Mrs. Walton
3rd English
8/24/2014
Throughout the War and Peace novel, elements of the past heavily influence characters lives, thus influencing the novels plot line as a whole. Specifically, Pierre Bezukhov and his past inherited fortune influence his marriage, his duel, and his eventual spiraling depression. This element is also present throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, shining through whenever Huck makes a decision. The majority of his decisions are based on either his past education or past experiences or more specifically, his lack thereof.
Pierre Bezukhov, before his inheritance, is a man of nothing noteworthy. His past is one of bumbling and not good decisions, and he is described as a "pity to see, he was so crushed" after his …show more content…
Enraged, and not having any experience to make a decision from, Pierre challenges the ruthless veteran to a duel. Surprisingly, Pierre wins, nearly killing his opponent, which immediately causes Helene to deny her affair. At this point Pierre is overwhelmed, and before becoming violent makes the decision to divorce her. Broken and battered emotionally and even more so spiritually, he branches out to the Freemasons and begins to learn from them. Because of these previous hardships, his future life is changed. Whenever Pierre is traveling, “at such moments one reviews the past”, he is packing an extra bag, his past which he relies on so fully. Pierre allows the past to influence his future heavily, most of the time in a negative way. During a conversation, Prince Andrew “listened to Pierre, especially when he spoke with joyful animation of the past”. Pierre continuously draws conversations back to the past, staying closely intertwined with it. His inability to understand his life prior to his massive inheritance holds him back, as he is unable to progress past that pivotal moment. Hung up on a piece of the past will ultimately lead to