The image of the road in the poem "Dead Souls" by N. Gogol

When the great Russian writer was overcome by life's troubles and painful experiences, he wanted only one thing: to leave, to hide, to change the situation. Which he did every time there was a regular collapse of his creative plans. Road adventures and impressions, which Nikolay Gogol received on trips, helped him to disperse, to find inner harmony and get rid of the blues. Perhaps, it was these moods that reflected the image of the road in the poem Dead Souls.

How good you are, the long road!

This enthusiastic exclamation includes a well-known philosophical and lyrical digression in the novel about the adventures of the adventurer, the buyer of dead souls. The author turns to the road as to a living creature: "How many times have I, perishing, grasped at you, and every time you have magnanimously saved me!"

The writer used to think about his future creations on the road. It was in the way, under the clatter of hoofs and the ringing of bells, that his characters took shape. During the ride, he suddenly began to hear their speeches, peer at the expressions of their faces. He became a witness of the actions of his heroes and comprehended their inner world. Representing the image of the road in the poem "Dead Souls", the author pays tribute to his inspirer, uttering the following words: "How many wonderful ideas in you were born and poetic dreams!"

A chapter written on the road

But that the road pictures and the corresponding moods did not leave him and did not fade from memory, the writer could interrupt his journey and sit down for writing a whole fragment of the work. Thus the first chapter of the poem Dead Souls was born. In correspondence with one of his friends, the writer told how, one day, traveling to Italian cities, he accidentally wandered into a noisy inn. And such an irresistible desire to write embraced him, that he sat down at the table and created a whole chapter of the novel. It is no accident that the road image in the poem Dead Souls is the key.

Composition reception

It so happened that the road became a favorite artistic way in Gogol's work. The heroes of his works certainly go somewhere, and on the way with them something happens. The image of the road in the poem "Dead Souls" is a compositional device typical for the entire work of the Russian writer.

In the novel, travel and travel became the main motives. They are the composite core. The image of the road in the "Dead Souls" has declared itself in full power. It is multifaceted and carries an important semantic load. The road is both the life path of the main character, and an uneasy path in the history of Russia. This image serves as a symbol of the development of all humanity. And the image of the road in the work we are considering is the fate of the Russian people. What awaits Russia? What road is it for her? Such questions were asked by Gogol's contemporaries. The author of "Dead Souls" tried to give answers to them with the help of his rich imaginative language.

Chichikov's Road

Looking in the dictionary, you can find that the word "road" is almost an absolute synonym for the word "path". The difference is only in subtle, barely perceptible shades. The path has a common abstract meaning. The road is more concrete. In the description of Travels Chichikov, the author uses objective meaning. The road to "Dead Souls" is a word that is multi-valued. But with respect to an active character, it has a specific meaning, used to indicate the distance that it overcomes and thereby approaches more and more to its goal. It should be said that Chichikov experienced pleasant moments before each trip. Such sensations are familiar to those whose usual activities are not connected with roads and crossings. The author emphasizes that the adventurous hero is an inspirational journey. He sees that the road is heavy and bumpy, but he is ready to overcome it, as well as other obstacles in his life's path.

Life roads

The work contains a lot of lyrical and philosophical reasoning. This is the feature of Gogol's artistic method. The theme of the road in Dead Souls was used by the author to convey his thoughts about a person as an individual and about humanity as a whole. Arguing on philosophical themes, he uses various adjectives: narrow, deaf, twisted, impassable, far away. All this is about the road that humanity once chose in search of eternal truth.

Roads of Russia

In the last chapter of the first volume, the author talks about the fate of the homeland. Rus, he compares with a brisk troika, which can not be overtaken. Under it the road smokes and bridges rustle, and, glancing sideways and giving way to other nations ...

The roads in the poem "Dead Souls" are associated with the image of a bird-three. Bricks is an objective detail that complements the image of Chichikov. It also performs plot functions. In the poem, there are quite a few episodes in which the action is motivated precisely by the carriage, rushing along Russian roads. Thanks to her, for example, Chichikov manages to escape from Nozdrev. Bricks also create a ring structure of the first volume. At the beginning, the peasants argue about the strength of her wheel, at the end of this breakdown of this part, so the hero has to stay.

The roads along which Chichikov travels have a messy character. They can suddenly lead in the backwoods, into a hole where people live, devoid of any moral principles. But still these are the roads of Rus, which in itself is a great way, absorbing a person, leading it to no one knows where.

The road in the plot composition of the poem is the core, the main outline. And in the creation of its image, both characters and things and events play a role. Life goes on as the road stretches. And the author will tell his story throughout the journey.