The appearance of Taras Bulba and his image as a whole

The works of Nikolai Gogol introduce the reader into the mysterious world of the human being, his soul, into comic and tragic situations from the life of an individual and a whole people. The characters of the writer are always harmonious - the external features have something in common with the inner qualities. So it is shown in the outstanding work of the author "Taras Bulba", the history of the defenders of the land and the national character, about the glorious times of the Cossacks on the example of one person and his family. How does the appearance of Taras Bulba reflect the internal features of the Cossacks and how is it described in the story?

Character and appearance of the hero

A real Cossack is distinguished by courage and loyalty to the partnership. The interests of the troops and the state are above their own happiness. This was Bulba the elder, the head of the family and the regiment. Describing the appearance of the hero Gogol deliberately gave a few lines. And all these qualities somehow indicate the character of the hero. So, fatigue, fatness indicate the position of Taras in the society of the Cossacks as a warrior, to whom the army equals its authority. In addition, it is an indicator of the comfortable existence of his family (his wife and two sons).

Aged Bulba of the Middle. Has a big mustache and a smooth posture - unambiguous signs of confidence, pride of the hero, an example for others. The character of Taras is the character of a typical Cossack. He wears bloomers, keeps well in the saddle and does not let go of the smoking pipe. Without these elements it is difficult to imagine a Cossack woman. This is what Gogol emphasizes that Taras is primarily a Cossack, and, therefore, all the Cossack attributes of appearance are characteristic of him.

Sharp look, figure's stature, confident and precise movements indicate his age and social position. Other external features are secondary to the inner content of the character's image.

Description of the appearance of Taras Bulba

Taras wears the usual clothes for the Cossack - wide trousers, papakha. Hairstyle - a classic oseledets (chub) Cossacks. The character of Bulba is reflected in his attitude towards appearance. He does not tolerate excesses, does not see the point in embellishing his appearance, calling it "barbaric manners." For example, the trousers of a hero are always stained with tar.

Taras carried a saber, pistols, a wicked gun, showed all his steadfastness and confidence in the saddle. On horseback, he kept straight and very fond of horse riding.

In general, the description of the appearance of Taras Bulba can be represented as follows: a middle-aged man (closer to old), of medium height, stocky, broad-shouldered, with muscular arms, full. The head is shaven, but there is an oseledets, graying over the years and from the transferred difficulties. Beard does not wear, but grows a mustache. There are many scars on the face and body (the consequences of the battles). He is dressed in the usual Cossack clothes, carries arms, smokes a pipe and often rides a horse.

Appearance of Taras Bulba: quotations

About how the hero looks, you can judge by several descriptions, short and capacious. His strong, healthy body is described as "extremely heavy and fat," with a "healthy blush" on his face. The physical strength and majestic appearance of Taras Bulba is shown as "mighty shoulders", "the defective Cossack", "strong hand". Many quotations point to the gray hair of the hero and his advanced age: "a gray head's wiggle," "silvered head" and others.

In each sentence of the work, one can see not so much the appearance of Taras Bulba as the character: "proudly held his hand over the mustache," the scars make his appearance "imperative," "gloomy", "strong as an oak."

The Cossacks themselves admit that there is no man more valorous in his army than they are. The commander is merciless toward his enemies and wise in the circle of his fellow men. Activity, rigor and justice are read in the description of the manly features of the face and camp of the hero.

Image Collectivity

For readers it becomes clear that it is not as important as Taras Bulba looked. The most important thing is that it personifies his image. Courage, unpretentiousness, devotion to the ideals of the army and civic duty are those qualities that can be considered for superficial description of the appearance of the protagonist. Taras Bulba with his classic trousers, an oseledtsem, a powerful figure, proud posture and a confident, bold look becomes some sort of ideal Cossack image.

Those few lines in which Gogol collected a description of the appearance of Taras Bulba, enough to understand: the real defender does not need an expressive look. His essence is in valor and readiness to give his life for the people's ideals. Brilliantly embodied the image of this iconic character Bogdan Stupka in the movie "Taras Bulba", filmed in 2008 by Vladimir Bortko.