Students of the Yasnaya Polyana school, Platon Karataev and Nikolai Rostov. Platon Karataev Platon Karataev’s attitude to military action

PLATO KARATAEV.

Image of Karataev. Platon Karatev and Pierre Bezukhov.

Karataev Platon is a character in the epic novel by L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace", a Russian soldier met by Pierre Bezukhov in a booth for prisoners, where he lived next to him for four weeks. Karataev, according to the writer, “ remained forever in Pierre's soul as the strongest and dearest memory and the personification of everything Russian and good ».

Karataev wore a French overcoat belted with a rope, a cap and bast shoes on his feet. " Plato's whole figure... was round, his head... back, chest, shoulders, even the arms that he carried, as if always about to hug something, were round; a pleasant smile and big brown gentle eyes were round " Karataev " must have been over fifty years old ", But " his teeth, bright white and strong... were all good and intact; There was not a single gray hair in his beard or hair, and his whole body had the appearance of flexibility and, especially, hardness and endurance. ».

Karataev's face, " despite the small round wrinkles, it had an expression of innocence and youth; his voice was pleasant and melodious " He " never thought about what he said and what he would say ", and this gave the intonation of his speech "irresistible persuasiveness."

Karataev was physically so strong and resilient “during the first time of captivity” that, “ it seemed that he did not understand what fatigue and illness were " He “knew how to do everything... He baked, cooked, sewed, planed, made boots. He was always busy and only allowed himself to talk at night... and sang songs.”

Karataev talks a lot about his former peasant life, using a lot of sayings and proverbs, “these were those folk sayings... which receive... the meaning of deep wisdom when they are said at the right time.” When he went to bed, he said: “Lord, lay it down like a pebble, lift it up into a ball,” and getting up in the morning: “I lay down and curled up, got up and shook myself.” He “sang songs... like birds sing,” because it was necessary for him, just as it is necessary to reach out or disperse....” Karataev " loved to talk and spoke well... In his speech, the simplest events... took on the character of solemn decorum " Karataev himself loved to listen to fairy tales and stories about real life" Karataev did not have affections, friendship, love, as Pierre understood them, “but he loved,” notes Tolstoy, “ and lived lovingly with everything that life brought him to, and especially with man... He loved his mongrel, he loved his comrades, the French, he loved Pierre... but Pierre felt that Karataev... would not be upset for a minute separation from him... " The rest of the prisoners considered Karataev “the most ordinary soldier,” but for Pierre he forever remained “ incomprehensible... and eternal personification of the spirit of simplicity and truth ». « ...His life, as he himself looked at it, had no meaning as a separate life. She made sense only as a part of the whole, which he constantly felt ».

At the first meeting with Karataev, Pierre, shocked by the execution of the “arsonists,” who felt that “in him... faith in the improvement of the world, and in humanity, and in his soul, and in God,” saw in him only “a little man , whose presence Pierre noticed at first by the strong smell of sweat.” “...This man took off his shoes. And the way he did it interested Pierre.” His movements were “neat, round, argumentative, following one after another without slowing down.” Pierre felt " something pleasant, soothing... in these controversial movements, in this well-appointed household in the corner, in the smell even of this man... .».
And in the future, Pierre experiences the beneficial effects of Karataev’s words and actions. His first words addressed to Pierre were words of sympathy, goodwill, and consolation: “Have you seen many needs, master? A?" "... And such an expression of affection and simplicity was in the man’s melodious voice “, writes Tolstoy, “that Pierre wanted to answer, but his jaw trembled, and he felt tears.” “...Don’t worry, my friend: endure for an hour, but live for a century!” – Karataev continued.”

Karataev treated Pierre to baked potatoes, asked questions and told him about himself. It turned out that he was a soldier of the Absheron regiment, “died of a fever” and captured “from a hospital in Moscow.” At the service he was nicknamed Sokolik because he often addresses his interlocutor with this word. Karataev is very worried about the events of the war: «... Moscow, she is the mother of cities. How not to get bored looking at this " But still Karataev believes in a successful outcome of events and expresses this with a proverb: “The worm gnaws the cabbage, but before that he himself disappears...” He is sincerely upset that Pierre had no parents, no children. He does not accept Pierre’s pessimism (“yes, now it’s all the same”): “...Never give up your bag and prison...” In confirmation of this truth, Karataev “told a long story about how he went to someone else’s grove behind the forest and got caught watchman, how he was flogged, tried and made a soldier.” But grief turned into joy: “My brother would have gone, if it weren’t for my sin. And the younger brother has five kids... That’s right, my dear friend. Rock is looking for his head. And we all judge: sometimes it’s not good, sometimes it’s not okay...”

The meeting with Karataev, the conversation with him, his story about himself, his prayer for the night led Pierre to the feeling that “the previously destroyed world was now being erected in his soul with new beauty, on some new and unshakable foundations.” Pierre refused to be transferred from the soldier's booth to the officer's, because only here, in communication with Karataev, through what he understood in Karataev, he received “calmness and agreement with himself.” Separated by a French convoy from Karataev when leaving Moscow, “Pierre, from the third transition, had already united again with Karataev and ... the dog, which had chosen Karataev as its owner.”

