Who is Pontius Pilate and how does Bulgakov characterize him? Analysis of the chapter "Pontius Pilate" from the novel by M.A.

I. Problems of M. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”.

II. Pontius Pilate – accuser and victim.

1. Pontius is the personification of power.

2. Pilate as a man.

3. Human weaknesses of the procurator.

4. Pilate's choice.

III. The value of the novel “The Master and Margarita” for the modern reader.

The novel “The Master and Margarita” is the main work of M. Bulgakov, the beloved child of his imagination, his literary feat. The number of genre definitions of Bulgakov's novel is large: satirical-philosophical, fantastic, philosophical novel, mystery novel, parable novel, lyrical-satirical-philosophical novel... With the appearance of the devil in the novel, one of the main philosophical themes begins to sound - the theme of human freedom and his personal responsibility for the moral choice he makes, recognizing or denying the existence of God.

The ideological center of the novel is the “gospel” chapters, in which two characters appear - the wandering philosopher Yeshua and the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate.

Pontius Pilate, the fifth procurator of Judea, is a statesman who is the personification of power. He is forced to stay in Yerlashaim, which he hates because of his duties. Pilate is a cruel man, he is called a “fierce monster,” and he prides himself on this; he believes that the world is governed by the law of force. He was a warrior, knows the price of danger and therefore believes that only the strong win, the one who does not know fear, doubt, or pity. Pontius Pilate lives by his own laws: he knows that the world is divided into those who rule and those who obey them, that the formula “the slave obeys the master” is unshakable, that the Roman emperor is omnipotent, and in Yerlashaim he is the emperor’s viceroy, which means he is the master of everyone and everything. Pilate believes that the winner is always lonely, he cannot have friends, but only enemies and envious people. His power made him this way. Its law dictates the characteristics of who can have power.

Pilate has no equal, just as there is no person with whom he would like to communicate. Only the dog he loves. But having met Yeshua, Pilate realized that this was the person with whom he would like to communicate forever. Ha-Nozri is not afraid to object to the procurator and does it so skillfully that Pontius Pilate is confused for some time. Moreover, this “tramp” dares to suggest: “Some new thoughts came to my mind, and I would be happy to share them with you, especially since you give the impression of an intelligent person.” Ha-Notsri believes that “there are no evil people in the world”, there are “unhappy” people; he is extremely frank, because “it’s easy and pleasant to tell the truth.” The prisoner seemed interesting to the procurator.

The procurator was immediately convinced of Yeshua’s innocence. The Roman procurator has no desire to ruin the life of the wandering philosopher; he tries to persuade Yeshua to compromise, and when this fails, to persuade the high priest Kaifa to pardon Ha-Notsri on the occasion of the Easter holiday. We see that Pontius Pilate shows human complicity, pity, and compassion towards Yeshua. But at the same time there is fear. It is fear, born of dependence on the state, the need to follow its interests, and not the truth, that ultimately determines the choice of Pontius Pilate.

Under the conditions of any totalitarian regime, be it slave-owning Rome or the Stalinist dictatorship, even the strongest person can survive and succeed only guided by the immediate benefit of the state, and not by his own moral guidelines.

The Sanhedrin decides to execute Yeshua. The law of insulting Caesar is affected, there is a rebellion, and the rebellion must be pacified. And Pontius Pilate shouts for everyone to hear: “Criminal! Criminal! Criminal!".

Yeshua is executed. Why does Pontius Pilate suffer? Why does he have a dream that he did not send a wandering philosopher and healer to execution, as if they were walking together along a lunar path and talking peacefully? And he, “the cruel procurator of Judea, cried with joy and laughed in his sleep...”

For Bulgakov, Pontius Pilate, in contrast to the tradition established in the history of Christianity, is not just a coward and an apostate. His image is dramatic: he is both an accuser and a victim. By apostatizing from Yeshua, he destroys himself, his soul. That is why, driven into a corner by the need to put the wandering philosopher to death, he says to himself: “Dead!”, then: “Dead!” He perishes along with Yeshua, perishes as a free person.

