Andrey Platonov: biography and creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The famous writer Andrei Platonovich Platonov was born in the city of Voronezh on August 20, 1899 (traditionally, his birthday is celebrated on September 1, according to the new style). Platonov is a pseudonym formed from the name of the father, and the real name of the writer is Klimentov.

Time to test

A difficult childhood and a difficult fate - this is what distinguishes Andrei Platonov from other writers of that period.

His biography cannot consist only of many interesting facts and events for the reason that his life was not happy and was riddled with troubles and losses. He was lucky not to end up in the camps, but he paid for this with the life of his own son.

Parent House

Andrey Platonovich was born in the family of a railway mechanic and the daughter of a watchmaker. He was the eldest child, after him, 9 more brothers and sisters appeared one after another, whom Platonov protected as best he could. At first, the writer studied at the parish school at the church, but at the age of 15 he left everything and got a job, since the family did not have enough money and his parentsit was very difficult to feed the children. According to the writer himself, he changed many jobs, starting from an auxiliary worker and ending with a locksmith, since his father did not have the strength to support a house, wife and 10 children. Platonov considered it his duty to help his parents in every possible way.

Studies and civil war

In 1918, Platonov entered the Voronezh railway polytechnic school, where he studied with great pleasure, since from childhood he had a craving for mechanisms. However, due to the revolution, his studies were delayed until 1921. A year after admission, Platonov volunteers for the civil war, where he fights on the side of the Red Army.

Even in such a difficult wartime, Platonov does not leave the creative path and works as a war correspondent. It was during this period that he began to become a real writer. The first essays, articles in local newspapers and poems appear, the author of which is the future famous writer Andrei Platonov. His biography as a creative person can safely begin from this moment.

Work

After the end of the war, Andrei Platonov returns to his hometown of Voronezh and continues to study at the Polytechnic Institute, and then successfully works as a meliorator. He combines his writing activity with a permanent job, which does not burden him in the least.

Wife and son

In 1922, Andrei Platonov marries a village teacher, to whom he dedicates two of his works -"Epiphany stories" and "Sandy teacher". In the same year, their son Plato is born. However, fate has prepared a great misfortune for the writer.

Andrey Platonov: biography and creativity for the younger generation

Starting from the age of 12, Andrei Platonovich actively writes poems, which indicates his creative nature. When the writer turns 22, his first book, Electrification, is published, consisting of essays. In it, he compares this process to a revolution.

The second book is the poetry collection "Blue Depth". Despite the many poems written, the name of Andrei Platonov is still associated more with prose works. One of them is the collected works "Epifan stories", which contains all previously published newspaper and magazine articles.

Who was Andrei Platonov for his contemporaries? The biography indicates that the attitude towards the writer was ambiguous. At first, all the written works of Platonov received approval and support. Even Maxim Gorky noted the great talent of Andrei Platonovich and compared his style of writing with Gogol's. He also advised Platonov to focus on comedy. However, only a few works in this genre came out from the writer's pen.

Later fortune abruptly turns away from Platonov. After a negative review by Stalin, censorship rejects all the works of the author. The writer and his family live from hand to mouth. Only a few loyal friends help them.

One of the most famous works written by this author are the stories "Chevengur" and "Pit", which during the life of the writer did not receive recognition and were published after his death.

The Great Patriotic War

In 1942, Platonov again goes to the front. This is the second war in which he has to participate. There he works as a correspondent for a military newspaper.

Then in 1946 he was demobilized and plunged headlong into writing. During this period, he published three of his collections and one of his most famous stories - "The Return". However, criticism again falls upon the writer, and again his works cease to be printed.

Platonov spends the last years of his life in a state of extreme poverty. Out of hopelessness, the writer turns to the publication of Russian and Bashkir folk tales. It helps to somehow make ends meet.

Fate

Andrey Platonov, whose brief biography is evidence of the many trials he endured, nevertheless never cheated on himself. Despite the hard fate and persecution by the authorities, his views remained unchanged. The black streak of the writer's life began from the moment when the story "For the future" came out from under his pen, in which he exposed the collective farm construction. Alexander Fadeev, being the editor-in-chief of the Krasnaya Nov magazine, took the risk and published this work. The story fell into the hands of Stalin and caused a negative reaction. Fadeev, realizing what this threatens him with,quickly changed his point of view and wrote a denunciatory article in which Andrei Platonov was presented as an enemy of the people. The biography of the writer is filled with many secrets that began to clear up after his death.