On the way, Karataev fell ill with a fever, “weakened every day,” moaned quietly, lying down at rest, and an “increased smell” emanated from him. At night, Karataev “usually came to life from a feverish attack and was especially animated.” Pierre heard how, “covered... with his head in an overcoat... in his argumentative, pleasant, but weak, painful voice,” Karataev told the soldiers a story that Pierre had already heard from him six times. “This story was about an old merchant who lived decently and God-fearingly with his family and who once went with a friend, a rich merchant, to Makar.” “Having stopped at an inn, both merchants fell asleep, and the next day the merchant’s comrade was found stabbed to death and robbed. A bloody knife was found under the old merchant's pillow. The merchant was tried, punished with a whip, and, having his nostrils pulled out, ... he was sent to hard labor.” At hard labor, after “ten years or more,” the old man told his comrades “how it all happened... I, he says, don’t worry about myself. It means God found me. One thing, he says, I feel sorry for my old woman and children.”

In the company of convict listeners was “the same man... who killed the merchant.” He admitted that he “did the same thing” and “placed the knife under the sleepy man’s head. Forgive me, he says, grandfather, for Christ’s sake.”

“The old man says,” Karataev continues his story, “God will forgive you, but we are all sinners, he says, I suffer for my sins.”

Telling, Karataev " beamed brighter and brighter with an enthusiastic smile », « as if what he had to tell now contained the main charm and the whole meaning of the story " The true killer "showed up... at the top." But, “while the trial is still going on,” the old man “God has already forgiven him and died.” “The mysterious meaning” of Karataev’s story, “the enthusiastic joy that shone in Karataev’s face during this story, the mysterious meaning of this joy... now vaguely and joyfully filled Pierre’s soul,” the writer concludes.

The next morning after the night story about the old merchant and the repentant villain, Karataev “sat in his greatcoat, leaning against a birch tree. In his face, in addition to yesterday’s expression of joyful tenderness when he told the story of the merchant’s innocent suffering, there was also an expression of quiet solemnity.” “Karataev looked at Pierre with his kind, round eyes, now stained with tears, and, apparently, called him to him, wanted to say something.”

“When the prisoners set off again... Karataev was sitting on the edge of the road, near a birch tree; and two Frenchmen were saying something above him.” Then “...from the place where Karataev was sitting, a shot was heard,” and “a dog howled.” At the next halt, Karataev was no longer among the prisoners. Before sunrise the next day, the prisoners were freed by the detachment of Denisov and Dolokhov.

Pierre owes much of his mental recovery to Karataev, in communication with whom “ in captivity I learned that God in Karataev is greater, infinite and incomprehensible than in the Architect of the universe recognized by the Freemasons. He experienced the feeling of a man who had found what he was looking for under his feet, while he strained his eyes, looking far away from himself ».

Karataev has now become for Pierre a criterion in assessing other people. Remembering Prince Andrei, “he remembered Karataev, his death, and involuntarily began to compare these two people, so different and at the same time so similar in the love that he had for both, and because both lived and both died.”

Telling his loved ones about his experience, he says about Karataev: “... You can't understand what I learned from this illiterate fool of a man ».

PLATO KARATAEV

PLATO KARATAEV is the central character of Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace” (1863-1869), a soldier of the Absheron Regiment, who met Pierre Bezukhov in captivity and taught him to see life as “they”, ordinary Russian people, see. This image was not present in the first completed edition of the novel; it appeared only in the final edition, embodying many important thoughts for understanding the philosophy of the novel. Traditionally P.K. is interpreted by literary scholars as a type of patriarchal peasant who will receive its full development in the late work of the writer.

When meeting and getting to know P.K. Pierre is struck by the warmth, good nature, comfort, calmness and affection emanating from this man. It is perceived almost symbolically as something round, warm and smelling of bread.

PC. Characterized by amazing adaptability to circumstances, the ability to “settle in” in any conditions.

In the behavior of P.K. the true wisdom of the folk, peasant philosophy of life is unconsciously expressed, over the comprehension of which the main characters of the epic novel suffer. His reasoning P.K. presents it in parable form (a legend about an innocently convicted merchant suffering “for his own and for other people’s sins,” the meaning of which is that one must humble himself and love life, even when one suffers).

After the death of P.K., weakened from fever and shot by the French, in Pierre Bezukhov’s dream the essence of that life “truth” that Plato taught him appears in a symbolic form: a person is a drop in the human sea, and his life has meaning and purpose only as part and at the same time a reflection of this whole. Lit.: Krasnov G.V. Platon Karataev and Tolstoy's philosophy

folk life

//L.N. Tolstoy. Articles and materials. V. Gorky, 1963; Tsetlyak S.I. To the problem of the dialectics of the author's consciousness of L.N. Tolstoy: the mythological foundations of the image of Platon Karataev

E.V. Nikolaeva. 2009 .

