Theory question 106
Other Set Texts: Non-African DramaLiterature 2, Section B. Nikolai Gogol: The Government Inspector
Examine the satire in the play.
Show the model answer
Model answer
Satire targets the corrupt Russian bureaucracy and provincial officials.
The Mayor and officials are mocked for bribery, neglect, fear and hypocrisy.
Khlestakov's boasting and the officials' grovelling expose vanity and the worship of rank.
Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky ridicule gossip and foolishness; the Mayor's wife and daughter ridicule social climbing.
Devices: mistaken identity, irony, exaggeration, comic names, farce.
The Mayor's line 'What are you laughing at? You're laughing at yourselves!' turns the satire on the audience.
The silent final tableau shows the officials trapped.
Explanation
Identify targets and methods of the satire.