Portrait description of Platon Karataev. Platon Karataev

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 simple and complex issue. 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 last years 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 peasant world. In the novel, “poor and abundant, downtrodden and omnipotent” appears before us. peasant Rus'. 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 were never distorted in War and Peace.” artistic image”.
In the image of Platon Karataev, the author expresses the features 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 no one gray hair was not in his beard and 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 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, state of mind 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”...
This unchangeable loving relationship The author attached special meaning and significance to Karataev’s approach to people as a well-known ethical norm. The image of Platon Karataev, the most developed of folk images, occupies a special place in artistic structure 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 the spiritual rebirth of Pierre under the influence of 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 him spiritual world a new truth 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.
Very characteristic of development creative path Tolstoy 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 when studying the author’s worldview: in the image of Karataev it is first given artistic expression elements of Tolstoy's future teaching on non-resistance to evil through violence.
But, having elevated ethically moral character Karataev, 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 native land. The image of Platon Karataev is one of bright examples penetration into artistic system religious and ethical views of the author and presents a one-sided image of the character of the Russian patriarchal peasant - his passivity, patience, religiosity, humility. In one of early stories(“Cutting Wood”) Tolstoy wrote about three types of soldiers: submissive, commanding and desperate. Even then he saw how he was most “likeable and for the most part combined 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. Centrally of the Russian people in “War and Peace” is collective image, embodied in many characters, revealing the majestic and deep character of a simple Russian person - a peasant and a soldier.
Tolstoy, according to his own plan, portrays Karataev not as characteristic representative mass of soldiers, 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 drawn as a unique, original figure, as one of many psychological types 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 it directly penetrates into the image, “organizes” it, while the image gives life to itself, concretizes, grounds its constructions, and seeks for 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.

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Platon Karataev in the novel “War and Peace”

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It rarely happens that the life and personality of serfs or individual representatives of the peasantry become the cause of changes in the personality or worldview of people 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.

Distinctive feature An epic novel is that all the characters in the novel are closely related to each other. Actions acting heroes partially or globally influence life situations 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 future fate one of the representatives of the aristocracy, Pierre Bezukhov, becomes exceptionally large.

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 man, his wisdom is based solely on life experience his personal 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 read Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace.”

This is explained by the fact that Bezukhov is devoid of pragmatism life positions, he 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 warm and pleasant and positive image 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 already final result 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 explosive, contradictory nature. He knows all the hardships well 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 doesn't look like he does it regular performers songs - 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 best traditions Karataev's peasantry is endowed with hard work. He cannot sit still without doing anything, even in captivity he is constantly busy with something - making crafts, helping others - for him this is a natural state.

We are accustomed to the fact that ordinary men are far from neat, but this only partially applies to Plato. He may look rather untidy himself, 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 Hard time, infect him with your 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 generally. 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 destiny and therefore leaves the pages of the novel and its literary life.

Thus, Platon Karataev is important element 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 realizes life principles, allowing you to remain yourself, but at the same time not degrade or renounce your 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.

Platon Karataev in the novel “War and Peace”: image and characteristics, description of the portrait

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A living personification of the Russian folk character is in the novel a simple soldier Platon Karataev Most characteristic features Russian people are the following features: public instinct, moderate fatalism, which found expression in famous proverb: “what will happen cannot be avoided”, humility, somewhat excessive optimism (the famous “maybe”), simplicity, elation both in the process of thinking and in the area of feelings and volitional actions, finally, truthfulness and sincerity that determines this simplicity, that Tolstoy calls it “the spirit of simplicity and truth.”
These features of the national image of the Russian people were in highest degree inherent in Karataev. Karataev has absolutely no sense of personality, of his own isolation. Conscious of being “part of the whole,” Karataev valued in other people not their personality, but what is common to all people, that is, the “image of God” - kind and beautiful. human soul. Therefore, Karataev did not have any special attachment to anyone; he lived with everyone lovingly, even with his enemies. Karataev’s entire worldview is imbued with a deep belief in the inevitable triumph of justice (optimism and fatalism). This thought consoled Karataev amid all his everyday troubles.
Karataev believed his happiness in satisfying natural human needs. He was always at work. He baked, cooked, sewed, planed, and made boots. He did not bother anyone, since this various worldly knowledge allowed him to obtain everything he needed. This simplicity of needs and the habit of useful work gave him independence, ensured happiness and health. Nothing in the world was able to ruin his happiness, because misfortune comes from excesses that were alien to Karataev. In addition, Karataev embodied a passion so characteristic of our people, so to speak, the poetry of suffering, this kind of ability to rejoice at the cup of the common, inexhaustible and forever, that has fallen to my sinful share. eternal grief. Such an enthusiastic mood can be heard in Karataev’s story about an innocently injured merchant. “Not this story itself, but its mysterious meaning, that enthusiastic joy that shone on Karataev’s face... this vaguely and joyfully filled Pierre’s soul.” Karataev, apparently, would have considered himself “eating someone else’s century” if he had received some particularly happy share, enviable for many like him.
The creation of the personality of Karataev, in whom the spirit and character of the Russian people are successfully embodied, is greatest merit Tolstoy. It is known that our literature has been studying for a very long time common people, many attempts have been made to capture its spirit and power. All these attempts were surpassed and forever overshadowed by the creation of the bright figure of Karataev.

