Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman, they had a daughter, Alyonushka, and a son, Ivanushka. An old man...
The events of the story "The Night Before Christmas", belonging to the cycle "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", are incredible, fantastic and similar to a fairy tale. The entire plot narrative is saturated with a folklore spirit, reminiscent of original ancient legends and fairy tales.
Tie-climax-denouement
The main action of the work "The Night Before Christmas", the heroes of which are mostly residents of Dikanka, revolves around the main character - the blacksmith Vakula, and the permanent hero popular beliefs- trait. The plot of the original plot can be considered a conversation between the obstinate beauty Oksana and Vakula, who is in love with her to the point of unconsciousness. The girl promises to go down the aisle with the blacksmith only if he gets her the cherished little slippers worn by the Empress.
The culmination of the action is called the blacksmith's flight on a demon to St. Petersburg and back. And in the denouement main character not only gets the desired shoes, but also reconciles with the father of his beloved, after which he is united by marriage.
Folk beliefs as the basis
Almost all readers who plunged into the exciting fairy-tale world of literature noted the extraordinary charm and poetry of N.V. Gogol's texts. A distinctive feature of the story "The Night Before Christmas", whose characters are familiar to everyone since childhood, is the widespread use of this trend can be seen both in the plot twists and in the images of the characters. It is from folk beliefs that Solokha and the devil appear. A demon who managed to steal the month, and a witch flying out of the chimney of a rural hut and having fun with the stars. You can also draw a parallel between folk legends and the blacksmith's magical flight. In his work, the author plausibly reflects the spirit of the Ukrainian village, the hinterland.
Solokha
"The Night Before Christmas" in an amazing way combines the real with the fictional, the stories are unique and colorful. Among women, the mother of the protagonist, Vakula, stands out especially. Describing this image, we recall that Solokha is “a woman of Balzac age”, she is “no more than forty years old”.
The charismatic Gogol heroine is hard not to remember. Although, according to the author's description, she is neither bad nor good-looking, a large number of representatives of the strong half of the village are her fans. Moreover, the woman is so smart, or rather, insidious, that none of the admirers could even imagine that he had a rival. The explanation for such dexterity can be the fact that Solokha is a witch. And, as befits a representative of this "craft", she is fluent in the art of seduction, however, as well as the skills of flying on a broomstick. This character cannot be called a model of virtue, but he charms the reader no less than the beautiful Oksana, the deacon Osip Nikiforovich or Sverbyguz.
outlandish name
Many admirers of the story are concerned about the question of why Vakula's mother's name is so unusual - Solokha. This name is outlandish even for a witch, perhaps Gogol specially invented it for his heroine? It turns out that it doesn't. This name has existed since ancient times. Its echoes are preserved in modern surnames like Soloshyn, Solokhov or Soloshenko. Most likely, this name is derived from some other Christian one.
As for the origin of the name, there are several different versions. Perhaps Solokha is a derivative of Sophia, which means "wise, wisdom." And if we take into account that the witch means "knowing", possessing secret knowledge, wisdom, then the name of the heroine is the most suitable and symbolic for the sorceress. According to another version, this is a derivative of Solomonida, a female variation of the name Solomon, which is uniquely associated with the image of the legendary king, known throughout the world for his infinite wisdom.
Combination of the real with the fabulous
The traditional characterization of Solokha is predominantly negative. It is distinguished by cunning, hypocrisy, readiness to commit vile acts in order to satisfy its own interests. The woman welcomed only wealthy suitors, while giving preference to the richest among them - the Cossack Chuba, as she dreamed of taking over his household, fantasizing about how she would live when she became a full-fledged mistress.
The author deliberately portrayed this character in a close intertwining of fantasy and reality: she is both a clever rural woman, and a daring witch flirting with both the devil and the deacon. All rural women secretly envy her. Solokha does not frighten or repel the reader; she cannot be called a negative character. In the image of this heroine, a sly mockery created by the great writer is seen. In her, this portly and attractive woman, Gogol wanted to show the reader various human vices: treason, self-interest, greed, constant deceit.