Literary heroes. - Academician

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This term has other meanings, see War and Peace (meanings). War and Peace War and Peace ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see War and Peace (meanings). War and Peace War And Peace ... Wikipedia A dramatization of the novel of the same name (1863 1869) by Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828 1910). During Bulgakov's lifetime it was not staged or published. For the first time: Bulgakov M. Plays. M.: Soviet Writer, 1986. On the autograph of V. and M. Bulgakov wrote: ... ...

Bulgakov Encyclopedia

Vasily Toporkov Birth name: Vasily Osipovich Toporkov Date of birth: March 16, 1889 Place of birth: Petersburg, Russian empire... Wikipedia

Birth name: Vasily Osipovich Toporkov Date of birth: March 16, 1889 Place of birth: St. Petersburg, Russian Empire ... Wikipedia

Genus. 1889, d. 1970. Actor. Graduate of the St. Petersburg Theater School (1909). He made his debut in 1909, played on the stage of the theater of the St. Petersburg Literary Art Society, at the Moscow Korsh Theater (1919-27), and the Moscow Art Theater (since 1927). First... ...

Toporkov Vas. Osip- TOPORKOV you. Osip. (1889 1970) actor, teacher, director of conduct. In 1909 he graduated from St. Petersburg. theater. school and joined the Petersburg troupe. t ra Lit. artist about va. The most notable role played on this stage was Platon Karataev (War and Peace according to L. Tolstoy). IN … Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary

Semiotics of art- (from the Greek semeion sign) a borderline, interdisciplinary theoretical sphere that combines the analytical capabilities of semiotics, aesthetics, art history in the study of the iconic nature of art, as well as a body of communicative problems,... ... Aesthetics. encyclopedic Dictionary

A famous writer who achieved something unprecedented in the history of literature in the 19th century. glory. In his person a great artist and a great moralist were powerfully united. T.’s personal life, his stamina, tirelessness, responsiveness, animation in defending... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

