The Poetics of Ambitence in Vasil Bykov’s novel “The Trap”
Abstract
The article examines in its own way a unique phenomenon of modern culture — the work of the Belarusian writer Vasil Bykov (1924–2003), whose work has become an integral part of modern Russian literature. Using the example of one of the writer’s early military novels, “The Trap” (1964), an important component of Bykov’s creative ideological attitudes and the features of his poetics are considered. In particular, based on the material of the story, the author examines the strategy of pairing, which is often used by the novelist, creating structures of ambivalent situations, characters, and figurative-motional series. The question is posed: why does the front-line writer so persistently and intently address the topic of betrayal and fear in war, the category “or” is considered, marking many artistic dichotomies outlined by the author in the text of the story. It is shown that almost every situation forming the framework of the story finds its twofold resolution, pointing to the complex and contradictory nature of the human-hero. It is traced that in the story “The Trap” Bykov, who is generally not characterized by metaphorical writing, turns to intertextual allusion, in particular, he makes a reference to the play Evg. Schwartz’s “Shadow” (1940), deliberately bringing out the figurative symbolism of the shadow that lurks in the hidden essence of every person. It is noted that the drastic changes that took place in Bykov’s public position in the 2000s became an explication of those internal conflicts that tormented the artist’s soul and thought for many years.