Enchanted World
In the story "The Night Before Christmas" the reader is presented with a special world with its own laws and rules, traditions. Real situations so organically merge into fantastic, fabulous ones that it begins to seem: this is how it should be. Both worlds in the work, intertwined, merge into a single whole. And sketches of the surrounding reality contribute to the creation of a fabulous atmosphere. Many come to life in an enchanted world: "the stars looked", "the month rose majestically into the sky." In the work "The Night Before Christmas" Gogol's skill was fully manifested.
/ / / The image of Chub in Gogol's story "The Night Before Christmas"
The collection "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" by Nikolai Gogol was highly appreciated by both the author's contemporaries and descendants. What is the secret of this work's success? The fact that Gogol skillfully and truthfully managed to depict the life of the common people of Ukraine with their beliefs and traditions. In addition, the author describes his native places with special love. Since as a child he visited the Dikanka farm.
One of the most memorable stories in the collection is "The Night Before Christmas". In it, the writer managed to show the spirit of Christmas, some enchanting magic of this holiday for the inhabitants of Dikanka. The gallery of images of the story is very bright. There are real and fantastic characters here. The author does not try to expose his characters, but very subtly notices all their weaknesses and vices. And also emphasizes the dignity of its main characters.
Cossack Chub belongs to real images. This is a well-known rich man on the farm, who has a beautiful marriageable daughter. Her name is Oksanka, and she drove all the guys crazy, but because of her wonderful character, they are afraid to marry her. And only one blacksmith Vakula continues to seek her favor. But Chub is against such a son-in-law, because he is not rich. Even considering this fact, it becomes clear what kind of person the Cossack Chub is. He looks down on the poor, because he himself is rich enough. For him, the real feelings of neither his daughter nor Vakula are important. The decisive argument is only money and connections. Indeed, in addition to money, Chub believes that he occupies a solid position in society, that everyone respects him.
The hero makes many demands on other people, but he himself is not an ideal. He loves to have a tasty meal and have a fun chat with a pleasant woman, Solokha. He often visits her secretly, believing that he is the only one with her. And there were reasons for this - Solokha always smiled at him and obsequiously bowed, more than the rest. But he was in no hurry to get married. The author shows that for Chub - morality exists only in words, but in reality - the main thing is that no one finds out about anything. And so when one day the son, Vakula, returns home ahead of time, he agrees to hide in a bag. Chub exposes himself as a coward in this situation, because he is afraid to catch the eye of Vakula, with whom he had not best relationship. And the publicity about his gatherings at Solokha's was useless to him.
The image of the Cossack Chub is ambiguous, it shows a comic contradiction. He considers himself a respectable pan who has the right to teach others. However, the hero himself is essentially insignificant, cowardly and loves entertainment. The hero believes that all the inhabitants respect him, but in fact he is hated by many. After all, rich people like him always oppressed the common people, thinking that by giving someone a generous look, they did them a favor.
After he was able to get laces for Oksana, thereby becoming a hero for the whole farm, the Cossack Chub is forced to agree to their wedding. The hero adapts to the situation, and therefore does not have his own position.
Cossack Chub is not the embodiment of evil in the story, but he does not bring much good to anyone either.
In the story of N.V. Gogol's "The Night Before Christmas" the devil appears before the reader, first of all, as the embodiment of evil and deceit. Being a negative hero, at the same time, he involuntarily causes laughter with many of his antics.
Gogol describes the appearance of the devil, comparing him now with a German, because of the "narrow, constantly twirling and sniffing everything" muzzle, then with the provincial attorney, because of the "sharp and long, like uniform coattails" tail. However, by thin legs, a patch, a goatee and horns, it becomes clear that "he is not a German or a provincial attorney, but simply a devil."
The author intentionally endowed the devil with the qualities inherent in man: he is cunning and witty, inventive and dexterous, but also cowardly and vengeful. Due to its similarity with ordinary people, the devil seems to us to be a more real being than just a fairy-tale character. But the hero is also not without a magical gift, characteristic of fairy tales: either he transforms into a horse, then he suddenly becomes so small that he can easily fit into his pocket.
The main goal of the evil one is revenge on the blacksmith Vakula, who, having painted a picture in the church depicting St. Peter on the Day of the Last Judgment, doomed evil spirits to exile from hell. Vakula has tender feelings for Oksana - very beautiful girl, daughter of a wealthy Cossack Chub. On the night before Christmas, Chub was supposed to go to the clerk at kutya. The devil, knowing this, steals a month from the sky, hoping that because of the impenetrable darkness, Chub will change his mind about visiting the deacon halfway through the journey and return home, where he will find Vakula.