The novel “War and Peace” is undoubtedly one of the most polyphonic, multicolored works. Freely combining, “matching” in itself the image of events in world history and subtle, hidden, contradictory mental movements, “War and Peace” polemically resists any classification and schematization. The living dialectic of an ever-moving, complex, unstoppable life, superbly captured by Tolstoy and constituting the soul of his novel, requires special caution and tact from the researcher.
The question of Karataev is both a simple and complex question. Simple in essence, in the clarity of the image, in the clarity of the author's idea, and finally, in the insignificance of his place in the novel. Complex - due to the incredible ideological heap that accompanied the analysis of this image throughout the ninety-year criticism of War and Peace. The image of Karataev was exaggerated by criticism in connection with certain trends of populism, pochvennichestvo, etc., which arose during the years of the appearance of “War and Peace”. The image of Karataev was exaggerated by criticism in connection with Tolstoyism and the polemics that accompanied it in the last years of Tolstoy's life. And when literary scholars of recent times, right up to the present day, consider this image, they actually mean not so much the text of the novel itself, but rather the ideological accents that, each in their own way, Shelgunov, Strakhov, or Savodnik made on it.
The image of Karataev personifies in “War and Peace” the inseparability of everyone’s private existence and life.
Tolstoy creates the image of Platon Karataev, characterizing his inner appearance with the special features of peasant patriarchal consciousness.
In the images of Tikhon Shcherbaty and Platon Karataev, the author shows two sides of peasant consciousness and behavior - efficiency and passivity, struggle and non-resistance. These images seem to complement each other, allowing Tolstoy to comprehensively depict the peasant world. In the novel, “poor and abundant, downtrodden and omnipotent” peasant Rus' appears before us. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to the author’s assessment of the image of Karataev, to point out that Tolstoy clearly admires his hero, his meekness and resignation. This affected weak sides the writer's worldview. But one cannot but agree with Saburov’s statement that “Tolstoy’s personal views and moods never distorted the artistic depiction in War and Peace.”
In the image of Platon Karataev, the author expresses the traits of an active, lively peasant character. Depicting how he took off his shoes, “neatly, with round, spores, movements that followed one another without delay,” how he settled down in his corner, how he lived in captivity at first, when he had only to “shake himself up to immediately, without a second procrastination, take up some business,” the author depicts a person accustomed to work and tireless, who knew how to be needed and useful to everyone. “He knew how to do everything, not very well, but not badly either. He baked, cooked, sewed, planed, and made boots. He was always busy and only at night allowed himself conversations, which he loved, and songs.” Karataev was, judging by his stories, “a long-time soldier” who did not like, but honestly performed his military service, during which he “was never beaten.” Karataev also has a patriotic feeling, which he expresses in his own way: “How not to be bored, falcon! Moscow, she is the mother of cities. How not to get bored looking at this. Yes, the worm gnaws at the cabbage, and before that you disappear,” he says, consoling Pierre. “Having been captured and grown a beard, he apparently threw away everything foreign and soldierly that had been put on him and involuntarily returned to his former peasant, folk mindset,” and he liked to tell mainly “from his old and apparently dear “Christian” memories of how he reprimanded peasant life.”
Karataev’s appearance represents a special expression of the peasant essence in the author’s interpretation. His appearance gives the impression of a handsome, strong peasant: “a pleasant smile and large brown, gentle eyes were round... his teeth were bright white and strong, which all showed out in their two semicircles when he laughed (which he often did), were all good and intact in There was not a single gray hair in his beard or hair, and his whole body had the appearance of flexibility and, especially, hardness and endurance.”
Drawing a portrait of Karataev, “the whole figure of Plato in his French overcoat belted with a rope, in a cap and bast shoes, was round, his head was completely round, his back, chest, shoulders, even his arms, which he wore as if always intending to hug something, were round; a pleasant smile and large brown gentle eyes were round, the wrinkles were small and round. Pierre felt something round even in the speech of this man.” This “roundness” becomes a symbol of “Karataevism,” a symbol of the internal harmony of all aspects of the personality, inviolable reconciliation with oneself and with everything around, the author emphasizes it in everything appearance“the personification of everything Russian, good and round” - as some symbol of a harmoniously whole person. In the integrity and spontaneity of his nature, from the author’s point of view, the unconscious, “swarm” life of the people, like the life of nature, is manifested: he loved songs and “sang not as songwriters sing, knowing that they are being listened to, but he sang as they sing.” birds". “His every word and every action was a manifestation of an activity unknown to him, which was his life. But his life, as he himself looked at it, had no meaning as a separate particle. She made sense only as a part of the whole, which he constantly felt. His words and actions poured out of him as uniformly, necessarily, and directly as a scent is released from a flower.”
The author's attention is especially drawn to the internal, mental state of Platon Karataev, as if independent from the external conditions of life; “he loved and lived lovingly with everything that life brought him to, and especially with a person - not with some famous person, but with those people who were before his eyes”...
The author attached special meaning and significance to this constant loving attitude of Karataev towards people as a well-known ethical norm. The image of Platon Karataev, the most developed of folk images, occupies a special place in the artistic structure of the novel. It did not arise immediately and appears in later editions of War and Peace.
The introduction of Platon Karataev into the action of the epic is due to the fact that it was important for Tolstoy to show spiritual rebirth Pierre was influenced by the moral spiritual qualities of a man from the people.
Assigning a special moral task to Karataev - bringing clarity and peace of mind to the world of human suffering, Tolstoy creates an idealized image of Karataev, constructing him as the personification of goodness, love, meekness and self-denial. These spiritual qualities of Karataev are fully perceived by Pierre Bezukhov, illuminating his spiritual world with a new truth that was revealed to him in forgiveness, love and humanity.
For all the other prisoners, Karataev “was a very ordinary soldier,” whom they slightly “good-naturedly mocked, sent him for parcels” and called him Sokolik or Platosha; he was a simpleton to them.
It is very characteristic of the development of Tolstoy’s creative path that already at the end of the 60s he embodied his human ideal in the image of a patriarchal peasant. But Karataev, with his traits of meekness, humility, obedience and unaccountable love for all people, is not a typical, generalizing image of the Russian peasant. His role is important in studying the author’s worldview: in the image of Karataev, for the first time, the artistic expression of the elements of Tolstoy’s future teaching about non-resistance to evil through violence is given.
But, having elevated the moral character of Karataev in an ethical sense, Tolstoy showed in “War and Peace” that the vital force of the Russian people lay not in the Karataevs, but in the effectiveness that characterized Tikhonov Shcherbatykh, partisan soldiers who destroyed and expelled the enemy from their native land . The image of Platon Karataev is one of the most striking examples of the penetration of the author’s religious and ethical views into the artistic system and represents a one-sided image of the character of the Russian patriarchal peasant - his passivity, long-suffering, religiosity, humility. In one of his early stories (“Cutting Wood”), Tolstoy wrote about three types of soldiers: submissive, commanding and desperate. Even then, he saw as the most sympathetic to him “and for the most part united with the best - Christian virtues: meekness, piety, patience ... the type of submissive in general.” Platon Karataevs were, of course, among the soldiers and during the period Patriotic War 1812, and among the unknown heroes of the Sevastopol defense, and among the peasants.
Many of Karataev’s character traits - love for people, for life, spiritual gentleness, responsiveness to human suffering, the desire to help a person in despair, grief - are valuable properties in relationships between people. But Tolstoy’s elevation of Platon Karataev to a human ideal, emphasizing in him passivity, submission to fate, forgiveness and unaccountable love for everything as an expression of the ethical formula of Tolstoyism (the world is within you) had a deeply reactionary character.
It is no coincidence that in the “Epilogue”, when Natasha, remembering Platon Karataev as the person whom Pierre respected most of all, asks him whether he would now approve of his activities, Pierre answered after thinking:
“No, he wouldn’t approve... What he would approve of is our family life. He so wanted to see beauty, happiness, tranquility in everything, and I would be proud to show him us.”
The essence of Karataev denies the desire in man for an active political struggle for his rights and independence, and, therefore, Tolstoy argues that active revolutionary methods of struggle for the reconstruction of society are alien to the people's worldview. The Karataevs are not guided by calculation or reason. But there is nothing of his own in his spontaneous impulses. Even in his appearance, everything individual is removed, and he speaks in proverbs and sayings, capturing only general experience and general wisdom. Bearing a certain name, having his own biography, Karataev, however, is completely free from own desires, there are no personal attachments for him, or even an instinct to protect and save his life. And Pierre is not tormented by his death, despite the fact that this is happening violently and almost before Pierre’s eyes.
Karataev is not the central image of the Russian peasant in War and Peace, but one of many episodic figures along with Danila and Balaga, Karp and Dron, Tikhon and Mavra Kuzminichnaya, Ferapontov and Shcherbaty, and so on. and so on, not at all brighter, not more favored by the author than many of them. The central image of the Russian people in “War and Peace” is a collective image, embodied in many characters, revealing the majestic and deep character of the simple Russian person - the peasant and the soldier.
Tolstoy, according to his own plan, portrays Karataev not as a characteristic representative of the soldier masses, but as a unique phenomenon. The writer himself emphasized that Karataev’s speech, which gives him a special appearance, was sharply different in both style and content from ordinary soldier speech (see Vol. IV, Part I, Chapter XIII). Tolstoy did not even think of passing him off as a common type of Russian soldier. He's just not like the others. He is depicted as a unique, original figure, as one of many psychological types of the Russian people. If we do not consider the appearance in Turgenev, along with Horem, Ermolai, Biryuk, Burmistr and others, of Kasyan and Krasivaya as a distortion of the image of the peasant masses. Swords and Lukery-Living Relics, then why should Karataev, among many other folk characters, cause special criticism of Tolstoy? The fact that Tolstoy subsequently elevated non-resistance to evil through violence into dogma and gave it the significance of a political principle during the years of revolutionary upsurge cannot influence the assessment of Karataev’s image in the context of “War and Peace,” where everything is built on the idea of ​​​​non-resistance to evil.
Karataev is endowed with the name of the ancient philosopher Plato - so Tolstoy directly points out that this is the highest “type” of a person’s presence among people, participation in the movement of time in history.
The image of Karataev in general, perhaps, most directly “conjugates” in the book “pictures of life” with Tolstoy’s reasoning of the widest scope. Here art and philosophy of history openly converge, mutually “highlighting” each other. Philosophical thought here directly penetrates into the image, “organizes” it, while the image gives life to itself, concretizes, grounds its constructions, and seeks their own human justification and confirmation.
Tolstoy himself, speaking in one of the editions of the epilogue of “War and Peace” about “the majority ... of readers,” “who, having reached historical and especially philosophical considerations, will say: “Well, and again. This is boring,” they will see where the reasoning ends, and, turning the pages, will continue further,” concluded: “This kind of reader is the dearest reader to me... the success of the book depends on their judgments, and their judgments are categorical... These are artistic readers , those whose judgment is dearer to me than anyone else. They will read between the lines, without reasoning, everything that I wrote in my reasoning and that I would not have written if all readers were like that.” And immediately, seemingly quite unexpectedly, he continued: “...If there were no... reasoning, there would be no descriptions.”
This is how the creator of “War and Peace” explained that introducing a true view of history was his constant goal, the achievement of which he was constantly and in every possible way concerned, but the very essence of this view presupposed, first of all, the deployment of “descriptions”. After all, history was created for Tolstoy, giving it meaning and meaning, by the whole life of all people. But the artist did not seem to believe that “descriptions” alone, without supports, could easily withstand extreme loads.

