Gogol’s Dead Souls and The Nose

Today I will answer the following questions. Who was Nikolai Gogol? What are some of his best works? I’ll summarise his masterpiece, Dead Souls, and discuss his style of writing, and why he was such a comic genius. In the end I will tell you about some of his great short stories. Also his influence on world literature, from Japan to China, from Russia to Europe. But first let me tell you a bit about Gogol’s life.
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🕔Time Stamps🕔
00:00 Introduction
01:05 Nikolai Gogol’s biography
06:44 Dead Souls Summary
18:06 Gogol’s Comic style
19:24 Gogol’s depiction of Russian people
22:39 Gogol’s Critique of bad capitalism
24:13 Gogol’s Diary of a Madman (short story)
25:26 Gogol’s Government Inspector (play)
26:46 Gogol’s the Overcoat (short story)
27:55 Gogol’s The Nose (short story)
31:07 Gogol’s Legacy
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#gogol
#deadsouls
#russianliterature

[@SteveChiverton]

I have loved reading Gogol since the late 1970's when it was pointed out to me that my favourite episode of the classic comedy series 'Fawlty Towers' [the episode being 'The Hotel Inspector'] was lifted straight from Gogols The Government Inspector - which I was then recommended to read. I never stopped reading him and through him discovered a love for Dosteovsky, Kafka, and Central/Eastern European literature in general which to this day has Gogols fingerprints all over it! Fantastic piece though. So glad to have found your channel.

[@Fiction_Beast]

That's so obvious, I'm an idiot I didnt notice that. I love Fawlty Tower's.

[@JeffRebornNow]

I wish he hadn't destroyed the second half of his "Dead Souls." What a loss for the world.

[@saa494]

Второй том восстановлен, поищи в интернете

[@Yatukih_001]

Russia never let go of the need to censor everything. That is why I no longer vote leftists. He had to do it to escape their censors.

[@meddy833]

Gogol's "Dead Souls" was the first book of the Russian greats I read. I am no scholar, but even I can tell there is something in the way the Russian greats write that is unmistakable to even the layman like me. Thanks for this.

[@user-sm6ik5tr1t]

Hi! Thanks for the video, it was great! I'm a Russian student who is about to finish school soon and I'm going to sit the Literature exam at the end of this term. It's really fascinating to see how foreigners talk about about the Russian Literature and discuss it because that's something that I can read in original because Russian is my mother tongue :) Btw, I wish everyone could read him in Russian because it gets ten times as interesting as in translation. Wish everyone good day and good books to read

[@Fiction_Beast]

Yes reading in Russian would be awesome but my Russian is not good enough. Thanks!

[@emmetcraig828]

Hello from Ireland...Your Russian is better than mine ! Worked on a play called The Suicide years ago...the lead character is Semyon Semyonovich !..Great podcast,my cap is off to all involved...

[@geraldmeehan8942]

"gave Gogol goggles" - excellent

[@gracefitzgerald2227]

I laughed at that one too. 😅

[@amulyamaurya469]

came here to find this

[@mnina4849]

Thank you so much for this. Love Gogol, mainly his short stories... It is with very much delight that I watch your videos from start to finish. Your channel is a gem!

[@Fiction_Beast]

My pleasure!

[@nikkivenable1856]

I rarely watch videos twice but Fiction Beast does Russian literature better than ANYONE on this platform. If I have the time, I watch his videos twice because there is so much great information and even better insights. I think this channel should be renamed to "Seriously Underrated."

[@Fiction_Beast]

Really appreciate it. It made my day!

[@nikkivenable1856]

@@Fiction_Beast You deserve ALL the kudos, FB. And since I'm new to your channel, I have so many videos to catch up on. Russian lit is my number one passion and I'm always on the hunt for someone who speaks of it well. You are THAT person for me and I'm so lucky I found you!

[@donaldkelly3983]

I was surprised and happy to see a posting on Gogol. I love his short stories, but read Dead Souls so long ago that I don't remember it well. And more than twenty years ago, I didn't appreciate what Gogol was trying to say. One of my professors said Gogol was such an influence on Nabokov that Uncle Vlad's later fiction was proof you couldn't write like Gogol in English.

[@Fiction_Beast]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@hansarnulfbusch9049]

I love all your videos, especially on Russian litterature. I have read most of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Chekov`s stories, but Gogol offers a refreshing comic look on society. Reading "Dead Souls" now, hilarious. 🙂

[@user-ep3ed5jd7q]

Mr. Fiction Beast, you have a great sense of humour. I enjoyed this very much.❤

[@SevenFootPelican]

This novel is a masterpiece. Particularly the pattern of character types and plot motifs that play out throughout the novel in different situations

[@ayliea3974]

I haven't enjoyed reading Gogal since before Google! Gogal was part of my intense love of Russian literature stage, before Google and other new millennium distractions. I'm glad to be reminded of old loves. Thank you!

[@Fiction_Beast]

Awesome!

[@robelhailu2418]

This is a great book I have finished reading the book like now, and come to your channel to listen to your analysis of the book. love your channel

[@sophiejones1698]

Thank you for this video. I learnt a lot. It really helped to bring the book to life for me.

[@duridumdubida]

26:50 nabokov, thank you so much for this video

[@gracefitzgerald2227]

Makes me appreciate my big nose, thank you so much !😊. Everyone around me suffers from allergies, I’ve never had that problem.❤

[@Fiction_Beast]

That’s an interesting connection. I sneeze a lot. Damn my tiny nose.

