The novel “War and Peace” is a great work of Russian and world literature, a grandiose epic, the hero of which is the Russian people, who showed unprecedented heroism and patriotism in the struggle for the freedom and independence of their homeland in the War of 1812.
The enormous vital material of this novel is united by a single concept, “I tried to write the history of the people,” says Tolstoy. People, by Tolstoy's opinion, are not only peasants, but also nobles, those people who are worried about the fate of the country, who are in the whirlpool of great events. A colossal wave of anger arose among the people after the French attack. All Russian people, with the exception of a small handful of court aristocrats, could not imagine how they could live under the rule of the French. Every Russian acted as he found possible for himself. Some joined the active army, some went to partisan detachments. People like Pierre Bezukhov gave part of their money to equip the militia. Many, like the Smolensk merchant Ferapontov, burned shops and their property so that nothing would be left for the enemies. And many simply packed up and left their homes, destroying everything after them.
Tolstoy notes in the Russian people a simple, sometimes unreflective feeling of patriotism, which was expressed not in loud phrases about love for the fatherland, but in decisive actions. Residents of Moscow left the ancient capital without any call. Tolstoy emphasizes that for Muscovites there could be no question of what would be good or bad under French rule in Moscow. It was simply impossible to live like that, as it was the worst of all.
The same thing is happening in other cities and villages of the Russian land. In the territory where the enemy had already entered, he saw hatred and genuine indignation of the people. The peasants refused to sell food and hay to the French. A partisan movement arose spontaneously, without any order from above. In Tolstoy’s figurative expression, “the partisans picked up fallen leaves that fell from the common tree of the French army, and sometimes shook this tree.”
Not only the common people, but also the advanced layers of the nobility and intelligentsia became imbued with bitterness towards the enemy. It’s not for nothing that Prince Andrei says that they destroyed his house, and now they are going to ruin Moscow, insulting it every second.” And therefore, according to his concepts, they are not only enemies, but also criminals. Prince Andrei honestly fulfills his duty, joining the active army at the very beginning of the war, although before that he decided that he would never be a military man again. He did not stay at headquarters, as he was offered, but goes to the forefront of events. The heroism and genuine love of Russians for their homeland was especially clearly demonstrated in the Battle of Borodino. On the eve of the battles, Andrei Bolkonsky says: “the battle will be won by the one who firmly decided to win it... and who will fight harder... Tomorrow, no matter what, we will win the battle.”
Defending their home, their family, their homeland, the right to life, the Russian people showed amazing fortitude and self-sacrifice, and showed miracles of courage. They aroused first surprise and then fear in the hitherto invincible Napoleon. One cannot help but be proud of the Russian people. And there is no doubt that such a people have a great future.
The novel “War and Peace” is a historical epic of the valor and courage of the Russian people - the winner of the War of 1812. As in " Sevastopol stories”, so in this novel Tolstoy realistically depicts the war in “blood, in suffering, in death.” Tolstoy tells us about the severity of war, its horrors, grief (population leaving Smolensk and Moscow, famine), of death (Andrei Bolkonsky dies after being wounded, Petya Rostov dies). War requires the utmost effort of moral and physical strength from everyone. Russia during the Patriotic War, during the period of robbery, violence and atrocities committed by the invaders, suffered enormous material sacrifices. This is the burning and devastation of cities.
The general mood of soldiers, partisans and other defenders of the Motherland is of great importance during military events. War of 1805-1807 was conducted outside Russia and was alien to the Russian people. When the French invaded the territory of Russia, the entire Russian people, young and old, rose to defend their Fatherland.
In the novel “War and Peace” Tolstoy divides people according to moral principle, especially highlighting the attitude to patriotic duty. The writer depicts true patriotism and false patriotism, which cannot even be called patriotism. True patriotism - this is, first of all, patriotism of duty, action in the name of the Fatherland, the ability to rise above the personal at a decisive moment for the Motherland, to be imbued with a sense of responsibility for the fate of the people. According to Tolstoy, The Russian people are deeply patriotic. When the French occupied Smolensk, peasants burned hay so as not to sell it to their enemies. Each in his own way tried to hurt the enemy so that they would feel the hatred of the true owners of the earth. The merchant Ferapontov burned down his own shop so that it would not fall to the French. The residents of Moscow are shown as true patriots, who, leaving their hometown, leave their homes, because they consider it impossible to remain under the rule of impostors.
