Roulette (Symbol)
The major symbol of “The Gambler” is roulette. It is not difficult to explain its meaning, because in fact everybody knows that roulette is a symbol of life and destiny. It can destroy somebody’s life utterly, take away the peace of mind and present with many troubles and debts. But if you are a luck devil, roulette will give you a luxurious life and you will live on the fat of the land. In this novel we can notice that roulette doesn’t bring fortune for Alexis, who is an antagonist of his life and ruins his destiny. The symbolism of roulette is closely connected with a chance, but a chance is not a valuable source to rely on, and it is proved on the example of the main character.
Wealth (Allegory)
Wealthy people can afford almost everything. They are convinced without hesitation that power, status and money dominate in the world. We can think that wealth gives us everything, but actually the novel “The gambler” proves other facts. Here the wealth becomes an allegory of destruction. For Alexis and other gamblers it is an abyss, which makes them dependent on money. The wealth is a global problem, which makes society careless and light-hearted. People become capable to make a crime or to risk their own health, happiness and freedom for the sake of money. But the most horrible thing is to reject love, family and finally humanity.
Obsession (Motif)
The main motif of this novel is surely an obsession. Certainly, the author chooses this motif without hesitation to show the moralizing of this story and at the same time to prove the actuality of this problem. Dissatisfaction of a real life and desire to change something force many people to choose other wrong way. Alexis chooses an easy way and in result he becomes an obsessed man, who frequently loses at roulette and incurred debts. The writing of this novel is a good example of the bad influence of gaming and its passion. This negative obsession destroys the relationship of Alexis and Polina and his whole life. But as people used to say one will not feel bitter tears of the misfortune, but only when gets into trouble.
