Sarah Kwon

082814 HUR235
Slide 1: Portrait
-Gogol wrote a story titled The Nose
o biography
o portrait: he was made fun of his nose for its big size
o becomes subjects of intense debate- sexual, psychl connotations
o he dealt with his complex differently: by writing a book called The Nose
how do authors address their biography?
o nose jumps off of the guys face and walks around like an independent entity
o semi classic of Russian literature
Slide 2: Biography
Ukrainian. Rural setting
o parents were middle class landowners
o family owned peasants
o most writers come from a good environment (biographical setting)
religious family
o structure of kids life is determined by religion
religious ideas, values, processes, etc
Russia was a little retarded in the regard- in retaining the values under attack
Gogol, as a child, ate according to the religion
religious moments marked his life in terms of food
religious pressure impacts the writers move, as it creates problems
God & religion create pressure
standards of good/evil; confession to the priest
question these values; they react in different ways in questioning the processes when religions come under attack
unsuccessful clerk & bureaucrat
o goes into the big city but unsuccessful
o tried to go on a government in an office
unsuccessful teacher
o goes crazy in class; gets attached to a topic, lengthening the lecture
o fantasy, imagination became pushed to a extreme
Slide 3
Success as writer Ukrainian folk tales; writes in Russian
o starts writing fairly early in life
supernatural & secular fiction metaphysical crime
o writes of ethical, sexual, politic, etc issues that children shouldnt have access to
o creates a literary space; introduces with humor
o still raises important issues that these folktales suggest; ex. witches, devils, etc.
o after success as writer, takes up position in Russian literary culture, travels, becomes well known
rome
o finds where to look at himself in a Russian culture, contrasting with Rome civilization, seeing whats happened to it in modern
era
religious crisis & death
o looks to religion as something serious; as something of life/death
its the base of life; shouldnt be wasting time; should be a serious part of my life
fasts, refuse to eat, then it ultimately kills him
Slide 4: Gogol Major Works
Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka
o witches & devils supernatural folklore & petty evil
Mirgorod
o Taras Bulba epic crime
Arabesques
o The Portrait the artist as a criminal

Sarah Kwon

pictures romantic writer as a holy one; holy as writers; acc. romantic writer, should be faithful to the Gods calling to be a
writer
o Nevsky Prospect The Devil sits on a lamppost (like Petersburg)
The Inspector General punishing bureaucrats
o deals w/ a challenging situation; seversive
o how they are treated becomes the focus of the play: bribing, seducing, all because he represents the upper lvl of Russian
bureaucracy
o politics, social structures
The Overcoat material crime
o takes the social theme, again
o typical, social victim; social fiction comes into play throughout Europe (trans. from religion to justice & society)
o character is of the lowest of lowest salary; needs to survive in the Russian winter; works hard just enough buy a overcoat; feels
successful; then robbed & overcoat is robbed
o the only thing that remains of him is
o victim is not only but also
o shouldnt return a life into a overcoat
o do not be based on material things but also of the soul, spirit; something transcending
Dead Souls
o Mortgaging souls

Slide 5: Gogols Major Literary Sources> Romanticism; The Picaresque

Romanticism (End 18th C. -beg 19th c.)
o why are people killing each other all the time?
o <> classicism
Romance; Roman; Romanzo
Contrast to Classicism
o end of 18th century is the era of classic, equal definition of who human beings are, using fiction, drama, theater, etc, for a
logical definition
Metaphysical principles
o idealism
o true reality beyond material things what is reality?
look to old philosophical movement- plato, 18/19th century, German philosophy, idealism
life isnt something you see; not a simple material object gotta look beyond the obvious material
Karl Marx
o uses of ocean, storms, natural disasters as metaphors
ocean cannot be defined; becomes metaphor
Slide 6: Subjects & Themes
Authors dissatisfaction w/ reality:
o turn away from present to past, often national past
o Yearning for exotic not ordinary
o turn away from civilization to nature (pantheism vs. industrialization)
o yearning for religion & transcendent truth in secular age uses of the supernatural, themes of night, death, graves, ghosts.
Why are we attracted?
o ex. vampires in modern world
Slide 7: Romanticism II
Psychology rejection of neat & logical
Friendship sacred communion of individuals
Individualism romantic hero; egocentric, melancholy, bored, sometimes passionate rebel (social, political). How present even
when absent in literature? The challenges of.
o danger of writer whos totally committed to social,political changes is that they become worried:
this is wrong
Art as prophecy supreme role of artist; rejection of ordinary & ordinary human beings.
o Talent, creative imagination society does not appreciate
o betrayal of talent. How??