Russian soldiers are true patriots. The novel is replete with numerous episodes depicting the varied manifestations of patriotism by Russian people. We see true patriotism and the heroism of the people in depicting classical scenes under Shengraben, Austerlitz, Smolensk, Borodin. Of course, love for the fatherland, the willingness to sacrifice one’s life for it, is most clearly manifested on the battlefield, in direct confrontation with the enemy. It was in the Battle of Borodino that the extraordinary fortitude and courage of Russian soldiers was particularly demonstrated. Describing the night before the Battle of Borodino, Tolstoy draws attention to the seriousness and concentration of the soldiers who clean their weapons in preparation for battle. They refuse vodka because they are ready to consciously enter into battle with a powerful enemy. Their feeling of love for the Motherland does not allow reckless drunken courage. Realizing that this battle could be the last for each of them, the soldiers put on clean shirts, preparing for death, but not for retreat. While courageously fighting the enemy, Russian soldiers do not try to look like heroes. They are alien to panache and pose; there is nothing ostentatious in their simple and sincere love for the Motherland. When, during the Battle of Borodino, “one cannonball blew up the ground two steps away from Pierre,” the broad, red-faced soldier innocently confesses to him his fear. “After all, she will not have mercy. She will smack and her guts will be out. “You can’t help but be afraid,” he said laughing.” But the soldier, who was not at all trying to be brave, died soon after this short dialogue, like tens of thousands of others, but did not give up and did not retreat.
Outwardly unremarkable people become heroes and true patriots in Tolstoy. That's the captain Tushin, who found himself in the face of his superiors in a comical position without boots, embarrassed, stumbling and at the same time, at the most critical moment, doing exactly what was needed.
Force folk spirit will give birth outstanding commanders. Such as Mikhail Kutuzov . Kutuzov in the novel is an exponent ideas of patriotism, he was appointed commander against the will of the king and the royal court. Andrei explains this to Pierre this way: “While Russia was healthy, Barclay de Tolly was good... When Russia is sick, it needs its own man.” Kutuzov lives only with the feelings, thoughts, interests of soldiers, perfectly understands their mood, takes care of them like a father. He firmly believes that the outcome of the battle is determined by “an elusive force called the spirit of the army” and strives with all his might to support this hidden warmth of patriotism in the army.
The episode in Fili is important. Kutuzov takes upon himself the gravest responsibility and orders a retreat. This order contains the true patriotism of Kutuzov. Retreating from Moscow, Kutuzov retained an army that could not yet compare in numbers with Napoleonic's. Defending Moscow would mean losing the army, and this would lead to the loss of both Moscow and Russia. After Napoleon pushed beyond Russian borders, Kutuzov refuses to fight outside Russia. He believes that the Russian people have fulfilled their mission by expelling the invader, and there is no need to shed more people's blood.
The patriotism of the Russian people is manifested not only in battle. After all, not only that part of the people who were mobilized into the army took part in the fight against the invaders.
Andrey Bolkonsky. Still from the film “War and Peace” (1965)
Lev Nikolaevich shows that patriotic feelings embrace people of different political views: the progressive intelligentsia (Pierre, Andrey), the confrontational old Prince Bolkonsky, the conservative Nikolai Rostov, the meek Princess Marya. The patriotic impulse also penetrates the hearts of people who seem far from the war - Petya, Natasha Rostov. But it only seemed so. Real man, according to Tolstoy, cannot help but be a patriot of his Fatherland. All these people are united by a feeling that exists in the soul of every Russian person. (The Rostov family, leaving the city, gives all the carts to the wounded, thereby losing their property. After the death of her father, Maria Bolkonskaya leaves the estate, not wanting to live in the territory occupied by enemies. Pierre Bezukhov thinks about killing Napoleon, knowing full well how this could end.)