Essay on literature on the topic: Platon Karataev in the novel “War and Peace”

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2. L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” ranks among the best works of world literature. It tells about significant events in the history of the country, highlights important periods of people's life, ideals, life and customs of various strata of society. One of the main themes of the work is Read More......
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4. Platon Karataev Characteristics literary hero This is a soldier of the Absheron regiment whom Pierre met in captivity. K. is the embodiment of “everything Russian, good and round,” patriarchy, humility, non-resistance, and religiosity. Tolstoy valued all these qualities in the Russian peasantry. K. – kind, soft, affectionate, good-natured Read More ......
5. L. N. Tolstoy’s favorite thought in the novel “War and Peace” was “people's thought.” At first glance, the reflection of this theme in the novel seems episodic, since out of more than five hundred and seventy heroes of the novel, only ten images of representatives of the people are developed. But Tolstoy Read More......
6. Platon Karataev is the embodiment of everything Russian, kind and round, patriarchalism, humility, non-resistance, religiosity - all those qualities that Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy so valued among the Russian peasantry. Lidia Dmitrievna Opulskaya wrote: “The image of Plato is more complex and contradictory, it means a lot Read More......
7. Spiritual beauty common man“I want to show it using the example of Platon Karataev. After the execution of the “arsonists” at the walls of the Novodevichy Convent, in Pierre’s soul “it was as if the spring on which everything was held and seemed alive was suddenly pulled out, and everything fell into a heap Read More ......
8. One of the themes of L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” is the theme of the people. Platon Karataev is a prominent representative of the people here. In general, this image is indicative of the creative evolution of L.N. Tolstoy in the late 60s of the 19th century. The writer comes to the conclusion that Read More......