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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 tendency is exceptional in real life and no less rare in literature or other branches of art.

Basically, the opposite happens: powerful gentlemen bring dramatic changes to the lives of ordinary people. 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 data on the exact date of birth of their 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.

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 a common language with virtually any person. He knows many interesting stories and knows how to interest his interlocutor. His speech is poetic, it is devoid of the rudeness common among soldiers.

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.

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 Pierre, who is unadapted to the difficulties of captivity and military service.

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 without doing anything, even in captivity he is constantly busy with something - making crafts, helping others - for him this is a natural state.

Most people, regardless of their social and financial status, 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.

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.

Death of Platon Karataev

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.

Platon Karataev in the novel “War and Peace”: image and characteristics, description of the portrait

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On the pages of the novel "War and Peace" even, it would seem, minor characters do not appear by chance. The characterization of Platon Karataev occupies an important place. Let's try to remember what this hero was like.

Meeting of Pierre Bezukhov with Platon Karataev

The characterization of Platon Karataev in the great work of L.N. Tolstoy begins from the moment he met Pierre. This meeting takes place during a difficult period in Bezukhov’s life: he managed to avoid execution, but saw the death of other people. The main character has lost faith in the possibility of a better world and in God. overcome this crucial moment Pierre's life is helped by a person from the Platosha people.

People's philosopher

Platon Karataev, whose characterization is the topic of this article, is a man who was able to introduce Pierre Bezukhov to the people's principles and the wisdom of ordinary people. He is a real philosopher. It is no coincidence that L.N. Tolstoy gave Karataev the name Plato. His speech is full folk sayings, this seemingly ordinary soldier exudes wise calm.

The meeting with Platon Karataev became one of the most significant in life for Pierre. Even many years later, the already aging Bezukhov evaluates his actions and thoughts according to the principles that he learned for himself while communicating with this casual acquaintance.

"Round" start

The characterization of Platon Karataev, which takes shape in our minds, is very unusual thanks to the author’s figurative speech. Tolstoy mentions the “circular” and controversial movements of the folk philosopher. Platon Karataev's hands are folded as if he is about to hug something. His kind brown eyes and pleasant smile sink into your soul. There was something soothing and pleasant in his whole appearance, in his movements. Platon Karataev was a participant large quantity military campaigns, but, having been captured, abandoned everything “soldierly” and returned to the warehouse of a native of the people.

Why does Tolstoy endow his hero with roundness of movements? Probably, Lev Nikolaevich emphasizes the peaceful nature of Platon Karataev. Modern psychologists they say that circles are usually drawn by soft, charming, flexible people who are active and relaxed at the same time. The circle is a symbol of harmony. It is unknown whether the author of the great novel knew about this, but intuitively, of course, he felt it. Characteristics of Platon Karataev - unconditional confirmation life wisdom Tolstoy.

Platosha's speech

Speech can tell a lot about such a hero as Platon Karataev. “War and Peace” is a characteristic of the psychological world of the characters, since in this novel Tolstoy pays a lot of attention to the peculiarities of the language and behavior of those whom he wants to talk about in more detail.

The first words with which our hero addressed Bezukhov are filled with simplicity and affection. Platon Karataev's speech is melodious, it is permeated folk sayings and sayings. His words not only reflect his own thoughts, but also express folk wisdom. “To endure an hour, but to live a century,” said Platon Karataev.

It is impossible to characterize this character without mentioning his story about a merchant who was sentenced to hard labor for someone else's crime.

The speech of Platon Karataev, his statements are a reflection of the ideas of the Christian faith about humility and justice.

About the meaning of life

The characterization of Platon Karataev in the novel “War and Peace” is given by the author in order to show a different type of person, not the same as Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky. This simple soldier, unlike the aforementioned main characters, does not think about the meaning of life, he simply lives. Platon Karataev does not fear death, he believes that his life is in control high power. This hero looks at his life not as something separate, but as part of the whole. The essence of Karataev's nature is the love that he feels for everything in the world.

In conclusion, it should be said that L.N. Tolstoy, by creating the image of Platon Karataev, wanted to show how important a person is not in himself, but as a member of society who achieves common goals. Only by participating in public life, you can realize your desires. This is the only way to achieve harmony. All this became clear to Pierre after meeting Platon Karataev. In accordance with this idea, I would like to add that this one, of course, is interesting to us in itself. However, much more important is the role he played in the life of Pierre Bezukhov. Thanks to this meeting, main character was able to find inner harmony and agreement with the world and people.

The image of Platon Karataev is soulful folk origin, limitless harmony, which is given only through faith in God, in his will for everything that happens in life. This hero loves everyone around him, even the French to whom he was captured. Thanks to conversations with the “folk philosopher,” Pierre Bezukhov comes to the understanding that the meaning of life is to live, realizing the divine origin of everything that happens in the world.

So, we have characterized Platon Karataev. This is a native of the people who managed to bring into the life of the main character, Pierre Bezukhov, an understanding of the wisdom of ordinary people.