The Cossack did not like the blacksmith and did not approve of his love for Oksana, which means that he could not allow them to get married. The cunning devil hoped that Vakula, although he was very pious, would decide to commit suicide, but his expectations were not justified. On the contrary, whatever the devil came up with, everything turned against him. At first he ended up in a small bag, in which he sat for a long time, hiding from Solokha's many lovers. Then, discovered by a hated blacksmith, he was forced to carry him on his own back from Dikanka to St. Petersburg and back in order to beg the tsarina for laces for the capricious daughter of Chub. And finally, as a "gratitude", the devil receives three powerful blows with a twig from Vakula. So, instead of causing trouble to others, the hero harms himself.
The devil plays a very important role in the work: with the help of this image, Gogol shows that evil, no matter what abilities it possesses, will always be punished according to its deserts.
Option 2
Nikolai Vasilyevich, having written his story, filled it with magic and mythical heroes. One of them he portrays the devil. He shows him in his work as a negative hero, a cunning and insidious prankster, but at the same time causes laughter with his behavior.
The author does not stop comparing his appearance, either with a German because of his small and narrow muzzle, or with a provincial attorney because of a sharp and very long tail. But his thin legs, a flattened ridiculous nose with a snout, as well as small goat-like horns, and a long beard. It becomes clear that he does not look like a provincial attorney or a German, but is just a devil.
Gogol specially endowed him with the qualities human, such as:
- cunning;
- ingenuity;
- dexterity;
- wit;
- revenge;
- cowardice.
Due to its resemblance to an ordinary person, the devil appears to the reader as a real being, and not just a mythical and fairy-tale character. But the author does not deprive him of his magical gift.
The goal of the devil is to take revenge on the blacksmith Vakula, and in every possible way tries to harm him and prevent him from marrying the beautiful Oksana, to whom he has feelings. But all his pranks turn against him, and only with his cunning brings trouble and problems to himself, receiving continuous scolding.
Summing up the story of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol "The Night Before Christmas", we can say that it is one of his best and most successful works. Filled with magic and fabulous atmosphere. Due to its unobtrusive atmosphere, it is interesting to read to the end. After so many years from the date of its publication, it has not lost its relevance and demand to this day. She teaches good and, as in any fairy tale, evil wins over good and good deeds. So in Gogol's story, the prankster devil was punished by the kind and positive hero blacksmith Vakula.
Composition about the Devil
The negative character and representative of the dark forces in the story is the Devil. The author endows him with the qualities of an insidious evil person, but with some funny habits and amusing antics. The devil performs not only a negative role in the story: he involuntarily performs good deeds.
The author endows the trait with human character traits so that his motives and actions are clear. He is cunning, cunning and vicious. The devil is very offended by the blacksmith Vakula and tries to take revenge on him, despite the fact that he is the son of Solokha, whom he is trying to court. The devil on the last day before Christmas is trying to harm not only him. He steals the moon and makes a big snowstorm. However, his actions are not without childishness and cause laughter.
The devil is vengeful. Most of all, he tries to harm Vakula, because he painted a picture with the expulsion of the devil. He knows that he is in love with Oksana, the daughter of a wealthy Cossack who does not welcome the blacksmith. The girl also laughs at Vakula, which drives him to despair. The devil steals a month so that Chub will go astray and return home, finding the blacksmith at home. However, his prank hurts other heroes more than Vakula.
The devil hopes that the blacksmith will kill himself out of desperation. However, he himself ends up in a bag that Vakula takes out of the house. Realizing who is hiding in it, the blacksmith uses the power of the devil to carry out his plan and bring Oksana the little boots of Empress Catherine. He fails to deceive the young man, despite his cunning and resourcefulness.
The devil is a little cowardly, so he submits to the courageous and resolute Vakula. Having a dark power in himself, he is still afraid of the blacksmith. It so happened that the devil wanted to get even with him, but he punishes himself with his tricks. Involuntarily, he helps the blacksmith to achieve the location of Oksana, although he wanted to do it in a completely different way.