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It rarely happens that the life and personality of serfs or individual representatives of the peasantry become the reason for changes in the personality or worldview of people in high society, aristocrats. This trend is exclusive to real life and no less rare in literature or other branches of art.

Basically, the opposite happens: influential gentlemen bring into life ordinary people dramatic changes. In the novel L.N. Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” contains many situations that happen over the years in everyday life. There are many heroes in the novel, some of them occupy a dominant position, others a secondary one.

A distinctive feature of an epic novel is that all the characters in the novel are closely related to each other. The actions of the acting characters partially or globally influence the life situations of other characters. One of the main ones in terms of such influence on the worldview of other characters is the image of Platon Karataev.

Biography and appearance of Platon Karataev

Platon Karataev is a short-lived character in the novel. He appears in the novel only in a few chapters, but his influence on the future fate of one of the representatives of the aristocracy, Pierre Bezukhov, becomes exceptionally great.

The reader meets this character at the age of 50 Karataev. This age limit is quite vague - Karataev himself does not know exactly how many winters he lived. Karataev’s parents are simple peasants; they were not literate, so the data on exact date the birth of a son has not been preserved.

Plato's biography does not stand out in any way in the context of an ordinary representative of the peasantry. He is an illiterate person, his wisdom is based solely on the life experience of himself and other representatives of the peasantry. However, despite this, in his mental development he is somewhat higher than the highly educated aristocrat Pierre.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with “The Image and Characteristics of Pierre Bezukhov” in Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace.”

This is explained by the fact that Bezukhov lacks pragmatic life positions; he has never had the opportunity to solve complex, controversial issues and life problems. It is full of idealistic concepts and perception of reality within the framework of unreality. His world is a utopia.

Platon Karataev is a good-natured, sincere person. All his physical features lead to the perception of him as a warm and pleasant and positive image of the novel. He has a positive, optimistic attitude and resembles the sun: he has an absolutely round head, gentle brown eyes, and a sweet, pleasant smile. He himself is short. Plato smiles often, and his good white teeth become visible. His hair was still untouched by gray on either his head or beard. His body was distinguished by smooth movements and flexibility - which was surprising for a man of his age and origin.

We know very little about the hero’s childhood and youth. Tolstoy is not interested in the process of his formation as an integral personality, but in the end result of this process.

In clothing, Karataev adheres to the principle of convenience and practicality - his clothes should not hinder movements.

During the captivity of the Karataevs, he wears a dirty, torn shirt and black, soiled trousers. Every time he moves, he smells an unpleasant, pungent smell of sweat.

Karataev's life before military service

The life of Platon Karataev before his service was more joyful and successful, although it was not without its tragedies and sorrows.

Plato got married and had a daughter. However, fate was not kind to the girl - she died before her father entered the service.

Tolstoy does not tell us what happened to Plato’s wife and whether he had any more children. What we know about civil life is that Karataev did not live poorly. He was not a wealthy peasant, but he was not poor either. His service in the army was predetermined by an accident - Plato was caught cutting down someone else's forest and given up as a soldier. In the army, Plato did not lose his positive attitude, but such an activity is alien to him, he sincerely regrets that he is not at home. He misses his old life, he misses his home.

The character of Platon Karataev

Platon Karataev does not have an explosive, contradictory character. He knows well all the hardships of peasant life, understands and is aware of the injustices and difficulties of life, but perceives it as inevitable.

Karataev is a sociable person, he loves to talk and knows how to find mutual language with virtually any person. He knows a lot interesting stories, knows how to interest his interlocutor. His speech is poetic, it is devoid of the rudeness common among soldiers.

Plato knows many proverbs and sayings and often uses them in his speech. Soldiers often use proverbs, but mostly they bear the imprint of military life - with a certain amount of rudeness and obscenity. Karataev's proverbs are not like soldiers' sayings - they exclude rudeness and vulgarity. Karataev has a pleasant voice, he speaks in the manner of Russian peasant women - melodiously and drawlingly.

Plato can sing well and loves to do it very much. He does this unlike ordinary singers - his singing is not like the trill of birds - it is gentle and melodic. Karataev does not sing mindlessly, automatically, he passes the song through himself, it seems that he is living the song.

Karataev has golden hands. He knows how to do any work, he doesn’t always do it well, but still the objects he makes are of tolerable, good quality. Plato knows how to do both truly masculine - hard, physical work, and women's work - he cooks food well, knows how to sew.

He is a caring, selfless person. During captivity, Karataev sews Bezukhov’s shirt and makes his shoes. He does this not for a selfish purpose - to curry favor with a rich aristocrat, so that, in the event of a successful release from captivity, he will receive some kind of reward from him, but out of the kindness of his heart. He feels sorry for those unadapted to the difficulties of captivity, military service Pierre.