From the revelations of contemporaries it is clear that it was Fadeev who was the man who derailed Platonov's entire life. It was he who let the article with such compromising content go to print. In addition, Fadeev underlined all the places that could later lead to the wrath of Stalin, allegedly in order to remove them in the printing house. However, everything turned out quite the opposite. When the magazine was printed, all the underlined thoughts were highlighted in bold type and put on the table to Stalin in this form. The reaction followed immediately. Fadeev managed to stay in his place, but the writer Andrey Platonov ceased to exist for printed publications. A brief biography tells that the writer himself was not touched, but his only and beloved son was sent to the camps for anti-Soviet agitation. Freed only with the help of some influential family friends, Plato finally returned home, unfortunately already terminally ill with tuberculosis. He died in his father's arms.

It is believed that it was from the son of Platonov that he contracted a fatal lung disease. This happened because the writer, as if in some kind of delirium, kissed the boy on the lips.

In 1951 Andrei Platonov died in Moscow. For a long time after the death of the writer, his beloved wife tried with all her might to preserve the legacy left by him during his lifetime. It is thanks to her that some works became available to us. After the death of his wife, all the worries fell on the shoulders of Platonov's daughter Maria. She adequately coped with the difficult task set before her and preserved all the priceless works of the author.

The writer, his wife, son and daughter, who died in 2005, lie very close, under one monument.

Andrey Platonov: biography (summary) and style features

In literature lessons in a modern school, an average of one lesson is given to study the biography of a writer. Nevertheless, even a week is not enough to cover and feel all the material about Platonov's life. On the one hand, an infinitely loving father and husband, and on the other, a down-to-earth person who really sees the whole truth of life - this is what the writer Andrei Platonov was like. His biography deserves special attention, it is important for a more detailed understanding and insight into the very essence of his works. The Platonic style is well characterized by the roughness of vocabulary inherent only to it, the special atmosphere of daily, sometimes exhausting, but such necessary work, the life of a working person in continuous interaction with technology and nature.

Interesting things from the writer's life

Platonov, whose education was quite far from writing, nevertheless actively combined both of these inclinations. It was with great pleasure that he went to work every day, as he believed that work is vital for every person, at the same time not forgetting about his creative purpose.

What kind of person was the writer Andrei Platonov, biography, interesting facts about his life - all this today can be found out by any reader who is truly interested in his work. It is a pity that the situation was completely different in Soviet times.

Studying the writer's work at school

Acquaintance with the work of Andrei Platonov begins in the third grade with a study of his life and work. It is at this stage of their education that children first hear the name of this writer. The biography of Andrei Platonov for grade 3 is well set out in all general education textbooks of literature, and it is not difficult for schoolchildren to learn it.

In the fifth grade, students begin to read Russian folk tales in Platonov's retelling. All children love this genre, so they continue to study his work with great pleasure. Before releasing his collection, Platonov personally meets with the narrators themselves, as a result of which the narration is conducted with special love and attention to the word.

The next stage of acquaintance is reading the work "Magic Ring". This is his author's fairy tale.

A completely different Andrey Platonov appears before the eyes of the students. A short biography for children is written without covering the whole cruel truth of his life. He appears not in the form of a detractor of gray reality, but in the form of a kind storyteller.

In the sixth grade, children get acquainted with Andrey Platonov's story "The Cow". He has a deeply philosophical and morala meaning that is difficult for a sixth grader to understand without the help of a teacher. Therefore, the lesson on this work takes place in several stages, which allows the student to discover new unknown facets of the writer's work.

Seventh grade students face an even more difficult task - to understand and feel the story of Andrey Platonov "Yushka". In this work, the writer reveals his soul and heart. The main idea of the story is the importance of love and human goodness.

Only by the beginning of the 10th grade, students have the opportunity to assess in an adult way who Andrey Platonov is. The biography for children of this age is presented exactly in the form in which it really exists. A writer-citizen appears before high school students. Children at this age are already practically formed personalities, so they can understand who Andrei Platonov was, what kind of persecution he was subjected to and for what reason.