Dead Souls Lesson Plan

What role does our theme of greed play in today's reading?

Greed is one of the most prominent themes in this section of the book. As Chichikov encounters Nozdriov, he sees the extent to which his desire for money has made him conniving and nasty. Nozdriov is constantly gambling away all of his money and then borrowing more from his brother-in-law. At the same time, he is also continually attempting to bet on various games, asking Chichikov to play cards and, later, checkers, as if his gambling is an overwhelming compulsion.

When he doesn't get what he wants, he throws an angry tantrum. This is demonstrated in the scene where his brother-in-law gets up to leave without...