The writer attaches great importance partisan movement . This is how Tolstoy describes his spontaneous growth: “ Before the guerrilla war was officially accepted by our government, thousands of people of the enemy army - backward marauders, foragers - were exterminated by the Cossacks and peasants, who beat these people as unconsciously as dogs unconsciously kill a rabid dog.”. Tolstoy characterizes partisan “war not according to the rules” as spontaneous, comparing it with a club, “ rising with all its formidable and majestic power and, without asking anyone’s tastes and rules... nailing the French... until the entire invasion perished.”.
Tolstoy contrasts the true patriotism of the bulk of the Russian people with the false patriotism of the highest noble society, which is repulsive in its falsehood, selfishness and hypocrisy. These are fake people, whose patriotic words and deeds become a means of achieving base goals. Tolstoy mercilessly tears off the mask of patriotism from German and half-German generals in Russian service, “golden youth” like Anatoly Kuragin, careerists like Boris Drubetsky. Tolstoy angrily denounces that part of the senior staff officers who did not take part in the battles, but tried to get a job at the headquarters and simply receive awards.
People like false patriots there will be a lot until people realize that everyone must defend their country, and that there will be no one else to do this except them. This is exactly what Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy wanted to convey through antithesis, contrasting true and false patriots. But Tolstoy does not fall into the false patriotic tone of the narrative, but looks at events sternly and objectively, like a realist writer. This helps him more accurately convey to us the importance of the problem of false patriotism.
A false patriotic atmosphere reigns in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, Helen Bezukhova and other St. Petersburg salons:“...calm, luxurious, concerned only with ghosts, reflections of life, St. Petersburg life went on as before; and because of the course of this life, it was necessary to make great efforts to recognize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves. There were the same exits, balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of service and intrigue. Only in the highest circles were efforts made to recall the difficulty of the present situation.” Indeed, this circle of people was far from understanding all-Russian problems, from understanding the great misfortune and needs of the people during this war. The world continued to live by its own interests, and even in a moment of national calamity reign here greed, promotion, service.
The Count also displays false patriotism Rastopchin, who posts stupid ones around Moscow "posters", calls on the city residents not to leave the capital, and then, fleeing the people’s anger, deliberately sends the innocent son of the merchant Vereshchagin to death. Meanness and betrayal are combined with conceit and pout: “It not only seemed to him that he controlled the external actions of the inhabitants of Moscow, but it seemed to him that he controlled their mood through his proclamations and posters, written in that ironic language that the people despise among themselves and which they do not understand when they hear it from above ».
Indicative for understanding author's attitude to what is happening and the reaction of the scene participants to Berg’s behavior - both direct and not having a direct connection with the hero’s monologues. The direct reaction is contained in the Count’s actions: “The Count wrinkled his face and choked...”; “Oh, you all get out to hell, to hell, to hell and to hell!..” Natasha Rostova’s reaction is even more definite: “... this is such disgusting, such an abomination, such... I don’t know! Are we some kind of Germans?..” Natasha Rostova’s exclamation is somewhat divorced from Berg’s monologues; the plot is connected with Petya’s story about his parents’ quarrel over carts. But it is obvious that Tolstoy puts these words into Natasha’s mouth, among other things, with the aim of giving a final assessment of Berg’s hypocritical shamelessness (the mention of the Germans is no coincidence).
This is finally Drubetskoy, who, like other staff officers, thinks about awards and promotion, wants "arrange for yourself best position, especially the position of the adjutant at important person, which seemed especially tempting to him in the army". It is probably no coincidence that on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Pierre notices this greedy excitement on the faces of the officers; he mentally compares it with “another expression of excitement,” “which spoke of not personal, but general issues, issues of life and death.”
Tolstoy convinces us that only those nobles who comprehend the spirit of the people, for whom there can be no happiness outside the peace and prosperity of their country, can be true patriots.