Thus, faced with a choice: a position or the salvation of the soul, fear of Caesar or the courage to commit an act, he chooses a chair, the blessings of life and devotion to what he hates. Acting on behalf of Tiberius, who personifies the state, Pontius Pilate experiences a feeling of disgust and disgust towards the emperor. The procurator understands that his power turned out to be imaginary. He is a coward, he is Caesar's faithful dog and just a pawn in his hands.

Reading Bulgakov, we draw a conclusion for ourselves: a person is not free to control his own birth and death. But he must manage his life. A person, according to Bulgakov, is responsible for his own choice of life paths, leading either to truth and freedom, or to slavery, betrayal and inhumanity.

Pontius Pilate in Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” is the character of the Master, that is, the hero of a novel within a novel, which at the end of the work converge with one common denouement. The story of the Procurator, who sent the wandering philosopher Yeshua Ha-Nozri, preaching love, to death, was written by the Master and paid for his courage in choosing a theme for the work.

Loneliness is the price of a high position in society

In the novel "The Master and Margarita" the image of Pontius Pilate is one of the most controversial and tragic characters. The fifth procurator of Judea arrived in Yershalaim for service from Rome. His job was to judge the criminals of the city, which he hated.

Meeting a loved one

The Master's novel describes one trial in which Yeshua, nicknamed Ha-Nozri, appeared, accused of inciting people to destroy the temple of the existing government. In the dialogue between the accused and the procurator of Judea, tension reigns at first. This strange thinker calls the hegemon a good man, and also claims that there are no evil people, but only unhappy ones. This fact angers Pilate. He was not used to being perceived without fear as the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, distinguished by his pride and emphasized self-esteem. He regarded such treatment as disrespect for his person.

However, over time, Pilate and Yeshua begin to sympathize with each other. But having heard unacceptable speeches, with which he agreed in the depths of his soul, the procurator became furious and announced a decision on the death sentence. Career and status outweighed sympathy for the kind and fearless guy on the scales of Pilate's judicial justice. Maybe this was a manifestation of cowardice, and not great power?

Pilate's vanity was dealt a blow. After all, some rogue is spiritually richer and happier than him. He was simply afraid to recognize the simple philosophy of goodness and love that the young prophet carried. In making his decision, Pontius Pilate was guided not by his heart or even common sense, but only by unverified facts and anger due to wounded pride. He sentenced Yeshua to death based on a report from a certain Judas from Kiriath. When imposing the sentence, the procurator believed that he would be able to save the Messiah. After all, on the eve of the Passover holiday, the Jewish high priest has the right to acquit one of the defendants.

Remorse and futile attempts to correct the mistake

The three remaining criminals were tried for grave sins, so Pontius Pilate was confident that the high priest Caiaphas would acquit Yeshua. However, when the decision of the first clergyman of Yershalaim turned out to be different, because he decided to justify the murderer Barrabas, Pilate realized the terrible consequences of his mistake, but could not do anything.

His torment intensified from the information that Judas denounced Yeshua only in order to receive money from the high priest, and also when the head of the procurator’s secret guard spoke in detail about Ha-Nozri’s behavior at the execution. “The only thing he said was that among human vices, he considers cowardice to be one of the most important,” Afranius said.

Pontius Pilate could not find a place for himself, because he put to death the only soul close to him. He understood that he no longer wanted to be in this position and in the city where he approved so many capital punishments, feeling innocent blood on his hands. Pilate with all his soul wanted to do at least something to clear his conscience, although he understood that he could not bring Yeshua back. At his indirect request, Judas was killed, and he decided to take the only follower of the wandering philosopher Levi Matthew to himself.

The problem of conscience in the novel

Through the characterization of Pontius Pilate in the novel “The Master and Margarita”, the solution to the problems of cowardice and conscience is realized. Each of us is only a person who can make a mistake. And even though Pontius Pilate’s mistake was irreparable, he realized what he had done and repented of it. It was not higher powers, but his conscience that kept him awake on every full moon, and when he managed to fall asleep, he saw Yeshua and dreamed of walking with him along the lunar path. He now thought completely differently from what he had acted: “Cowardice is undoubtedly one of the most terrible vices. This is what Yeshua Ha-Nozri said. No, philosopher, I object to you: this is the most terrible vice.”

