Real life- this is a life that a person does not live in vain, when he has a goal in life, when he is comfortable being in society. Everyone would like to live a real life, so they are always in search of something. It seems to me that, according to Tolstoy, real life lies in the search for itself, or, one might say, the meaning of life. To confirm the above, I will turn to the novel “War and Peace”.
As a first argument, let us remember Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, he was uncomfortable being in secular society, it seemed that such a life was not for him, so Andrei went to war. There he expected glory, wanted to accomplish a feat, and was even ready to die for it. But in the end I realized that the war was senseless and bloody. So, the meaning of his existence lies in something else? The sky of Austerlitz will tell him that he needs to devote himself to his family. Later, Natasha will become his meaning in life... So throughout the entire novel, Andrei tries to understand why he lives in this world, and this was his life.
Therefore, we can say that Bolkonsky did not live in vain, and it can be called real.
The second argument will be another hero of the work - Count Pierre Bezukhov. He, too, at first believes that he has found the meaning of life, but then he becomes disappointed in this and already sees the goal in something else. A wild life, marriage to Helen, Freemasonry, war - that’s all, so to speak, unsuccessful attempts find your place. However, Pierre still found his true life in love with Natasha; fortunately, it turned out to be mutual and he did not have to continue his search for the meaning of life.
After analyzing the two arguments, we can conclude that, according to Tolstoy, the one who tries to find the meaning of life lives a real life, regardless of whether he finds it or not.
Real life is life without shackles and restrictions. This is the supremacy of feelings and mind over secular etiquette.
Tolstoy contrasts “false life” and “real life.” All Tolstoy's favorite heroes live "Real Life." Tolstoy in the first chapters of his work shows us only “false life” through the inhabitants secular society: Anna Sherrer, Vasily Kuragin, his daughter and many others. A sharp contrast to this society is the Rostov family. They live only by feelings and may not observe general decency. For example, Natasha Rostova, who at her name day ran into the hall and loudly asked what dessert would be served. This, according to Tolstoy, is real life.
The most best time to understand the insignificance of all problems, this is war. In 1812 everyone rushed to fight Napoleon. During the war, everyone forgot about their quarrels and disputes. Everyone thought only about victory and about the enemy. Indeed, even Pierre Bezukhov forgot about his differences with Dolokhov. War weeds out everything unreal, false in people’s lives, gives a person the opportunity to open up to the end, feeling the need for this, as Nikolai Rostov and the hussars of his squadron feel it, feel it at the moment when it was impossible not to launch an attack. Heroes who do not specifically strive to be useful to the general course of events, but live their own normal life, are its most useful participants. The criterion of real life is real, sincere feelings.
But Tolstoy has heroes who live according to the laws of reason. This is the Bolkonsky family, with the possible exception of Marya. But Tolstoy also classifies these heroes as “real.” Prince Andrei Bolkonsky is very smart man. He lives according to the laws of reason and is not subject to feelings. He rarely obeyed etiquette. He could easily move away if he was not interested. Prince Andrei wanted to live “not for himself alone.” He always tried to be helpful.
Tolstoy also shows us Pierre Bezukhov, who was looked at disapprovingly in Anna Pavlovna’s living room. He, unlike others, did not greet the “useless aunt.” He did not do it out of disrespect, but only because he did not consider it necessary. The image of Pierre combines two virtues: intelligence and simplicity. By "simplicity" I mean that he can freely express his feelings and emotions. Pierre searched for his purpose for a long time and did not know what to do. A simple Russian man, Platon Karataev, helped him figure it out. He explained to him that there is nothing better than freedom. Karataev became for Pierre the personification of the simplicity and clarity of the basic laws of life.
All of Tolstoy's favorite heroes love life in all its manifestations. Real life is always natural. Tolstoy loves the life he portrays and the heroes who live it.
You cannot live for yourself alone - this is spiritual death. “Life is only when you live for others,” wrote Tolstoy. In the novel, this principle of real life is the main one. Karataev considered life to be real only if it has no meaning as a separate life. It makes sense only as a part of the whole.
Prince Andrey cannot be such a particle. He is a man of action, he has gotten out of the rhythm of society and life in general. Bolkonsky does not go with the flow, but rather is ready to subjugate life himself, but in this he is mistaken. Life is given to us by God
He controls us, and therefore it is impossible to subjugate life.
At the same time, Pierre, always floating with the flow, understood for himself the essence of life: “Life is everything. Life is God. Everything moves, moves, and this movement is God. And as long as there is life, there is the pleasure of self-consciousness of the deity. To love life is to love God.” He realized the worthlessness of his life, with its revelry and revelry, but he continues to revel and walk. Although when Pierre understands that he must live for others, he tries to build schools, make life easier for the peasants, but, as we see, he does not succeed, because Pierre did not make any efforts, but succumbed to the sudden
An impulse whose ardor soon cooled. Tolstoy wrote: “Make no effort, live with the flow - and you don’t live.” Bezukhov knew what real life was, but did nothing to live it.
