Egorushka’s coat

Egorushka’s coat, that his mother gifts him for his journey, represents his home. The narrator says, “Looking it over, Egorushka felt sorry for it, remembered that he and the coat had both been left to the mercy of fate, that they would never return home anymore, and burst into such sobs that he almost fell off the dung pile” (98). In his time of woe, Egorushka cannot help but pity both himself and his coat, which has been his constant companion on his journey. The coat reminds him of the life he left behind and the uncertainties of his future.

Gingerbread

The piece of gingerbread which Moisei’s wife gives to Egorushka represents maternal love. Egorushka saves the gingerbread in his pocket, discovering it only after the thunderstorm. He savors the gingerbread as a final vestige of comfort in a cold and scary place...