Sarah Kwon

Slide 8: Romantic Form

Dissatisfaction w/ conventions
merger of arts
spontaneous preferred to coldly measured
World not ordered; but has mysterious power
o apparent illogic of reality/chance i.e. you win the lottery but on the way home are struct by lightning. Or a king is crowned
one day and assassinated that same night. Some higher truths.
Slide 9: Romantic Form II
Peripeteia= a plot device (from romances); sudden reversal of fortune; (or: peripety)
Yearning for Liberty political (Byron, Pushkin) & aesthetic leads to new literary forms.
explorations of psychology non-rational forces influence life and provide access to truth, often have ethical dimension
(conscience, guilt)
Slide 9: The Picaresque
prior literature: the epic, saints lives (a-geography), histories. The heros role? (Ulysses; Achilles; Roland)
o epic heroes are the ones who pick up the values that are respected in society- which they then project to society
Picaresque: picaro, the criminal & rogue as hero. Fxn? Secularization.
o picaresque writers take the opposite; authors assume new intellectual power in their view of reality
o author takes the opposite stance; creates a central character whos a criminal (-) to address the negative aspects of society
Structure: travel. Why? how aids social criticism? Responses to rogue.
authors viewpoint. Shapes modern literature.
090414 NOTES CONT.
Slide 10: Picaresque Examples
Lazarillo de Tormes (16C; anonymous)
Don Quixote (early 17C; Cervantes)
Moll Flanders (18C; Defoe)
Gil blas (18C; Le Sage)
Felix Krull (20C; Thomas Mann)
Popular culture. (Ferris Buellers day off; Pirates of the Caribbean series; Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure)
o how do you look at the positive when youre presented the negative? How do you get to the ultimate values?
o the impact of negative on the audience
shows the flaws; leads into form of negativity
Gogol- laughter & tears
inspire the readers to want something better; smth spiritual/that answers the negativity & evil
o romanticism is more of open possibilities; wanting to get so fed up
o impulse to change things towards that spiritual world
Slide 11: The Scam
How does Chichikov (the rogue) connect the narrative?
what produces the themes of the work?
What is Chichikovs scam? Are there any modern similarities?
QUESTIONS (grp2 to 3)
Does gogol think theres corruption in the Russian government?
makes fun of it
how does Gogol use the term dead souls
does Gogol feel responsible for the things that he encounters in his travels?

Slide 12: Dead Souls: Chapter 1

Title. Why a poem?
Why town nameless? & crime?
why CHichikov average? 5
Questioning Reality:
two samovars? Play w/ images. 6
Huge BreastsNymph. Fxn? 7

 blowing nose- why is servant impressed? 8

The absurdness of ethnic identity: Vasily Fyodorovich as foreigner. Rold of sign? 9 Trees painted green? 10
social criticism
o alcoholismeagle & bar sign; govt & public health (i.e. tax income from tobacco) 9
chichikov visits Governor & other bureaucrats of the town. How is governor described? 11
extended insect metaphor. Purpose? 12-13
fat & thin stereotypes. The material definition brought into question. 14
everyone instant friends. Romanticism end of chapter. Sobakevichs wife kicks him in bed. Why? 18
o their whole world is rationally organized

Sarah Kwon