Prince Bolkonsky, on the contrary, builds schools, reduces taxes, releases serfs, that is, he does everything that Pierre did not complete, however, he does not live a real life, because his principle is: “you must live for yourself.” However, living for yourself alone is spiritual death.
In War and Peace, Tolstoy reveals that there is real life, showing this through the example of Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky. He showed that you can’t live like Prince Andrei for yourself alone, that you can’t, like Pierre, go with the flow without making any effort, but you have to, like Andrei, “rush, get confused, struggle, make mistakes, start and quit and again.” start and quit again, and always struggle and lose.” And the calm in which Bolkonsky was in Bogucharovo or Pierre in St. Petersburg was spiritual meanness. But, like Pierre, one must love life “in its countless, never-exhaustible manifestations.” You have to live, you have to love, you have to believe.
“A living person is one,” wrote Tolstoy, “who goes forward, to where it is illuminated... in front of him with a moving lantern, and who never reaches the illuminated place, but the illuminated place goes ahead of him. And that's life. And there is no other one." A person must seek and not find peace; he must strive to achieve his goal. A happy person is the one who achieves his plans all his life, devoting his entire life to something.
But still, real life is common life people, “bringing personal interest into harmonious agreement with the general interests of all people.” Real life is peace. Wars contradict human essence; wars are an evil generated by people themselves. Ozhegov wrote that life is the activity of man and society, that is interrelated activities that whole and its parts that L.N. Tolstoy wrote about in the novel.
You have to live, you have to love, you have to believe.
Real life in Tolstoy's understanding
Real life is life without shackles and restrictions. This is the supremacy of feelings and mind over secular etiquette.
Tolstoy contrasts “false life” and “real life.” All Tolstoy's favorite heroes live "Real Life." In the first chapters of his work, Tolstoy shows us only “false life” through the inhabitants of secular society: Anna Sherrer, Vasily Kuragin, his daughter and many others. A sharp contrast to this society is the Rostov family. They live only by feelings and may not observe general decency. For example, Natasha Rostova, who at her name day ran into the hall and loudly asked what dessert would be served. This, according to Tolstoy, is real life.
The best time to understand the insignificance of all problems is war. In 1812 everyone rushed to fight Napoleon. During the war, everyone forgot about their quarrels and disputes. Everyone thought only about victory and about the enemy. Indeed, even Pierre Bezukhov forgot about his differences with Dolokhov. War weeds out everything unreal, false in people’s lives, gives a person the opportunity to open up to the end, feeling the need for this, as Nikolai Rostov and the hussars of his squadron feel it, feel it at the moment when it was impossible not to launch an attack. Heroes who do not specifically strive to be useful to the general course of events, but live their normal lives, are its most useful participants. The criterion of real life is real, sincere feelings.
But Tolstoy has heroes who live according to the laws of reason. This is the Bolkonsky family, with the possible exception of Marya. But Tolstoy also classifies these heroes as “real.” Prince Andrei Bolkonsky is a very smart person. He lives according to the laws of reason and is not subject to feelings. He rarely obeyed etiquette. He could easily move away if he was not interested. Prince Andrei wanted to live “not for himself alone.” He always tried to be helpful.
Tolstoy also shows us Pierre Bezukhov, who was looked at disapprovingly in Anna Pavlovna’s living room. He, unlike others, did not greet the “useless aunt.” He did not do it out of disrespect, but only because he did not consider it necessary. The image of Pierre combines two virtues: intelligence and simplicity. By "simplicity" I mean that he can freely express his feelings and emotions. Pierre searched for his purpose for a long time and did not know what to do. A simple Russian man, Platon Karataev, helped him figure it out. He explained to him that there is nothing better than freedom. Karataev became for Pierre the personification of the simplicity and clarity of the basic laws of life.
In the works of L. Tolstoy, much is built on oppositions. One of the main ones is the contrast between “real life” and “false life”. At the same time, the heroes of “War and Peace” can be divided into those who live a “fake life” (this is, as a rule, secular people,
Petersburg society: maid of honor Sherer, Prince Vasily Kuragin, Helen Kuragina, Governor General Rostopchin), and those whose lives are filled with real meaning.
The life of the Rostov family is very vividly depicted in the novel. The Rostovs are, first of all, people of feelings, sensations; reflection is unusual for them. Each member of this family perceives life in their own special way, but at the same time, they all have something in common that unites them, making them truly a family. And it is known what importance Tolstoy attached to this concept.