His creator, the author of the novel about Pilate, the Master, was able to save the Roman procurator from the prison of his own conscience and fulfill his desire to be close to the Messiah. Having ascended to heaven, Woland showed the Master his hero, who had been tormented for centuries by loneliness and remorse, and allowed him to complete his work, the finale of which was the phrase: “Free.”

Work test

The novel “The Master and Margarita” is one of the most worthy and outstanding in the work of M. Bulgakov. In the text of his work, the author tried to open up to the reader the most important and pressing problems. One of these was the problem of conscience. It was the image of Pontius Pilate that became the main one in revealing its essence.

A special feature of M. Bulgakov’s creative work is a novel within a novel. The main character is trying to create his own handwritten creation and tells a story from the Bible. It was modified and Pontius Pilate becomes the main character of the novel. Who was he? The man who ordered the execution of Jesus Christ. In the text of the Bible, his character is depicted superficially and schematically. However, Bulgakov endows him with experiences, fears, and feelings.

The second chapter of the novel gives the reader a clear description of this character, who ruled the entire city and endlessly suffered from incurable headaches. Here we also meet the accused tramp, who actually represented Jesus.

What is unusual is that the image of Jesus is completely different from other biblical descriptions. He looked like a fairly simple man in dirty clothes and with a black eye. However, after Yeshua gave Pontius Pilate relief from terrible headaches, he looks at him completely differently.

The reader does not encounter anything mystical in the image of Yeshua. He is an ordinary, rather wise man, and Pontius Pilate gets carried away in conversation with the tramp. Their conversation interested Pilate so much that he wants to save Yeshua from death, because he has a presentiment that if he does not do this, he will doom himself to eternal torment. But it turns out that Yeshua was a political criminal, and even after Pontius Pilate’s attempts to free him, he did not evade the fate prepared by fate.

After the execution of Yeshua, Pontius Pilate simply burns with remorse of his conscience. He could not help an innocent person, he realized that he had made an irreparable mistake. Even an attempt to help the remaining disciple of Yeshua did not save Pilate from eternal immortality - a terrible punishment. At night he sees dreams in which he again meets the philosopher, they have an interesting conversation, communicate, and after waking up, conscience again oppresses and destroys Pontius Pilate. But eventually he will be forgiven. And the Master will free him, since he told the story of this hero.

Thanks to this image, M. Bulgakov was able to reveal to the reader the problem of conscience and the thoughtfulness of his actions. By overstepping moral and generally accepted principles, we doom ourselves to eternal torment of conscience.

Pontius Pilate in the novel by M. A. Bulgakov. The Roman horseman, ruler of Judea Pontius Pilate, the hero of M. A. Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” is a real historical figure, whose rule was cruel, accompanied by numerous executions without trial. According to the New Testament, Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus Christ to death, and then ritually washed his hands, showing his innocence.

This image appears in the novel in close connection with the image of Yeshua Ha-Nozri: “Now we will always be together... Once there is one, that means there is another! They will remember me, and now they will remember you too! Me, a foundling, the son of unknown parents, and you, the son of the astrologer king and the miller’s daughter, the beautiful Pila,” Yeshua says to Pilate in a dream.

Thus, for Bulgakov, Pilate, who is not given much time in the Gospel, is one of the main characters of the novel. He is preoccupied with the question of the reality of the events that took place; the biblical chapters in the novel turn out to be confirmation of the existence of Christ for Ivan Bezdomny.

In the process of creating the novel, the writer became acquainted with G. Petrovsky’s poem “Pilate”. The author of the poem also portrays Pilate as sympathetic to Jesus, rather than perceiving his actions as a threat to overthrow the government. The cowardly procurator was unable to fight for Jesus against the Sanhedrin - just as in Bulgakov’s novel, in Petrovsky’s poem this vice is recognized in Pilate.

The writer's view of events, the "Gospel of Bulgakov" is not just a dispute between the heroes about the existence of Christ. The author raises eternal themes - the theme of cowardice, betrayal, relations between man and power, unjust trial.

