When the great Russian writer was overcome by hardships and painful experiences, he wanted only one thing - to leave, to hide, to change the situation. Which he did every time when the next collapse of creative plans was outlined. Traveling adventures and impressions that Nikolai Gogol received during his trips helped him to disperse, 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, a long way!
This enthusiastic exclamation includes the well-known philosophical and lyrical digression in the novel about the adventures of an adventurer, a buyer of dead souls. The author addresses the road as a living being: “How many times I, perishing, clutched at you, and each time you generously saved me!”
The writer used to ponder his future creations on the road. It was on the way, under the sound of hooves and the ringing of bells, that his characters took shape. During the ride, he suddenly began to hear their speeches, peering into the expressions of their faces. He became a witness to the actions of his heroes and comprehended their inner world. Depicting the image of the road in the poem Dead Souls, the author pays tribute to his inspirer, saying the following words: “How many wonderful ideas and poetic dreams have been born in you!”
Chapter written on the road
But so that the road paintings and the corresponding mood did not leave him and did not disappear from his memory, the writer could interrupt his journey and sit down for writing an entire fragment of the work. Thus was born the first chapter of the poem Dead Souls. In correspondence with one of his friends, the writer told how one day, while traveling in Italian cities, he accidentally wandered into a noisy tavern. And such an irresistible desire to write it seized him that he sat down at the table and created the whole chapter of the novel. It is no coincidence that the image of the road in the poem Dead Souls is the key.
Compositional technique
It so happened that the road became a favorite artistic way in the work of Gogol. The heroes of his works certainly go somewhere, but something happens on the way to them. The image of the road in the poem Dead Souls is a compositional technique characteristic of all the work of a Russian writer.
In the novel, travel and travel became the main motive. They are a composite core. The image of the road in "Dead Souls" declared itself in full power. It is multifaceted and carries an important semantic load. The road is both the life path of the protagonist and a difficult path in the history of Russia. This image serves as a symbol of development and of all mankind. 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 she meant for? Gogol’s contemporaries asked similar questions. The author of "Dead Souls" tried to give answers to them with the help of his rich figurative language.
Chichikov Road
A glance at the dictionary reveals that the word “road” is almost an absolute synonym for the word “path”. The difference lies only in subtle, barely perceptible shades. The path has a general abstract meaning. The road is more specific. In the description of Chichikov's Travels, the author uses objective meaning. The road to Dead Souls is a multi-valued word. But in relation to the active character, she has a specific meaning, used to indicate the distance that he overcomes and thereby approaches more and more to his goal. It should be said that Chichikov had pleasant minutes before each trip. Such sensations are familiar to those whose usual activities are not related to roads and crossings. The author emphasizes that the upcoming trip inspires the hero adventurer. He sees that the road is hard and bumpy, but he is ready to overcome it, like other obstacles in his life's journey.
Life roads
The work contains many lyrical and philosophical considerations. This is the peculiarity 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 a separate person and about humanity as a whole. Arguing on philosophical topics, he uses various adjectives: narrow, deaf, curved, impassable, drifting far to the side. All this is about the road that humanity once chose in search of eternal truth.
Russian roads
In the last chapter of the first volume, the author talks about the fate of the homeland. He compares Russia with a lively troika, which cannot be overtaken. Under it, a road smokes and bridges clatter, and, squinting, shy away and give it way to other nations ...
The roads in the poem Dead Souls are associated with the image of a three-bird. The chaise is an objective detail that complements the image of Chichikov. It also performs plot functions. The poem has many episodes in which the action is motivated by a chaise racing along Russian roads. Thanks to her, for example, Chichikov manages to escape from Nozdrev. The chaise also creates the ring structure of the first volume. At the beginning, men argue about the strength of her wheel, at the end there is a breakdown of this part, as a result of which the hero has to linger.
The roads along which Chichikov travels are erratic. They can unexpectedly lead into the outback, into a hole where people live, devoid of any moral principles. But nevertheless, this is the road of Russia, which in itself is a great way, absorbing a person, leading him to an unknown destination.
The road in the plot composition of the poem is the core, the main canvas. And in the creation of her image, characters and things and events play a role. Life goes on while the road stretches. And the author will tell his story throughout the journey.