Nikolenka Irteniev - the main character of the story "Childhood", written by the genius writer Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy. The work returns readers to their distant childhood, and also opens up the spiritual and moral world of the child.
What is the characteristic of Nikolenka Irteniev? How did the author relate to him? Did he idealize his hero? And what did he want to convey to the hearts of readers, choosing the image of the child as the key and central in his work?
Let us briefly analyze the realistic, life story that L. N. Tolstoy wrote, “Childhood,” and try to find the answers to the above questions.
Childhood image
The characterization of Nikolenka from the story Childhood begins with the very first lines of the work. Before us is a sleeping boy, whose dream is guarded by his kind loving mentor.
From the child’s brief remarks and thoughts, it is clear that he is the son of a landowner, who grew up in greenhouse conditions, a little spoiled and unbalanced, but very kind and gentle.
The narrative is not in vain conducted in the first person. This gives us the opportunity to better know the thoughts and feelings of the boy, his childish immediacy and childish seriousness.
The characteristic of Nikolenka Irteniev is a characteristic of Tolstoy himself, since many of the events and incidents described in the story are taken directly from the author’s memoirs.
What did Leo Tolstoy keep in his memory? “Childhood” opens before us its first years of life, it not only vividly and effectively characterizes the younger generation of wealthy landowners, but also criticizes, exposes the immorality and hypocrisy of the noble way of life of that time.
Appearance of the main character
The portrait of Nikolenka from the story "Childhood" presents us with a rather ugly boy of ten years old with a large nose, large lips and small eyes, with constantly sticking eddies on the top of his head.
The boy is very worried about his external flaws. Because of this, sometimes sadness and despair grips him. He even asks God for external beauty and is ready to give all the most valuable, if only to have a perfect look.
And although sometimes it may seem that the protagonist purposely describes himself as a kind of little freak, yet his elders repeatedly say about his ugly appearance. This is noted even by the one who loves Nikolenka more than anyone else - his mother. On the other hand, she repeatedly emphasized the emotional attractiveness of her youngest son.
Conflicting feelings
What is Nikolenka in the story “Childhood”?
This is an ordinary boy, a little envious, a little nonsense, but very kind, gentle and conscientious.
Most likely, Irtenyev’s conscientiousness is his inner core, which attracts us to the main character.
He can make ugly deeds, he can have bad judgments, he can think and feel that which is reprehensible, but he always, always (!) Will feel after that shame and regret, remorse and some remorse. After that, I want to believe and hope that Nikolenka will change, get better and become better.
Relationship with Mentor
What are the contradictory feelings of Nikolenka?
For example, in his relationship with a children's teacher, a German by birth, Karl Ivanovich. This poor man did not have a life in his distant homeland, and he came to Russia in search of happiness. The German did not find wealth and prosperity, but, by nature kind and warm-hearted, he became very attached to his students and, in the simplicity of his soul, gave them all himself.
Nikolenka loves her poor mentor very much and pity him. For example, he wants to grow up and help his teacher, ease his grief and even sacrifice a lot for his sake.
His sincere love for Karl Ivanovich is also manifested in practice: often Nikolenka approaches the mentor, gently takes his hand and affectionately calls a “dear” teacher.
However, in the soul of the boy there are many drastic changes. He can scold and be angry at a disadvantaged teacher, answer him rudely and boldly, wish him all the bad. And all this is only because of strict suggestion, a short remark or a poor assessment!
Of course, later, after analyzing his wrong behavior, little Irteniev begins to feel remorse and try to make amends.
Relations with Ilenka
The characterization of Nikolenka from the story “Childhood” clearly emerges in his relations with Ilenka Grap, who was the same age as the main character. Ilya was a sickly, quiet child, hunted down and embroiled by wealthy comrades. His father had neither wealth nor title, but tried to maintain an acquaintance with the Irtenievs in the hope of further protection. How difficult it was for Ilenka to communicate with the inflated badgers, who offended him, humiliated him, insulted him, and even beat him!
Children, already able to show cruelty, brought the unfortunate boy to tears, not even thinking about the fact that he was experiencing mental anguish and torment.
The memories of Ilenka’s persecution with a dark spot lie on Irtenyev’s heart for many years. He, so gentle and sympathetic, with a subtle understanding soul, reproaches himself for following the advice of adult children and not standing up for a defenseless disadvantaged boy.
Hero's Bar
However, in relation to Nikolenka to his downstream people, a note of arrogance and arrogance always slipped. He considered himself much higher than Karl Ivanovich and Natalya Savishna, servants bound to him with all their souls. He treated the poor peers contemptuously and arrogantly, considering himself better and smarter.
Where did this feeling of arrogance and superiority come from in this glorious sweet child? The characterization of Nikolenka from the story “Childhood” fully reveals to us the causes and consequences of his actions and judgments.
The little boy was brought up in the house of a rich arrogant landowner. From infancy, they told him that he was a gentleman's son, worthy of reverence and reverence. With his mother’s milk, Nikolenka absorbed a sense of superiority and a desire to live in luxury and contentment among serving, servile people.
So many noble children were brought up. And this was a common occurrence of the time.
Hard trials
But this does not mean that little Irteniev lived in an air castle, guarded by fate from problems and worries. No, troubles and experiences also touched him, leaving an indelible sorrowful trace in a gentle soul.
The image of Nikolenka Irtenyev in the story “Childhood” is the image of a rich boy who knew personal grief and subtly felt the suffering of others.
Despite a comfortable and passive existence, the protagonist is experiencing severe emotional trauma: misunderstanding of his older brother, arrogance of a friend, self-esteem and immorality of his father, who is changing his mother and ruining the whole family.
However, the most woeful memory of Nikolenka is the sudden death of her mother.
Attitude towards maman
The image of the mother is the brightest, most beautiful way in the story, while in the work there is no concrete description of the appearance or detailed description of the woman.
Mother for Nikolenka is the most beloved creature on earth. He does not hesitate to show her tenderness and affection, he often likes to spend time with her and communicate. Most likely, it is thanks to the early influence of the mother that the boy grows up with such a kind and sympathetic child, who knows how to sympathize and feel guilty. Therefore, the characterization of Nikolenka from the story “Childhood” would be incomplete and one-sided, if not for the description of his relationship with his mother.
The death of a loved one left an indelible wound in the boy’s heart. He cried and suffered a lot, in his own way experiencing a bitter loss. He did not understand how a blossoming and cheerful mother could turn into a yellow withered creature with closed eyes and an unrecognizable face.
And at the same time, the boy describes all his sensations and feelings with limitless sincerity and directness. He calls the moment of oblivion spent near the tomb of his beloved parent the most true manifestation of grief. In other cases, when Nikolenka cried and wept for her mother, he did this out of a feeling of pride, pretentiousness, and selfishness, honestly confessing this to himself and experiencing deep shame and contempt for himself.
The influence of the image of Nikolenka
As you can see, in his story “Childhood,” Tolstoy created a vivid and distinctive image of Nikolenka Irteniev, who teaches us to properly respond to our misfortunes and failures. The work also shows that childhood is an important time in the formation of the personality and worldview of the child, which will leave an indelible mark on his mind and heart.