By the will of the author, the image of Pilate is endowed with numerous small details that make it more vivid and understandable to the reader. Thanks to Bulgakov, the hero of his novel is seen as more humane than in the New Testament. He has weaknesses - he has doubts, hesitations, he, a cruel procurator, has great affection for his dog, he is worried not only about the fate of Yeshua, but also about the fate of his student Levi Matthew. In the end, Pilate has a conscience and it torments him. Pilate does not consider Yeshua guilty, because he sees: this man simply does not know how to lie, his soul is pure. He gives Yeshua to execution against his will, confirming the death sentence of the Sanhedrin, becoming an involuntary executioner.

The author emphasizes the smallest shades of the hero’s mood in the process of making a difficult decision, which is very difficult for him. He cannot sacrifice his career to save Yeshua, but there is still something human left in him. The figure of Pilate in the novel is ambiguous. First we see the horseman Golden Spear, a cruel procurator “in a white cloak with a bloody lining,” which symbolizes his bloody deeds. Then we see in him a person subject to weaknesses and illnesses, and later suffering. The reader sees how the procurator changes in his conversation with Yeshua. At first, only one thought occupies him - that the interrogation should end as soon as possible. At this moment, the arrested and doomed Yeshua takes pity on him and empathizes, accurately determining his condition: “The truth, first of all, is that you have a headache, and it hurts so much that you are cowardly thinking about death. Not only are you unable to speak to me, but it is difficult for you to even look at me. And now I am unwittingly your executioner, which saddens me. You can’t even think about anything and dream only that your dog, apparently the only creature to which you are attached, will come. But your torment will now end, your headache will go away.”

This execution becomes a turning point in the life of Pontius Pilate; it haunts him all his life, because he executed an innocent man whose crime did not deserve such punishment. To atone for his guilt, Pilate orders the death of Judas, but this does not bring Yeshua back, and the procurator suffers for twelve thousand moons...

Woland tells what is happening to Pilate: “He says the same thing, he says that even in the moonlight he has no peace, and that he has a bad position. This is what he always says when he is not sleeping, and when he sleeps, he sees the same thing - the lunar road and wants to go along it and talk with the prisoner Ga-Notsri, because, as he claims, he did not say something back then, a long time ago , the fourteenth of the spring month of Nisan. But, alas, for some reason he fails to take this road and no one comes to him. Then, what can you do, he has to talk to himself. However, some variety is needed, and to his speech about the moon he often adds that most of all in the world he is not-| he sees his immortality and unheard-of glory.” An attempt to justify oneself by one’s “bad position,” the same as that of the centurion Mark the Rat-Slayer, cannot drown out the voice of conscience. Even washing his hands does not allow him to remove this grave sin from his conscience. Immortality is the heaviest punishment Pilate receives. Yeshua comes to him in visions until Pilate, freed by the master, joins Ha-Nozri on the lunar path, not only in vision, but in reality. Then Pilate finds peace, assured by Yeshua that there was no execution. The ending brings Pilate forgiveness.

Bulgakov neglects many gospel facts for the sake of revealing the image of Pilate. Unlike Yeshua, the author condemns his hero. It is important for him to draw a parallel between that time and Moscow in the 20s, to prove that people have remained the same, and cowardice always remains the most serious vice.

"The Master and Margarita" is one of Bulgakov's greatest works. The novel is quite difficult to understand, but it contains the deepest meaning that the author conveys to the reader. This novel is difficult to attribute to any specific genre. This is a parable novel, a satirical novel with a philosophical bent. It all starts with how one of the main characters appears in the novel - the devil. After this, there is a lot of discussion about the person’s choice. In this case, a person either believes in God or not. The main idea and thought of the novel are visible when the image of Yeshua and the procurator Pontius Pilate appears before the reader.

