestakov in the role of auditor, pretty drunk, says that he has an excellent position in the capital. He is familiar with Pushkin, lunch with the minister, is an indispensable employee. And in his spare time, Khlestakov allegedly writes musical and literary works.

It seems that because of his lies he is about to be exposed, but the local public catches every word of it and believes in all sorts of nonsense. Osip, the servant of Ivan Aleksandrovich, is the only one who understood the error committed by Khlestakov. Fearing for his master, he takes him from the city of N.

Cheating is detected

What did the city officials have to do when they found out that they had been deceived by some petty official who had come from Petersburg! In the play, a fight begins between them. Each of them seeks to find out who could not recognize the impostor, why Khlestakov was mistaken for the inspector. However, the misadventures of the city's officials do not end there. After all, the news comes that a real auditor has come! This completes the play.

The positive hero of the play

Nikolai Vasilievich was often reproached for not having positive heroes in his work. Gogol responded to this, that there is one such character - this is laughter.

So, we answered the question: "Why was Khlestakov taken for the auditor?" Briefly summarizing what was said above, we note that fear is the main cause of the general error. He is the engine of the plot in Gogol's work and creates a situation of delusion. It is the fear of losing warm places and the fear of verification generates a ridiculous situation, in which absolutely all the characters of the comedy have fallen.