By uniting people on a moral principle, emphasizing the special importance in assessing a person of the truth of his patriotic feeling, Tolstoy brings together people who are very different in their social status. They find themselves close in spirit and rise to greatness people's patriotism. And it is not without reason that during a difficult period of his life, Pierre Bezukhov, finding himself on the Borodino field, comes to the conviction that true happiness is merging with common people. (“Be a soldier, just a soldier. Enter this common life with the whole being.")
Thus, true patriotism in Tolstoy’s understanding is highest manifestation moral strength and spirit of the people. People's patriotism is an invincible force in the fight against enemies. The winner is the Russian people.
Introduction
The theme of patriotism in the novel “War and Peace” is one of the central ones. It is no coincidence that almost two volumes of the famous epic are dedicated to her.
Patriotism of the people in the work
What is patriotism according to Tolstoy? This is a natural movement of the soul that makes a person not think about himself “with the awareness of general misfortune.” The War of 1812, which affected everyone, showed how much Russians love their Fatherland. Reading the text of the work, we find many examples of this.
So, Smolensk residents burn houses and bread so that the French do not get them. The merchant Ferapontov gives all the goods to the soldiers and sets fire to his property with his own hands. “Get everything, guys! Don't let the devils get you!" - he shouts.
Moscow residents are also deeply patriotic. An indicative episode is when Napoleon Poklonnaya Hill waiting for a deputation with the keys to the city. But most residents left Moscow. Craftsmen and merchants left. The nobles also left the city, for whom, before the enemy arrived on Russian soil, French was family.
Patriotism in the novel sometimes awakens even in those from whom it would be difficult to expect. Thus, Princess Katish, who, together with Vasily, is participating in the hunt for the will of Count Bezukhov, declares to Pierre: “Whatever I am, I cannot live under Bonaparte’s rule.”
Even the cutesy gossip Julie Karagina leaves along with everyone else with the words: “I’m not Joan of Arc and I’m not an Amazon.” Muscovites left hometown, “because for the Russian people there could be no question: whether it would be good or bad under the rule of the French in Moscow. It was impossible to be under the control of the French.”
Natasha and Pierre during the war
The writer’s favorite heroes cannot stay away from the general misfortune. Pierre decides to stay in the capital to shoot French Emperor“in order to either perish or end the misfortune of all of Europe.” He saves an unfamiliar girl from a burning garden and attacks a French soldier who is trying to remove a necklace from a woman. Pierre finds himself on the battlefield and in captivity, he was almost shot by the French and saved by Russian partisans. It is the war that makes Pierre look at himself and others with different eyes, and feel his closeness to the common people.
The feeling of “the need for sacrifice and suffering” during a general misfortune makes Natasha Rostova shout at her mother, who does not want to give her carts to the wounded. At that moment, Natasha does not think that she might end up homeless. She only thinks that the wounded cannot be left to the French.
True patriots on the battlefields
When talking about the theme of patriotism in War and Peace, it is impossible not to mention the direct participants in the battles, generals and ordinary soldiers.
First of all, the reader is attracted by the image of Kutuzov. Like many of Tolstoy’s favorite heroes, Kutuzov has an unattractive appearance “in a long frock coat on a huge thick body”, “with a stooped back”, “with a leaky white eye on a swollen face” - this is how the writer depicts the great commander before the Battle of Borodino. Tolstoy emphasizes that this man combined physical weakness and spiritual strength. It's her, this one inner strength, allowed him to make an unpopular decision - to leave Moscow in order to save the army. It was thanks to her that he had the strength to liberate the Fatherland from the French.
Images of other heroes also appear before us. These are real historical figures: generals Raevsky, Ermolov Dokhturov, Bagration. And fictional brave men, including Prince Andrei, Timokhin, Nikolai Rostov and many others, whose names are unknown.
