Dead Souls Lesson Plan

What effect do the rumors surrounding Chichikov have on the townspeople who participate in their spread?

Bureaucracy and gossip reappear as themes in this part of the novel, as the people of the town quickly prove unable to band together effectively. While everyone is angry about the distinct possibility that Chichikov is a scoundrel, no one can quite come to an agreement about what he has done. This confusion becomes so stressful and overwhelming that it literally kills the town prosecutor.

This moment of chaos is indicative of an early comment made by the narrator. He says that committees in Russia often devolve into infighting and fail to get anything done. In this...