Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Dolokhov: A Phony?




Chapter 10 of Book 4 introduces a completely new side of Dolokhov compared to how he has been described previously in the book. Until now, we looked at Dolokhov as a character who did not seem capable of having a nice personality. He was very one sided, always causing trouble, and he did not seem to have many positive traits. This changes when Tolstoy describes how Dolokhov acts around his mother. His mother loves him passionately, and describes him has having a “lofty, heavenly soul” (286).  Dolokhov continues to describe how he doesn’t care what other people think of him, as long as the ones he loves think highly of him.

So, the question is, who is the real Dolokhov? I understand that every human being is multi-dimensional. But I feel like these are two complete extremes of Dolokhov, and he has to be acting a little bit in at least one of his situations. He could be acting much tougher and arrogant than he actually feels. Or, he could be deceiving his mom into thinking he is a perfect gentlemen.  Maybe he really is just very complex, and genuinely loves his mom and his family members and genuinely loves to stir up trouble.

I love how, just when it feels Tolstoy has given us a simple character, he adds the perspective of Dolokhov’s mom to remind us that every human has many characteristics and dimensions.  So what do you guys think? Do you think that Dolokhov is really kind-hearted or mean-spirited? Or that maybe he has a little of both? 

10 comments:

  1. I think you're definitely right, that Dolokhov is a complex character designed to reflect the complexity Tolstoy sees in human beings. I think it is not uncommon that individuals who can be awful to strangers and acquaintances express an entirely different side around those they love. To me, it's not surprising that Dolokhov is one person around his mother and another around the rest of the characters in the book. Perhaps he doesn't feel close enough to anyone else to want to expose his loving and loyal side.

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    1. Sara, that is a very interesting point that it is common for those to express love for the families that they cannot express to society. Now that I think about it, it is true that one has to be close to somebody to express a more gentle side sometimes. Maybe he isn't being deceiving, he just doesn't feel comfortable enough in society to express his loving side.

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  2. I also agree with Sara. Tolstoy was born and raised amongst these types of people. He was constantly surrounded by people who may act a certain way around people, but not necessarily mean it. There is certainly a lot of "fake kindness" that occurs in this book. I am still wary about making final judgements on characters in this book because Tolstoy does such a good job at hiding them from us. I am not surprised that Dolokhov would act in such a way, and I wouldn't be shocked if he were to do it again with a different character.

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    1. That is a good point. It may be too early to judge Dolokhov. There is certainly a lot of fake kindness, but I am unsure of whether that is just the polite way to act in society or if these people are attempting to be deceptive.

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  3. I agree with what people have been saying and also definitely think that this chapter has given him a new avenue for growth. Tolstoy probably is going to use this new facet of his personality later on in the book to move the plot

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    1. That is a good perspective! It makes me think it may be too early to try and decipher who Dolokhov really is. It will be interesting to see where he takes his character.

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  4. At first, I was also confused about Dolokhov's two contradictory sides. Dolokhov's reflections on the love he has for his family versus the threatening and menacing attitude he has towards outsiders reveals the relationship between the two extremes. I don't think Dolokhov is deceiving anyone, on the contrary, he is even too straightforward in his home and social life. I think Dolokhov's brutishness stems from the extreme, all-encompassing and sick love he has for his family. Perhaps he is mentally sick so that his capacity for sympathy was used up on the first few people in his life, leaving him with a desire to injure others in order to protect them.

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    1. I think your point is very interesting Peter. Although, I do think that a person has the capability to love an unlimited amount of people if they really tried. I do agree there may be a hint of mental illness, but I feel like if that affected his empathy then he wouldn't be able to love anybody at all.

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