Karataev is a kind, not greedy person. He feeds Pierre Bezukhov and often brings him baked potatoes.

Karataev believes that he must stick to his word. Promise - fulfill - he always lived up to this simple truth.

In the best traditions of the peasantry, Karataev is endowed with hard work. He cannot sit still with nothing to do, even in captivity he is constantly busy with something - making crafts, helping others - for him this is natural state.

We are accustomed to the fact that ordinary men are far from neat, but this only partially applies to Plato. He himself may look rather untidy, but in relation to the products of his labor he is always very neat. This diametrically opposite combination is surprising.

Most people, regardless of social and financial situation, tend to become attached to other people. At the same time, it does not matter what feelings prevail in them in relation to certain characters - friendship, sympathy or love. Karataev is friendly, he easily gets along with new people, but does not feel much affection. He easily breaks up with people. At the same time, Plato never initiates the cessation of communication. In most cases, such events occur in the context of certain events over which neither he nor his interlocutor has control.

Those around him have a completely positive opinion - he is non-conflict, has a positive attitude, knows how to support a person in difficult times, and infect him with his cheerfulness. It is practically impossible to summarize this fact and determine whether Karataev had such an attitude before his service.

On the one hand, we can assume that he previously had a different attitude - he sincerely regrets that he is far from his home and civilized, “peasant” life.

And it is likely that this attitude was formed in Karataev as a result of military service - according to Plato, he had already repeatedly taken part in military events and was not the first time taking part in battles, so he could already experience all the bitterness of the loss of his comrades and in connection With this, such a protective mechanism arose - you should not become attached to those people who may die today or tomorrow. Another factor that taught Karataev to dwell on failures and breakups could have been the death of his daughter.

In the life of Plato, this event became tragic; perhaps a rethinking of the value of life and feelings of affection occurred with Karataev even at that time. On the other hand, the presence of insufficient information on the subject of Platon Karataev’s life before military service and 1812 in particular does not give the right to draw an unambiguous conclusion on this matter.

Platon Karataev and Pierre Bezukhov

It is unlikely that the image of Karataev had an influence exclusively on Pierre Bezukhov, but we are not aware of other interactions of Plato with a similar result.

After disappointments in family life, Freemasonry and secular society in general. Bezukhov goes to the front. Here he also feels superfluous - he is too pampered and not suited for this type of activity. Military events with the French become the cause of another disappointment - Bezukhov is hopelessly disappointed in his idol - Napoleon.

After he was captured and saw the executions, Pierre finally broke down. He learns too many things that are unpleasant for him and therefore the prerequisites for disappointment in people in general arise in him, but this does not happen, since it was at this moment that Bezukhov met Karataev.

Simplicity and calmness are the first things that surprise Pierre in his new acquaintance. Karataev showed Bezukhov that a person’s happiness lies in himself. Over time, Bezukhov also becomes infected with Plato’s calmness - he begins not to chaotically, as he did before, but to put everything in a balanced manner in his head.

Death of Platon Karataev

The conditions in which the captured Russian soldiers were kept were far from ideal. This fact leads to a new relapse of Karataev’s illness - he spent a long time in the hospital with a cold, and in captivity he fell ill again. The French are not interested in keeping prisoners, especially if they are ordinary soldiers. When the disease took full control of Karataev, and it became clear that the fever would not go away on its own, Plato was killed. This is done in order to prevent the spread of the disease.

From the point of view of literary criticism, the death of Platon Karataev was completely justified. He has fulfilled his purpose and therefore leaves the pages of the novel and his literary life.

Thus, Platon Karataev is an important element of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy. His meeting with Pierre Bezukhov becomes fateful for the latter. The optimism, wisdom and cheerfulness of a simple man accomplishes what neither book knowledge nor high society could accomplish. Bezukhov is aware of life principles that allow him to remain himself, but at the same time not degrade or renounce his life positions. Karataev taught the count to find happiness in himself, Pierre is convinced that the main purpose of a person is to be happy.

Let's consider the image of Platon Karataev from the work "War and Peace". This novel can be called a broad historical canvas. Its main hero is the people. The composition of the novel is quite complex. It contains many different storylines, which often intertwine and intersect. A photo of the author of the work, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, is presented below.

The image of the Russian people in the work of L. Tolstoy

Tolstoy traces the fates of families and individual heroes. The characters in the work are connected by love, friendship, and family relationships. They are often separated by enmity and mutual hostility. Lev Nikolaevich created a historically truthful image of the people - a war hero. In the scenes with the participation of soldiers, in the actions of ordinary people, in the remarks of some characters, one can see, first of all, the manifestation of the “warmth of patriotism” that inspires all fighters: soldiers, generals, the best officers, partisans.

Who is Platon Karataev

Platon Karataev is shown in the work as a Russian soldier. He was met in a booth for prisoners by Pierre Bezukhov and lived next to him for 4 weeks. According to the writer, Karataev in Pierre’s soul forever remained the most dear and powerful memory, the personification of all that is good and Russian.