Usually the devil is portrayed as a dangerous and insidious creature, but Gogol adds comical and charming features to him. At some point, the reader begins to laugh at his tricks and sympathize when he has to obey Vakula and accept lashes from him as gratitude. He is very touching when he tries to woo Solokha. At the same time, the woman herself seduces him, and he humbly succumbs to her charms.
Despite the deceit and vindictiveness of the devil, he does not cause only negative feelings. You want to laugh and make fun of him, and sympathize a little when he falls into the power of the strong Vakula. But still, the devil is a negative character, and in Gogol's story he is a representative of evil, which inevitably triumphs over good in the person of a young blacksmith.
Sample 4
The story of N. V. Gogol "The Night Before Christmas" is one of the best works writer, where there are different fairy-tale characters: hell, the witch Solokha, Patsyuk, it is they who fill a more interesting atmosphere. The author endowed this wonderful poem with magic, celebration and humor. It is also impossible not to notice that we are very reminiscent of a fairy tale with a good instructive ending. All people love New Year watch a film based on Gogol's poem.
In the work, the devil is shown as an evil that wants to ruin everything for everyone and at the same time remain a winner. Gogol shows him as cunning, smart and at the same time funny. It is by his tricks that the devil becomes a negative and comedic hero. The author compares his appearance with a German or a chimney sweep, thin legs, goatee and horns are no different from them. Since he is a fairy-tale hero, he has the ability to fly and transform, which is more interesting for the reader.
It can be seen that the main character is endowed with those qualities that are inherent in a person: cunning, treacherous, intelligent, cowardly, vengeful. At any opportunity, he can take revenge on any person who did not satisfy him, while he rejoices and immediately comes to action. For example, when Vakula painted a picture that the devil did not like, he always prepared meanness for him. Recall when, at the beginning of the story, the devil stole a month to do dirty tricks. Due to the fact that it will be very dark outside, the father will have to return home and find his daughter with Vakula. However, all his plans fail and become against him, since it is known that good always comes out victorious.
I think that the author is once again trying to prove to readers that every bad deed will turn out the opposite, and evil will be defeated by good. As shown in this story, the devil was defeated, and Vakula revived good.
Option 5
In his works, Gogol always tried to achieve the effect of surprise, maybe even shocking his reader, with the help of a terrible, mystical story, which he often took from folklore. And he coped with this task with a bang, since many of his works were re-read dozens, if not hundreds of times, which made him such a popularity. Without a doubt, this author made a great contribution to the development of folklore and culture of our country. An example is the work "The Night Before Christmas".
In the work, the narrative introduces us to an amazing, magical story, along the way, the development of which we get acquainted with a huge number of amazing characters, even with the mythical Devil. In the work, the Devil has the role of universal evil, and the other characters play the role of good, which defeats this very evil by any means. Thus, the author creates an amazing picture in which we see the struggle between good and evil itself, in their true manifestations. At the end of the struggle, the author shows that good always defeats evil, in any case, even regardless of the circumstances, which in turn motivates the reader to do only good deeds, which in turn make the world around us better and a little kinder.
The devil appears before us in exactly the same way as he is described in folklore, from where Gogol took his prototype. He is small, black, with animal features. Disgusting to all appearance Thus, the author creates the image of an anti-hero, whose task in the work is to repel the sympathy of the reader with all his might. Which he does quite well.
By character, the Devil as such does not have any human traits, but desperately tries to imitate them, and, moreover, to imitate not the most best features and by no means virtue. He shows himself as a cunning, malicious, and greedy creature who is ready to do anything and not give up the most disgusting deeds in order to get what he wants, in this way the external image of the character is formed, which the author filled with many interesting unique features, and which, together with the character and his story, create a unique image that cuts into the memory of the reader, and introduces him into some kind of reflection on what he has read.
I believe that it was precisely these character traits and image that were shown in the work “The Night Before Christmas” in the character of the Devil.
Sample 6
"The Night Before Christmas" - a story by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, written in 1830 - 1831. She saw the light in the publication "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" and won the love of the people. Bright, lively descriptions of the main characters, characters thought out to the smallest detail, and a detailed description of evil spirits, representing a picture in the mind of the reader, were easily given to the writer.
The image of the devil in this story was no exception to the writer's rules. The reader is presented with a real devil, with a narrow muzzle like a German, ending with a heel, like a pig, thin legs and a sharp long tail like a real provincial attorney. Such a comparison with people is not easy, it deliberately ridicules and compares them to the devil. The devil is also endowed with small horns on his head and a goatee.
