I. Nikiforovich’s wealth
Gogol intentionally lists a wide variety of I. Nikiforovitch’s possessions to show the abundance of those not very useful things, and at the same time his avarice, desire to have more and more, which characterizes him as a very greedy person: “Presently an old uniform with worn trimmings was swinging its sleeves in the air and embracing a brocade gown; from behind it peeped a court-coat, with buttons stamped with coats-of-arms, and moth-eaten collar; and white kersymere pantaloons with spots…” most of these things are worn-out he does not even use them, but still they are kept in safe, and maid is to air them time after time.
The heroes’ quarrel
Reading the moment of quarrel we seem to find ourselves in this situation, such in a vivid way it is described. We live the emotions of the protagonists with themselves: “The group presented a striking picture: Ivan Nikiforovitch standing in the middle of the room; the woman with her mouth wide open and a senseless, terrified look on her face, and Ivan Ivanovitch with uplifted hand, as the Roman tribunes are depicted.” And the perfection to the picture is achieved with the help of a boy in the ample coat, “…who stood quite quietly and picked his nose with his finger.”
Beauty of Mirgorod
Gogol depicts the view of the town very deeply, thus he gives us the bright image of the background, where the plot of the story is developing: “Oh, if I were a painter, how magnificently I would depict the night’s charms!” He describes how “all Mirgorod sleeps; how steadily the myriads of stars gaze down upon it; how the apparent quiet is filled far and near with the barking of dogs; how the love-sick sacristan steals past them, and scales the fence with knightly fearlessness; how the white walls of the houses, bathed in the moonlight, grow whiter still, the overhanging trees darker; how the shadows of the trees fall blacker, the flowers and the silent grass become more fragrant, and the crickets, unharmonious cavaliers of the night, strike up their rattling song in friendly fashion on all sides”. We plunge in this atmosphere, we enjoy its charm and beauty.
And those ridiculous and unreasonable events that are about to happen just remind that there is nothing perfect in the world. No matter how beautiful nature is, people always ruin it with their stupidity and pursue after insignificant things.