An indispensable condition for real life, according to Tolstoy, is the emancipation of a person who understands conventions and neglects them, building his behavior in society not on secular requirements of decency, but on other grounds. At the birthday dinner taking place in the Rostovs' house, Natasha decides to be insolent: she loudly, in front of all the guests, asks her mother what kind of ice cream will be served. And although the countess pretended that she was dissatisfied and outraged by her daughter’s bad manners, Natasha felt that her insolence was favorably received by the guests precisely because of her naturalness and naturalness. Anna Pavlovna Scherer is frightened by Pierre Bezukhov who appears in her living room, because he is distinguished by his spontaneity and simplicity of behavior and misunderstanding social etiquette, which requires people to invariably greet the “unnecessary aunt” only in the name of observing some ritual. Tolstoy very colorfully depicts the spontaneity of behavior in the Russian dance scene of the old Count Ilya Andreevich Rostov and Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova. Natasha, all beaming with delight, points the guests to her father. Tolstoy conveys the feeling of joy that gripped the count himself, Natasha, Nikolai, Sonya, the guests... This, in the writer’s understanding, is true life.
Also an expressive example of the manifestation of real life is the famous hunting scene. It was decided to go hunting another day, but the morning was such that Nikolai Rostov felt, as Tolstoy writes, that “it was impossible not to go.” Regardless of him, Natasha, Petya, the old count and the hunter Danila experience this feeling. During the hunt, all conventions are discarded and forgotten, and Danila can be rude to the count and even call him rude names, and the count understands this, understands that in another situation the hunter would never allow himself to do this, but the hunting situation liberates Danila in every sense of the word, and it is no longer the count who is his master, but he himself is the master of the situation, the owner of power over everyone. Participants in the hunt experience the same sensations, although each person expresses it differently. When the hunters drove the hare, Natasha squeals enthusiastically and loudly, everyone understands her feelings, the delight that gripped her. After such emancipation, Natasha’s dance becomes possible.
The culmination of Tolstoy's epic is the War of 1812. It weeds out everything unreal, false in people’s lives, gives a person the opportunity to open up to the end, feeling the need for this, as Nikolai Rostov and the hussars of his squadron feel it at the moment when it is impossible not to launch an attack. The Smolensk merchant Ferapontov also feels the need, burning his goods and distributing them to the soldiers. Heroes who do not strive to be useful to the general course of events, but live their normal lives, are its most useful participants. So, real, sincere feelings are an unmistakable criterion of real life.
But heroes who live rather according to the laws of reason are also capable of real life. An example of this is the Bolkonsky family. None of them, except, perhaps, Princess Marya, is characterized by an open manifestation of their feelings. But Prince Andrey and his sister have their own path to real life. And the prince Andrey will pass through streaks of error, but an unerring moral sense will help him overthrow the false idols that he worshiped. So Napoleon and Speransky will be debunked in his mind, love for Natasha, so different from all the St. Petersburg beauties, will enter his life. Natasha will become the personification of real life, opposing the falsehood of the world. That is why Andrei will endure her betrayal so painfully - after all, it will be tantamount to the collapse of the ideal.
But here, too, the war will put everything in its place. After breaking up with Natasha, Andrei will go to war, no longer driven by ambitious dreams, but inner feeling involvement in the people's cause, the cause of defending Russia. Wounded, before his death he forgives Natasha, because she comes to him true understanding life.
Tolstoy's real life can be expressed in the feelings of some heroes and in the thoughts of others. This is personified in the novel by Pierre Bezukhov, in whose image both of these principles are combined, for he has both the ability to feel directly, like the Rostovs, and a sharp analytical mind, like his older friend Bolkonsky. He, too, seeks the meaning of life and gets lost in his search, sometimes loses all sorts of guidelines, but feeling and thought lead him to new discoveries, and this path leads him to an understanding of the people's soul. This is also evident during his communication with soldiers on the Borodino field on the day of the battle and in captivity, when he becomes close to Platon Karataev. Plato becomes for him the personification of the simplicity and clarity of the basic laws of life, the answer to all thoughts. Feeling of vastness true life covers Pierre when he looks at the starry sky and is imbued with a feeling of his unity with the entire universe. We can say that he sees the same sky that Prince Andrei saw on the Field of Austerlitz. And Pierre laughs at the mere thought that a soldier might lock him, that is, the entire universe, and not let him go anywhere. There is inner freedom characteristic feature true life.
Tolstoy’s favorite heroes agree in their admiration for life, unconscious, like Natasha’s, or, conversely, clearly conscious, like Prince Andrei’s. The commander Kutuzov, who understands the inevitability of what must happen, is contrasted with Napoleon, who imagines that he controls the course of events, as if the course of thought could be controlled. Real life is always simple and natural, no matter how it develops or manifests itself.