The writer and participants in the guerrilla war show true patriots of the fatherland. They did not participate in great battles, but destroyed the enemy in the ways available to them. Tikhon Shcherbaty, elder Vasilisa, Denis Davydov. It is their exploits that delight young Petya Rostov, who joins the partisan detachment.
False patriots in the novel
Tolstoy contrasts true patriots with false patriots, who do not care about the common misfortune and who try to extract their own benefit from it.
So, visitors to the Scherer salon live an ordinary life. She even organizes a reception on the day of the Battle of Borodino. Patriotism of the hostess fashion salon manifests itself only in the fact that she gently chides those who visit the French theater.
There are also “false patriots” among staff officers. Among them is Boris Drubetskoy, who, thanks to his ingenuity, “managed to stay in the main apartment.” Berg, who in a pathetic tone makes a fiery speech to Count Rostov, and then begins to bargain with him for a “dressing room” and a toilet “with an English secret.” And, of course, Count Rostopchin, who with his calls and empty activities doomed thousands of people to death, and then, having given the son of the merchant Vereshchagin to be torn to pieces by an angry crowd, flees from Moscow.
Conclusion
In conclusion of the essay on the topic of patriotism in the novel “War and Peace,” it must be said that Tolstoy was able to show the reader how a true patriot of his Motherland should behave in the hour of danger that threatens it.
Work test
(402 words) Telling readers about the Patriotic War against Napoleon in his epic novel “War and Peace,” Tolstoy touched on the topic of the patriotic struggle of the Russian people. But the author, refraining from blind glorification of that struggle, was primarily interested in the question of what real patriotism is and how to distinguish it from ordinary populism.
Already at the very beginning, the writer demonstrates to us in all its glory the concept false patriotism. We see a noble society mired in vulgarity and hypocrisy, discussing the war in Europe. Loud pathetic speeches are heard, cursing Napoleon, pathetic wishes for victory for Russia. But behind these big words there are no real deeds; the nobility, divorced from reality, has no real concept of war and simply follows the official position of the government. The overwhelming majority of noble society strives only to achieve their personal goals and strengthen their position on the social ladder. The picture of lies and hypocrisy becomes even clearer when we are transported to Austria, where we see demoralized soldiers who do not even understand who they are fighting. Tolstoy shows how the elite of the Russian Empire, hiding behind fashionable slogans about saving the fatherland, sends soldiers into a meaningless meat grinder for the sake of the interests of rulers and generals.
It is also characteristic that after the Peace of Tilsit, the anti-Napoleonic rhetoric of the noble class instantly changed to the exact opposite. Toasts are proclaimed to the French emperor, Russian-French friendship is extolled. Tolstoy in Once again emphasizes the unscrupulousness of the noble class, adapting to powerful of the world this.
Already in the twelfth year, Napoleon's troops invaded Russian territory. Tolstoy again stigmatizes the noble society, which, even at the most critical hour for the country, turns out to be unable to see beyond its own nose. Prince Kuragin, who is trying to maneuver between two opposing opinions about Kutuzov, Elena Kuragina, who in the midst of the war converts to Catholicism and is only interested in divorcing her husband, staff officers who are exclusively concerned with promotion. Only those nobles who moved away from high society, show true patriotism and really care about the country and people. However, even such prominent figures, like Nikolai and Pyotr Rostov, Andrei Bolkonsky, Fyodor Dolokhov, are just grains of sand against the background of the popular upsurge that has swept the country. According to Tolstoy, it was the universal, not always conscious, strength of the ordinary Russian people that was able to break Napoleon’s previously invincible army. At the same time, Tolstoy remains true to himself: war, in his opinion, is a monstrous crime, covered in dirt and blood. People, defending their country, are capable of the most brutal and inhumane acts.
Tolstoy shows us that true patriotic feeling awakens in the hours of the most difficult trials. It is his spontaneity and sincerity, devoid of self-interest and empty boasting, that distinguishes him from the false patriotism that scoundrels and swindlers use for their own purposes.
What is missing from this short essay-reasoning? Reply to the Many-Wise Litrecon in the comments.