Pontius Pilate is a procurator, he has power over people. This hero shows with all his heart that he hates the city of Erlashaim. Perhaps it's because of his role in this city. This man is harsh and uncompromising. His word here is law and power in his concept forms law and order. The procurator was once a military man; he experienced danger more than once. He understands that only those who are stronger and wiser are at the top. In order to be respected you need to put aside pity. Pilate is confident that if a person has power, then he can have only one enemies and no friends. The Roman Emperor is the most powerful and authoritative person for the procurator. Accordingly, he was installed as emperor in Yerlashaim, which means he is a god here. Maybe he was once a different person, which is quite noticeable, but now he is who he is. All his main features are the influence of the power given to him.

This hero has no equal people in the city in terms of status and more, he simply has no one to talk to on equal terms, all people are not interesting to him. Pontius Pilate has only one friend, his faithful dog. When they met the vagabond Yeshua, the procurator felt that they were communicating with him on equal terms. It seemed to him that he could communicate with the philosopher forever. This man, preaching his teaching, has the courage to argue and object to the words of the procurator. Moreover, everything happens in such a way that Pilate does not even immediately understand that his words are not law for the tramp. Yeshua is of the opinion that all people in the world are good, but there are no evil people. A philosopher speaks only the truth; he has no reason to lie, because telling the truth is not always easy, but it is always pleasant. For the procurator, Yeshua was quite an interesting person.

Pontius Pilate immediately understood that Ga-Notsri was innocent. He is trying to save the tramp's life. Pilate does not want to kill the unfortunate man. But he could not change the high priest's mind. As a result, Yeshua was sentenced to execution. After this, the procurator cannot forgive himself for such a decision and reproaches himself for it all his life.

Option 2

This is one of the most important images in Bulgakov’s novel, and if we consider the part of the “novel within a novel” written by the Master, then one of the two main characters.

Formally, this is a negative character. But there is no need to judge the people themselves, but only their actions, because this is how Bulgakov approaches it. Yes, Pilate sends a righteous man to martyrdom (and shameful death). And Pontius himself understands that he is completely wrong... Everyone knows that Pilate would prefer to send a real criminal to a well-deserved execution, but he has to let this thug go. And all because the churchmen feel that the activities, speeches, and very existence of Yeshua are more dangerous for their system. And here are the circumstances, the influence of these harmful old men from the church, where trade is flourishing. Plus the precarious position of the Roman protege himself. Still, he makes a decision that is wrong for the higher meaning and for his own soul.

But for this he is punished with terrible loneliness. This image is immediately drawn from the last pages of the novel, when Pilate is found sitting on a chair for thousands of years, and next to him is his faithful dog - his only friend... He suffers, thinks, regrets what he has done, waits... And he deserves forgiveness.

I think this image is worthy of sympathy. This is the kind of man this Pilate is, as I see it, a military man. That is, he is accustomed to discipline, to the fact that there is “black and white,” right and wrong. And that everything is clear! And here evil pretends to be good... And it was also necessary to do something that would destroy the system. I don’t think that the hero was afraid of losing his post, his income... He would risk everything for the sake of this sincere and kind “healer”. Pilate was so imbued with the fact that Yeshua saved him from a terrible headache. Their conversations were so interesting for Pilate, so the words of the prisoner amazed him. He admired his calmness and steadfastness.

But even love cannot always lead people like Pilate astray from “their” path. A strong feeling can frighten them, just as any physical threat will not frighten them. For the sake of love, leave your studies, give up your career... What will your parents and colleagues say? In my opinion, Pilate feels responsible for everything; it seems to him that he cannot disrupt the established order, with all his strength.

In any case, Pilate, a strong man in every sense, showed weakness.

Essay Characteristics and image of Pontius Pilate

Mikhail Bulgakov is from that cohort of writers who become famous after death.

Although during his lifetime he received quite a lot of attention from the leadership of the USSR and personally from Comrade Stalin. His novel, which became the culmination of his work, did not please Comrade Stalin. He began to bask in world fame after their death. Many critics, including theologians, put it on a par with the Gospel. And they call the novel the gospel of Satan. In our essay we will look at the confrontation between a sense of duty and cowardice, the burden of power and personal responsibility for the paths in life that we consciously choose.