The devil's behavior is a constant desire to deceive. His heel sniffs all the time, as if looking for someone to fool. The devil is witty and dexterous, cowardly and vengeful. Seeing such a set of qualities, the reader can draw parallels, for example, that only cowards take revenge. Despite this, the devil is not deprived of magical, unusual powers: he turns into a horse, flies through the sky, and then decreases in size to get into the pocket of Vakula, the blacksmith. Comparison with people in appearance and behavior makes the image more lively and understandable. The main goal of this hero of the story is revenge on Vakula for painting a picture on the wall of the church at the entrance, where St. Peter casts out evil spirits.
Having stolen the month, the devil hopes that Chub, the father of Oksana, with whom Vakula is in love, will be frightened of the dark and return home from the deacon. There, according to the devil's plan, he was to catch Vakula and Oksana and drive him away, since he did not approve of his love for his daughter. But no matter what the devil does, everything went far from his plans. And instead of spoiling Vakula's life, on the contrary, he helps to fulfill his dream - to marry Oksana. He transports the blacksmith on his own back to St. Petersburg to the queen, reaches into his pocket, takes him to an appointment with Catherine the Great and takes him back, again on his back. For all the work, Vakula rewards him with blows of rods and beatings. Good triumphs, because the devil could not interfere with the blacksmith's love and pure heart.
The devil plays a huge role in the work. Despite his superhuman abilities, he loses to Vakula and follows his orders. The devil is defeated. I believe that in this way the author wanted to show that evil can and should be fought. The main thing is to be honest, kind and strong in spirit and body, like Vakula is a blacksmith.
Essay 7
One of the most noble and truly universal works of the great writer - Nikolai Gogol, is the story "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka".
Nikolai Vasilievich scrupulously invented images, trying to show all the advantages and disadvantages, each hero is special in his own way. The writer believed in fantastic, supernatural forces, as well as in folk superstitions, therefore, in his work he found a place for a witch and a devil, who became one of the most striking characters.
The devil is a sensible and cunning kind of prankster. At the beginning of the story, it is said that he has only one night left when he has the opportunity to roam with impunity in the world of people and teach them to sin. As a result, the devil is trying to arrive in time to mischief everywhere.
Nikolai Gogol gave the mystical creature the negative qualities of people, such as: cunning, cowardice and insidiousness. However, he still notes that he is "smart as hell" and "damn handsome."
This image is close to human, despite the presence of hooves, horns and a tail. The devil tends to freeze, just like ordinary people. It is also worth paying attention to his relationship with Solokha. Caring for her, he behaves like a simple man. Such things make the character completely fearless, and on the contrary, a little funny, causing a smile on his face.
The hero's vindictiveness manifested itself when he tried to annoy the blacksmith Vakula for creating a drawing that was offensive to him. However, his revenge is reminiscent of that of a small child. But the devil is still happy, because he still has the opportunity to take revenge. The theft of the moon was a bright and memorable action so that the inhabitants of Dikanka would not find the right path. After a while, she slipped out of the hands of the devil, and everything fell into place.
After reading the whole work, one gets the impression that one of the main characters - the devil, is endowed with a special charm. A coward and a prankster, absolutely not terrible, but ridiculous. On top of that, with great moral features.
With the help of the devil, Gogol, as it were, points out the weaknesses of people. And in the end, he plays quite interestingly, trying to show that evil is punishable: Vakula manages to outwit the mystical mischief-maker.
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The cycle “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” (1831) consists of separate stories collected and then published on behalf of the beekeeper Rudy Panok. Each story has its own entertaining plot, its own characters, but artistic principles Images folk life the same throughout the cycle. They can be considered on the example of the story "The Night Before Christmas".