This essay explores the theme of folk patriotism in the novel - the epic of L.N. Tolstoy. The introduction defines the genre of the work and its features. The main part provides an analysis of the historical events of 1805-1812 depicted in the novel. Based on episodes from the work, the patriotism of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812, the greatness of their feat in the Battle of Borodino and in the partisan movement are shown. In conclusion, it is said that in Tolstoy’s great epic the idea of a just world triumphs over the idea of aggressive aggressive wars.
Download:
Preview:
Russian literature
Essay
The theme of folk patriotism in the novel-epic of L. N. Tolstoy
"War and Peace"
Plan.
I Historical theme in the works of L. N. Tolstoy.
"War and Peace" is a novel - an epic. Features of the genre.
II The theme of popular patriotism in L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace.”
- Depiction in the novel of historical events of 1805 - 1812.
- "People's Thought" in the novel.
- Patriotism of the Russian people in the fight against enemies.
- Partisan movement of the Patriotic War of 1812.
- The feat of the Russian people in the Battle of Borodino.
- Who are the real heroes? (images of Timokhin, Tushin, Shcherbaty).
III. main idea The novel is a condemnation of wars of conquest.
At the end of 1863, Tolstoy began working on the novel War and Peace. Work on the novel took Tolstoy over six years. “I have never felt my mental and even all my moral powers so capable of work,” he wrote about himself at that time. “I am now a writer with all the strength of my soul, and I write and think as I have never written or thought before.” The novel was originally conceived as a work about a Decembrist who in 1856 returns with his family from exile “and tries on his strict and somewhat ideal view of new Russia" Tolstoy was attracted to the Decembrists by their sense of high civic duty and service to the social ideal. The writer was so fascinated by the work on the material that he changed his plan and gradually came to the conclusion that he needed to write historical novel from the era of the Napoleonic wars.
Tolstoy was encouraged to do this own era. Modern researchers of his work rightly emphasize that “ historical theme in Tolstoy’s work was prepared by all his previous development and events of Russian socio-political life,” which also provides an explanation for “why he advanced from the era of 1825 to the era of 1812”
The era of 1812 fascinated Tolstoy from an early age. He was keenly interested in the heroic events of that history, heard and wrote down the stories of some participants in the War of 1812, knew well the documentary, memoir and fiction literature about the war of the Russian people against Napoleon, including the works of Pushkin, admired Lermontov’s “Borodino”, which later became, by admission Tolstoy, the “grain” of his “War and Peace”.
But, understanding all the greatness and significance of 1812 for Russia, Tolstoy, by his own admission, “was ashamed to write about our triumph in the fight against Bonaparte’s France, without describing our failures and our shame. If the reason for our triumph was not accidental, but lay in the essence of the character of the Russian people and troops, then this character should have been expressed even more clearly in the era of failures and defeats.”
Working on the novel required enormous efforts from Tolstoy. “Wherever in my novel they speak and act historical figures, - the writer admitted in the article “A few words about the book “War and Peace”; I did not invent it, but used materials from which I formed a whole library during my work...”. The work raised problems of great importance that have not lost their importance for subsequent generations. A national heroic epic and a realistic novel were created at the same time. The novel covers 15 years of the life of Russia and Europe, filled to the limit with grandiose historical and military events. There are more than five hundred characters, many artistic images are based on historical prototypes.
An epic novel, a widely accepted genre definition of Tolstoy's War and Peace, undoubtedly contains many of the most important features of an epic.
The completeness of the coverage of existence - from great to small, the universality of content - one of the main features of the epic - is evident in Tolstoy's narrative.
The book consists, in essence, of many pictures of peaceful and military life, each of which in Tolstoy, in addition to its meaning in the system of the whole, also has some kind of its own, “intrinsic” meaning.
This desire to “capture everything,” as Tolstoy himself put it, is generally the way of his artistic vision and thinking in “War and Peace.”
Historical figures (Alexander I, Napoleon, Speransky, Kutuzov and many others), invisible participants in the war, the best people of their time, money-grubbers and careerists walk through the pages of the novel. Tolstoy created many different types, characters, and showed exactly the mass of people.
