Captain Tushin: image and characteristics

Captain Tushin is a minor hero of Leo Tolstoy, who has very little space on the pages of the novel. But the whole episode with captain Tushin is written very brightly and capaciously.

The first meeting of the reader with the battery of Tushin

For the first time LN Tolstoy mentions the battery of Tushin in the second part of the novel, in chapter XVI. It was there that Prince Andrew considered the position of the infantry and dragoons. The battery was in the center of the Russian troops, directly opposite the village of Shengraben. The prince did not see the officers who sat in the booth, but one of the voices struck him with his sincerity. Officers, in spite of, and perhaps, precisely because the battle was soon to come, philosophized. They talked about where the soul would go next. "After all, there seems to be no sky," said the soft, surprising voice of the prince, "but there is one atmosphere." Suddenly the nucleus fell and burst. The officers quickly jumped out, and then Prince Andrew examined Tushin. So in the mind of the reader begins to form the image of Captain Tushin.

Appearance of an officer

This is the first time we see this simple officer through the eyes of Prince Andrew. He was of small stature, with a kind and intelligent face. Captain Tushin a little stooped and does not look like a hero, but a weak man, and, in accordance with his surname, is extinguished when he meets with high-ranking officials. And he himself is small, and his hands are small, and his voice is thin, indecisive. But the eyes are big, smart and kind. Such a common, non-heroic appearance has Captain Tushin. But beneath this unsightly appearance lies the courageous and venturesome in time of danger, the fearless spirit.

Kindness of Tushin

To the young contrapulant Nicholas Rostov after the battle it was hard to go, and he lost his horse during the battle. He asked absolutely for everyone passing to be taken, but no one paid any attention to him. And only Captain Tushin allowed him to sit on the gun carriage, which he called Matveevna in battle, and helped the Junker. So in action the humanity and kindness of the captain is manifested during the general indifference to the individual life.

Responsiveness and compassion

When the evening came a halt, the captain-captain sent one of the soldiers to look for a doctor or dressing station for the cadet of Rostov. And with sympathy and compassion he looked at the young man. It was clear that he wanted to help with all his heart, but so far nothing. This is described in chapter XXI. It also says that a wounded soldier came up who wanted to drink. He got water from Tushin. Another soldier ran up, who asked for fire for the infantry, and he was not refused by the captain.

The war in the view of L. Tolstoy

This is an anti-human phenomenon, which is full of filth and dirt and devoid of a romantic halo. Life is beautiful, and death is ugly. This is only a mass murder of innocent people. His best heroes do not kill anyone. Even during the battles it is not shown how Denisov or Rostov lost their lives, let alone Prince Andrey. Description of the military operations of 1805-1807, in which Captain Tushin participates, in the novel "War and Peace" - one of the centers of the epic. On these pages, the writer constantly describes war and death. It shows how masses of people are forced to endure inhuman trials. But simply and without further ado, the soldier's duty is fulfilled by Captain Tushin. War and peace exist for him in parallel worlds. In war, he as best as possible, carefully considering every action, tries to inflict damage on the enemy, preserving as far as possible the life of his soldiers and tools that are of material value. His peaceful life is shown to us only on short-term halts, when he cares about the people who are near him. He eats and drinks with his soldiers, and it is difficult to distinguish them from them, he can not always properly give honor to a higher-ranking officer. With each battle, his human significance rises even higher.

Shengraben - preparation for battle

Prince Bagration and his entourage drove into the battery of Tushin. The guns just started to fire, everyone in the company had a special cheerful and excited spirit. Tushin at first even, giving instructions in a thin voice, running and stumbling, did not notice the prince, and finally seeing, embarrassed, timidly and awkwardly put his fingers to the peak and approached the commander. Bagration left, leaving the company without any cover.

Battle

Nobody left orders to the captain, but he consulted his sergeant-major and decided to light the village of Shengraben. We emphasize that he was able to use the common sense of experienced soldiers, and not look down on them. He was, of course, a nobleman, but he did not stick out his origins, but valued the experience and mind of his subordinates. And the Russian army was ordered to retreat, but everyone forgot about Tushin, and his company stood and held back the French offensive.

Fighting

When Bagration, retreating with the bulk of the army, listened, then heard the cannonade somewhere in the center. To find out what was happening, he sent Prince Andrew to order the battery to retreat as quickly as possible. Tushin had only four guns. But they shot so vigorously that the French assumed that large forces had concentrated there. They twice attacked, but both times were repulsed. When it was possible to light Shengraben, all the guns began to beat unanimously in the very center of the fire. The soldiers were excited by the excitement of how the French were running, trying to put out the fire that the wind was blowing, and it was spreading more and more. The French columns left the village. But on the right the enemy put ten guns and began to aim accurately on the battery of Tushin.

Captain Tushin's feat

Tushin was injured both horses and soldiers. Forty out of forty people out of service left seventeen. However, the animation on the battery has not weakened. All four guns turned against ten shooting cannons. Tushin, like everyone else, was animated, cheerful and excited. He always demanded a batman from the orderly. With it, he ran from one gun to another, counted the remaining shells, disposed of the replacement of the killed horses. When the soldiers were wounded or killed, he frowned, as if from pain, and ordered to help the wounded. And the faces of soldiers, tall, huge men, like mirrors reflected the expression on the face of their commander. It immediately becomes clear from the description of L. Tolstoy that the subordinates simply loved their boss and carried out his orders not for fear of punishment, but out of a desire to meet his demands. In the midst of the battle, Tushin was completely transformed, he pictured himself as simply a hero, who tosses the cores to the French. He infested soldiers and officers with his fighting spirit. The captain was plunged into battle. One of his cannons he called Matveyevna, she seemed powerful and huge to him. The French seemed to him ants, and their guns - tubes, from which smoked smoke. He saw only his cannon and the French, which should have been kept. Tushin began to form a single whole with everything that was on his battery: with guns, people, horses. Such is the battle Captain Tushin. His characterization is a characteristic of a modest man, who takes heroic actions as fulfilling his military duty. At the time of the battle, all his joys and sorrows are associated only with his comrades, the enemy and his animated cannons.

What Prince Andrey learned

He was sent to give the captain the order to retreat. And the first thing the prince saw was a horse with a broken leg, from which blood was gushing with a fountain. And a few more dead people. A kernel flew over it. The prince ordered himself not to be afraid of his will. He got off his horse and, with Tushin, began to dispose of the cleaning of the guns. The soldiers simply noted the courage of the prince, telling him that the superiors came and immediately fled. And when Tushin was summoned to the headquarters to point out that he had lost two guns, Prince Andrey, whose ideas of heroism had already begun to change, he saw heroism without bravado, modest and worthy, unable to show off and admiring himself, stood up for military honor Captain Tushin's company. And briefly, but firmly stated that the success of today's army is obliged to the actions of Captain Tushin with his company.

LN Tolstoy told the bitter truth about the war, in which innocent people and animals perish, where they do not notice the real heroes, and the staff officers, who did not smell gunpowder, receive awards, where the vengeance of the people is maturing, which is being replaced by the end of the war Pity mixed with contempt. He showed how many of the quietest Timokhins and Tushins, genuine folk heroes, lay in nameless graves.