The theme of this story is the image of people's life, the life of free, not yet enslaved Ukrainian Cossacks. The duration of the “Night ...” is the reign of Catherine II, when G.A. Potemkin was preparing the liquidation of the Zaporizhzhya Sich and the introduction of serfdom in Ukraine in 1783: it is about these state transformations that the Cossacks plan to talk with their mother-empress at the end of the story, setting off in Winter Palace. Catherine and Potemkin are represented by Gogol as fairy-tale heroes, only superficially similar to real ones. Catherine, for example, performs the role of a good sorceress in "Night ..." helping the hero. There are no other historical references and persons in the story, so the time in it is conditional (panchronic), as in any fairy tale. The idea of the story is to show "a life worthy of a man," as Gogol himself noted. That is how, with dignity and right, the inhabitants of Dikanka live. In fact, in the story, the writer poeticized (idealized, as in a fairy tale) rural life and common man, that is, he showed not the worries and hardships of the Cossacks, but their rest in fun party Christmas: girls and boys sing carols merrily under the windows of huts on Christmas night, children ride from the mountains, respected villagers gather on holiday dinner to the devil...
The protagonist of the story is the people, a participant in the action and a judge of all the characters in the tale. The background of the action of the story is made up of folk scenes. Cheerful villagers gather together on Christmas night, and noise, shouting, songs fill the whole Dikanka. In the church, where the old and the young gathered on Christmas morning, "on every face, wherever you look, a holiday was visible." The world of folk life is presented in the story through its reflection in folklore. The true nationality of a work of art, according to Gogol, “consists not in the description of a sundress, but in the very spirit of the people” (N.V. Gogol “A few scraps about Pushkin”). In "Night ..." positive, from the people's point of view, heroes are shown - spiritually pure, simple and whole people, not subject to painful contradictions and reflections of romantic heroes-nobles.
In the center of the story is the image of the blacksmith Vakula. The character of this young man emphasizes: intelligence (cleverly outwitted the devil), strong, persistent character (despite everything, he achieves Oksana's love, although the rest of the gentlemen have already retreated from the capricious beauty), daring (which is worth his trip in one night to St. Petersburg), independence (does not submit to Oksana, nor Chub, nor circumstances), nobility (suffers from love, but does not offend Oksana). These features are manifested in the love story of Vakula for the proud beauty Oksana, while traveling on the line to St. Petersburg, at a reception at the tsarina. All these moral qualities demonstrate, from the popular point of view, the highest value of a person.
In addition to Vakula, Gogol also depicts other heroes who are also taken from folk tales and a fable: the rich and stupid Chub, the voluptuous clerk, the cunning gossip Solokha, the clerk “coming out of the tavern on all fours”, etc. The image of a wayward village beauty, whom the hero-good fellow loves devotedly and passionately, arose from lyrical folk songs. The perky girl laughs at the hero and at the same time loves him dearly; her desire to have royal slippers is just an excuse to tease the blacksmith.
The world of Dikanka is colored in Gogol's story with gentle humor: the author does not expose his heroes, but makes fun of their shortcomings. Humorous contradiction underlies, for example, the image of the rich Cossack Chub: he claims to be solid and respected, but in reality turns out to be an insignificant, cowardly person. Gogol shows tolerance and respect for the common man, even if he is not a model of virtue, therefore the generous Vakula and the masterful Oksana, the ladies' man - the clerk and the lively Solokha, the imperturbable godfather and even the devil are portrayed humorously. The comedy of characters is intertwined with the comedy of situations (for example, the fight between the godfather and his treasured wife for a huge bag in which Chub and the clerk are sitting).
These essentially fabulous heroes act in an ordinary village setting, which is created in the story only thanks to everyday details: detailed description Gogol does not give the life of the Cossacks and in this he follows the folk tale. It is important for the author to reflect the character of the Cossacks - free, open, good-natured.
Noting the nationality of Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, V. G. Belinsky wrote that in them “folk and fantastic are so wonderfully intertwined with reality that both of these elements form a concrete poetic reality in which you don’t know where the reality and where there is a fairy tale in it, but you involuntarily take everything for a true story ”(V. G. Belinsky“ On Russian Tales and Gogol's Stories, 2). The validity of this remark can be confirmed by many scenes from "Night ...". For example, the witch Solokha puts out all the stars in the night sky, collecting them in her sleeve. Or the narrator gives a comical explanation why the unclean one hates the blacksmith more than the local priest Father Kondrat. Vakula, in his free time from the forge, was a “bogomaz”, that is, he painted icons and frescoes on biblical subjects in the temple. On the wall of the Dikan church, he painted a picture in which sinners in the scene Doomsday they drive the devil with whips, logs and everything that comes to hand. The villagers who came to the church always laughed at this painting, and especially at the devil dodging beatings. The devil could not endure the general ridicule and vowed to take revenge on Vakula. Here Gogol wittily combined reality (the blacksmith and his painting in the church) and fantasy (the devil who wants to repay the "offensive caricature"). The devil and the witch Solokha - a lively, sociable Cossack girl - are shown in a reduced form, their cunning intrigues against people do not work out in any way.
