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Just as Tolstoy has taken us closer to death with each of the novel’s main deaths, we now move away from it with Karataev’s death. Tolstoy has shown us what death is, and that it is not terrible, it is not even something to pity about, it is just another part of life. The death of Petya is mourned by Denisov and Dolokhov is obscure with his emotions, but Pierre just carries on with his life, counting steps.