In the novel, the image of Platon Karataev is one of the key ones that reflects the people. separated by the war from his usual way of life and placed in new, unusual conditions for him (French captivity, army), in which his spirituality manifested itself especially clearly.

This is the image of Platon Karataev, briefly described. Let's take a closer look at it. The image of Platon Karataev in the novel is largely revealed thanks to this character’s acquaintance with Pierre Bezukhov and the influence he had on this hero. What did it consist of? Let's figure it out.

How Platon Karataev influenced Pierre Bezukhov

After Pierre witnesses a terrible event - the execution of prisoners, he loses faith in man, in the fact that his actions are reasonable. After this, Bezukhov is in a depressed state. It is his meeting with Plato in the barracks that brings him back to life. Tolstoy, describing her, notes that Karataev, a man, was sitting, bent over, next to Pierre. Bezukhov first noticed his presence by the strong presence that separated from him whenever he moved. The man and the count found themselves in the same conditions: they were prisoners. In such a situation, it is necessary, first of all, to remain human, to survive and withstand. Pierre learned such survival from Karataev. The meaning of the image of Platon Karataev lies, among other things, in the internal rebirth of Pierre Bezukhov. This hero, as is known, is experiencing a deep internal transformation, like some other characters in the work.

Platon Karataev - a collective image

Platon Karataev can be called a collective image, as when introducing himself to Bezukhov, it is no coincidence that he calls himself in He says: “Soldiers However, Platon is the complete opposite of Shcherbaty. If the latter is merciless to the enemy, then Karataev loves all people, not excluding the French. If Tikhon is possible call him rude, and his humor is often combined with cruelty, then Plato wants to see “solemn beauty” in everything. Karataev does not feel like an individual person, but part of the people, part of the whole: the peasantry, ordinary soldiers. The wisdom of this character lies in succinct and apt sayings. and proverbs, behind which episodes from his life are hidden. short description which we are compiling is marked by one important detail. Plato suffered due to an unfair trial against him, and he had to serve in the army. But Karataev takes for granted any turns of his fate. For the sake of the well-being of his own family, he is ready to sacrifice himself.

Love and kindness of Platon Karataev

Love for everyone is an important feature that characterizes the image of Platon Karataev in the novel "War and Peace". This hero loves everyone, every living creature, person, the whole world. It is no coincidence that he is affectionate with a stray dog. According to the philosophy of this character, it is necessary to feel sorry not only for people, but also for animals. Karataev acts according to the Christian commandment, which says: “love your neighbor.” Plato lived with everyone lovingly, with his comrades, the French, Pierre. Those around him were warmed by this attitude. Karataev “treated” with words, consoled people. He treated them kindly and sympathetically; in the voice of this hero one could feel simplicity and affection. The first words he said to Pierre were words of encouragement: “To endure an hour, but to live a century!”

Philosophy of Platon Karataev

We see in Platon Karataev the harmony of inner life, won by the boundless faith that everything that happens on Earth is the will of God, that sooner or later justice and goodness will win, so there is no need to resist evil with violence. You need to accept everything that happens. Karataev, thus, preached the philosophy of submission to fate and patience, which had developed over centuries. His willingness to suffer for people is an echo of the philosophy he adhered to. Karataev was raised on Christian ideals, and religion, first of all, calls us to obedience and patience. Therefore, Karataev never felt resentment or anger towards others.

Echoes of the Christian religion in Plato's behavior

Plato does not share the pessimistic view of Bezukhov, who was exhausted by physical suffering. He preaches faith in the best, in the endless kingdom of God. After meeting this character, Pierre begins to have a different attitude towards life and the events that happened in it. For him, Karataev is an example to follow. Plato helped Bezukhov restore in his soul a sense of stability of the world order, the basis of which is mutual understanding and love, helped him get rid of the terrible question that tormented Pierre: “Why?” After communicating with him, Bezukhov felt the joy of liberation from the endless search for the meaning and purpose of life, since only they prevented him from feeling that life itself is its meaning. He is everywhere and in everything. God is close to people and he loves everyone. Without his will, not a single hair will fall from a person’s head. It is in captivity, because of the meeting with Karataev and the hardships and trials he experienced, that Pierre regains faith in God and learns to appreciate life. Karataev's philosophy is Christian. Religion helps any person, no matter what difficult conditions he finds himself in, to live.

The importance of people like Karataev for the victory over the French

Complementing the image of Platon Karataev, we note that perhaps Plato is weak as a soldier. After all, a real fighter must, like Tikhon Shcherbaty, hate his enemy. But Plato is certainly a patriot. He is very courageous and strong as a person. The significance of the image of Platon Karataev in the work is truly great, as was the reality of those like him at that time. If there were not such people in the Russian army, ready not only to beat the enemy, but also to have a philosophical attitude towards various difficulties in life, and to find the strength to overcome them, perhaps Kutuzov would not have been able to defeat Napoleon.

This is the image of Platon Karataev in the novel "War and Peace", one of the most striking heroes of the work. Lev Nikolaevich wrote his novel from 1863 to 1869.