[@rachelnostalgia-nj6jt]

Great video. My favorite writer❤. I even wrote my own adaptation for kids in Hebrew😊

[@s.a.996]

Can you please create a video discussing "The Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov? I would love to watch your in-depth analysis of this book! Thank you for such an excellent channel!

[@Sachie465]

I felt the influence of Gogol, a master of caricature and farce, in some of Dostoevsky's works. Is it a well-known fact that Pushkin gave Gogol the theme for this novel?

[@Reza090]

Thank you sir🙏

[@AvgerinouAna99]

Εκτιμώ ιδιαίτερα τους ανθρώπους με μεγάλη μύτη (ανήκω σε αυτήν τη συνομοταξία) :)))

[@geeboom]

For me personally I can say that some good came of the nightmare the beastly Russian dictator inflicted on the unfortunate but extremely brave and noble Ukrainians. I went on a quest to learn more about both Russia and Ukraine. That's how I found your channel. I must congratulate you on your excellent work. I have read many of the Russian classics in my youth but not Gogol. Thank you for your introduction to Gogol.

[@CA-jz9bm]

World will be better without Ukraine as a state, Russia is doing God’s work there. Z.O.V the initials used by Russians means “calling” in English, materialistic, liberal and degenerate west will never understand what Russians are doing. 🇷🇺 .

[@geeboom]

@@CA-jz9bm what say you we leave that up to the Ukrainians to decide for themselves?

[@CA-jz9bm]

@@geeboom did Ukrainians left Donetsk and Luhansk to decide for themselves? Or people in Odessa fire? Or pro-russian protesters in Mariupol in 2014? Nah this is a battle of wills and if you will be imposing your will on others expect the same behavior towards yourself.

[@Fiction_Beast]

I think Gogol deserve more attention than he gets. He was a pioneer and genius.

[@todormia]

Few times Gogol tries to escape from the grotesque narrative of the Dead souls. In one part, which I remember well, he speaks about the beauty of Russian landscapes, about the width of Russia, and when the author stated to share profound thoughts (which aren't peculiar to the grotesque narrative) the train of thought is abruptly interrupted with Chicikov's banal comment, if I remember correctly: 'Ride faster, you fool', making all the previous deep thoughts seem meaningless.

[@JstJaybeingJay]

1:14 Napolean invaded Russia in 1812 not 1912. Lol he was long dead by then.... In 1821.

[@Fiction_Beast]

Now I remember remember remember

[@gazrater1820]

Excellent thank you 👌

[@sachus1257]

Gogol❤️

[@skatharaki]

Really great work, love your channel! May I just suggest that you try and speak a little slower and clearer as sometimes it's hard to understand you. Thanks for your work!

[@gracefitzgerald2227]

I have to politely disagree. The cadence of his voice is perfectly timed, especially for these longer videos. If you watch the videos you can always turn the subtitles on.❤

[@Fiction_Beast]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm working on it.

[@user-bj2gg6ho9e]

Can you pls give me the song u used in the beginning

[@turalagalarov4347]

iyi günler. Türkçe altyazı koyduğun için teşekkürler. iyi iş yapıyorsun. saygılar

[@WhiteBloggerBlackSpecs]

The Great --Gatsby-- Chichikov

[@elizabethlau644]

Thank you..........💙💛💙💛💙💛

[@raystargazer7468]

Chichikov is such a funny name. xD

[@matsalvatore9074]

33 minutes on a man's nose.... now this should be good

[@Fiction_Beast]

we dont give our nose much credit.

[@user-pc7xm5xx3y]

based.

[@MaxMetrault1]

Born 1809 or 1814? One date is given in the narration, a different year in captions.

[@Fiction_Beast]

1809

[@raystargazer7468]

Wtf with the nose? :)) This guy had ideas. xD

[@santa4754]

Ho, ho, ho... Christmas came back 🤭🤭🤭

[@Fiction_Beast]

Lol

[@user-vf7ox9ss9n]

Gogol, actually, was not ukrainian since Ukraine was not concocted back then. Thanks bolsheviks for begetting such an abomination

[@Fiction_Beast]

He was a Malarussian.

[@user-vf7ox9ss9n]

@@Fiction_Beast why not just Russian? He only wrote in Russian, was born more then the century before the rise of the soviet regime, hence, establishment of Ukraine, moreover, there was never such a nationality like 'Malarussian' - I think it is quite sufficient to identify gogol as Russian writer

[@Fiction_Beast]

It’s a sensitive topic. I want to run my KZbin channel on literature. I hope you understand.

[@user-vf7ox9ss9n]

@@Fiction_Beast it's quite understandable. Try to make a research on Ukrainian literature and Ukrainian history, I guess you would be appalled (start with Volyn massacre in 1944)

[@indieanna4764]

​@@user-vf7ox9ss9nbut he first spoke Ukrainian, the country he was born in.

[@JstJaybeingJay]

1:14 is it me or he got it wrong. He said Gogol was born in 1809 "3 YEARS BEFORE NOPOLEAN'S INVASION OF RUSSIA IN 1912". Bro the difference between 1912 and 1809 is not 3 year's, it's over 100 year's. Lol wtf. Napolean died in 1821. How the fuck he invaded Russia in 1912? Get your facts straight bro.....

[@Fiction_Beast]

Oops! Yes I meant 1809. I think it’s clear from the context that was a simple mistake.

[@jasontito7644]

what is the moral story behind dead souls

[@trevorbailey1486]

Gogol was too great an artist to moralise. To laugh at the human condition in all its complexity is the closest we ever come to understanding it.