At the center of the work is a dialogue, dispute, ideological struggle between the procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate and the son of God Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha-Nozri). The procurator, being an intelligent and experienced administrator, realized even before the end of the interrogation that Yeshua was not guilty of anything. Moreover, he understands that Yeshua speaks the true truth. But Pontius Pilate does not act according to truth and conscience, but based on “state necessity.” He was scared. He chickened out. The fear of losing power turned the brave warrior he was in the past into a cynical and indifferent coward. Moreover, he is indifferent not only towards others. At the same time as he sentenced Yeshua, he also pronounced a sentence on himself. Only he, the son of God, could relieve the terrible headaches. Only Yeshua could remove that terrible burden of sins that Pilate carried in his soul. The procurator understood perfectly well that the acquittal of Ga-Notsri would radically change his life. This is what Pontius Pilate was most afraid of. Changes in the usual course of your life. New emotions, new knowledge, new things to do and new views. Bulgakov presented Yeshua as a messiah who does not recognize himself as the messiah. But no matter how Bulgakov hid the integral image of Christ, he still saw the future. And he forgave everything. Because God is Love. And he accepted mortal torment for the salvation of the entire human race, including the salvation of Pontius Pilate. Bulgakov also forgave this sin of cowardice. And he made the Master shout: “Free! Free! He is waiting for you!"

Pontius Pilate made his choice and covered himself with historical shame. Jesus Christ made his choice and trampled death underfoot. Each Christian, depending on his place of birth, is endowed with different types of rights and freedoms. But the main one among them is the God-given freedom of choice. And how we use this priceless gift, for the benefit of everyone or only ourselves, determines our earthly and “heavenly” paths.

Option 4

Bulgakov's famous novel "The Master and Margarita" is attractive for its characters. The image of the procurator of Judea is significant, for Pontius Pilate is considered a controversial hero.

His service takes place in Yershalaim. The character’s task is to administer justice, to punish criminals.

Over all his long years, the procurator, despite the fact that the work did not bring joy, retained in himself such qualities that irrevocably helped in conducting a fair trial. Pontius Pilate, as Mikhail Afanasyevich created him, is quite wise, moral concepts are not alien to him. Even if the hero is surrounded by security, the procurator, one way or another, is lonely at heart, there is no one nearby who can truly understand the hardships of Pilate. The ruler is only able to be frank with a dog named Banga. Dogs truly are man's best friend!

It’s one thing, a certain circumstance can give a true and reliable description of a person. Only an action committed once can define you as a person.

Pontius Pilate, to whom the wanderer Yeshua was brought on trial, acted cowardly.

Yeshua, with his skill in speaking and thinking correctly, tried to explain to the prosecutor’s office that he was not guilty of anything. The wanderer manages to touch the soul of Pontius Pilate, but at the last moment, when there was hope for salvation from Yeshua, the procurator of Judea changes his own decision. Why? It's all about the cowardice of the main character, because when the decision comes between maintaining status or delivering justice, Pontius Pilate chooses the first, since power is more important to him. It is worth considering that Yeshua considered cowardice a terrible vice. And Bulgakov, the author of this unusual work, was not alien to the opinion of the wanderer. So, after the death of Yeshua, the procurator suffers severely, his conscience eats him up every day.

As a result, Mikhail Afanasyevich makes it clear: one cowardly act in a person’s life can lead to severe consequences, to terrible pangs of conscience, to emotional distress. You should not make a choice related to your own position, because power and domination are not eternal in this world, and conscience for what you have done, for not showing sympathy, for not doing justice, will torment you and constantly remind you of yourself. Therefore, it is so important not to be a coward in difficult situations, to maintain composure, otherwise it will be difficult to cope with the consequences, like the prosecutor Pontius Pilate. The author tried to demonstrate a majestic man who, when faced with a difficult choice, gives an answer in favor of himself. And such a hero is immediately presented in the eyes of readers as a cowardly person, vain, incapable of compassion. However, we should not forget that people should be given a second chance. And Bulgakov, as a religious man, does not turn out to be cruel. He helps the character, relieving him of violent torment.

Nature and man, in my opinion, are two concepts inseparable from each other. We are all part of a big world: amazing, enchanting, filled with life. Everyone has noticed more than once how mood changes in accordance with changes in nature.