The Inspector-General by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol
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"The Inspector-General" by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol is a classic comedy written in the early 19th century, often hailed as one of the greatest works of Russian literature. The play centers around the character of Ivan Aleksandrovich Khlestakov, a low-level government clerk who becomes mistakenly identified as a high-ranking inspector by the corrupt officials of a small provincial town. The narrative seamlessly blends humor with sharp social commentary, exploring themes of bureaucracy, corruption,
and the absurdity of human behavior. At the start of the play, the Governor and various officials are thrown into a state of panic when they learn that an Inspector-General is coming to their town incognito. Fearing exposure of their corruption and incompetence, they start making frantic preparations to present a façade of efficiency and proper conduct. In the midst of this chaos, Khlestakov arrives at the inn, and a series of misunderstandings leads the officials to believe he is the inspector. As they fawn over him and try to impress, Khlestakov—who is only scraping by himself—becomes embroiled in the absurdity of their grandiose attempts to placate him, setting the stage for a hilarious critique of power dynamics and societal pretensions. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Gogol, Nikolai Vasilevich, 1809-1852 |
|---|---|
| Translator | Seltzer, Thomas, 1875?-1943 |
| Uniform Title | Revizor. English |
| Title | The Inspector-General |
| Credits | Produced by Judy Boss, and David Widger |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 87.1 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PG: Language and Literatures: Slavic (including Russian), Languages and Literature |
| Subject | Comedy plays |
| Subject | Russia -- Social life and customs -- Drama |
| Subject | Russian drama -- Translations into English |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 3735 |
| Release Date | Feb 1, 2003 |
| Last Update | Feb 4, 2013 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 1773 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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