Therefore, it can be noted that in "Night ..." features of realism and romanticism coexist. Realism in the story is expressed in a moderately detailed description of everyday scenes. Romanticism is manifested in the fact that, drawing Dikanka and its cheerful, free inhabitants, the writer shows his dream of reasonable, fair human relations.
The humor in the story alternates with the lyricism of the author's narration. Lyricism is manifested in a variety of landscapes and in the author's comments on the action. At the beginning of the story, Gogol places a solemn description of a clear winter night (stars, moon, emptiness, deep silence), which is all built on the personification (animation) of nature. The majestic cosmic picture is side by side with a comic discussion about the Sorochinskiy assessor, a well-known expert on witches and people. With pleasure, the author depicts a bright, noisy, cheerful folk holiday Carols in Dikanka. A wonderful picture of the night sky with a crowd of various evil spirits appears when Vakula flies on the line to Petersburg.
In conclusion, we note that in "Night ..." one can observe a complex combination of the most diverse methods of description: romanticism and realism, lyrics and humor, reality and fantasy. The story combines real details of the life of Ukrainian Cossacks, including dialectal speech, and a description of the unimaginable beauty of nature. In the story, more or less real heroes live nearby - residents of Dikanka - and devilry in different guises (the devil, the witch Solokha, the Cossack sorcerer Pot-bellied Patsyuk). All together - this is a strange world that cannot be attributed either to a specific time or to a specific locality, that is, "Night ..." in essence fairy tale
A joyful perception of life reigns in the story: the world it is colored with bright colors, the description of the characters and events “sparkles” with fervent humor, the narrator’s tale speech and the characters’ colorful speech enliven the action.
It must be emphasized that the depiction of folk life in the story is not realistic, even one-sided, as he showed real life a simple person, but presented in his work the bright world of a fairy tale. In this regard, one can compare N.V. Gogol's story "Night ..." and N.A. Nekrasov's poem "Frost, Red Nose". In the poem by N.A. Nekrasov, a fairy tale and reality are also intertwined, but the life of the people is shown quite realistically. Nekrasov paints both pictures of labor and the suffering of peasants, Daria recalls happy moments in her life, and next to it, the funeral of her husband Proclus is described. With all the differences in the mentioned works, the attitude towards the people of Gogol and Nekrasov is very similar. Nekrasov respectfully describes the strength of character, beauty and generosity of Daria, who, like Gogol's Vakula, becomes the main positive heroine of the poem.
“The Night Before Christmas” is a wonderful work by Gogol, which gives an excellent Christmas mood, and the devil and Vakula are like a symbol of the confrontation between good and evil. But this work is more than just a fairy tale with humor and fantastic moments. This is a work in which the writer depicted the heroes and their eternal struggle with human vices, including lies, cunning, evil, arrogance, harmfulness, stupidity.
Damn, like the anti-hero of Gogol's story "The Night Before Christmas"
These negative traits characters were embodied in anti-heroes, among which is the devil. He looks like a lawyer, a German, and a pig at the same time. All the time, the devil does dirty tricks, some meanness, just to annoy Vakula the blacksmith. For this reason, already at the beginning of the work, the devil steals the month so that darkness falls on the earth. This was done so that Vakula and Oksana would be caught by her father Chub, who, due to impenetrable darkness, would have to return home.
However, all his plans are collapsing, moreover, everything turns against the devil. And instead of enjoying the "victory", he had to carry the blacksmith to St. Petersburg, and then back.
The devil is a character who loves to do evil very much, he is cunning and arrogant. In a word, the devil is the devil - the embodiment of harmfulness and stupidity. And although in the work Gogol uses a fictional fairy-tale character, we understand that this image shows the human vices that many people have. Here a person is shown, with his desire to annoy someone, do dirty tricks, harm, but then the author shows that any evil will be punished, and bad intentions and deeds will return a hundredfold.