But the writer did not imagine hundreds of thousands of people - the creators of history - as a faceless mass. It depicts the uniquely distinctive features of each person. All of Tolstoy's heroes are living people, so alive that we see their faces, hear their voices, penetrate into their inner world, recognize their secret thoughts, love or despise them. World literature did not know such a work. “This is not a novel, even less a poem, even less a historical chronicle,” wrote Tolstoy, “War and Peace is what the author wanted and could express in the form in which it was expressed.” Studying this grandiose work, literary scholars called it a historical epic novel. The epic novel tells us about significant events from the history of the country, highlights important aspects folk life, views, ideals, life and morals of various layers of society. The assessment of events in the epic novel is given from the point of view of the interests of the entire people.
Huge life material is combined in the epic novel general meaning, which gives it completeness and harmony.
“For a work to be good, you must love the main, fundamental idea in it,” said Tolstoy. According to him, in the novel “War and Peace” he loved “popular thought”, as a result of the War of 1812.
Interest in the heroic era of 1812 was not accidental: the recent military defeat in the Crimean War increasingly forced the writer to think that the Russian people possess not only enormous moral forces that allow them to survive the catastrophe and subsequently rise to a higher level of social development; in Tolstoy’s mind, the Russian people were clothed with the main historical force in the movement of life in Russia.
“People's thought” determines the unity of the entire work and permeates all its chapters. The writer believed that only “spiritualized thought” makes “truly great works of the human mind and heart immortal.” Studying “War and Peace”, we see how the writer’s favorite thought lives in every image, in every scene, in every detail of the great epic he created.
“People's Thought” permeates Tolstoy's philosophical conclusions, the depiction of specific historical events, historical figures, and the depiction of ordinary people, an assessment of their moral character and life behavior.
The main idea of the novel is the condemnation of wars of conquest and the establishment of peace.
Volume II of the epic is dedicated to the description peaceful life Russian society in the period between 18007 and 18012. These paintings, which incorporate anxious anticipation and premonition of first love, the unique charm of human happiness, like the slow lyrical part of a symphony, precede the heroic chapters of volumes III and IV, dedicated to grandiose historical events with their enthusiasm people's struggle at the time of 1812. The climax of the novel's development is battle of Borodino, which, according to Tolstoy, “remained forever an unparalleled feat.” Tolstoy penetrated deeply into the essence historical process and showed in the last stage of work on the novel that the main force that crushed the glory and greatness of Napoleon was the Russian people. He talked about people's war, which “nailed” the French until it destroyed the entire invasion and ultimately brought Napoleon to defeat at Waterloo and imprisonment on the island of St. Helena.
Drawing pictures of the guerrilla war, which was terrible for the French, the writer shows the full power of the Russian people, “leaning” on the enemy. Denis Davydov, according to Tolstoy’s correct observation, “with his Russian instinct, he was the first to understand the meaning of that terrible weapon that, without asking the rules of military art, destroyed the French.” According to Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, victory depends “on the feeling that is in me, in him, in every soldier.” And this proud feeling of being right in the fight against the invaders, which in turn gave rise to confidence in victory, this formidable “spirit of the people”, the force of which the foreigners immediately felt, were the main motives for Tolstoy the battle painter when depicting the events of Borodino and subsequent battles.
Tolstoy described the retreat in detail three Russians armies (Barclay, Bagration and Tormasov). The armies of Barclay and Bagration were separated by a space 100 miles long, and the main forces of the French rushed into this breakthrough, setting the goal of defeating them one by one, one after another. Trying to delay the advance of the French, Barclay de Tolly sent Osterman-Tolstoy's corps and cavalry units to meet them. The novel describes the battle that began 60 km from Vitebsk, near Beshenkovichi, the siege and surrender of Smolensk, how court circles reacted to the appointment of Kutuzov as commander-in-chief, and mentions the review of troops made by the commander at Tsarevo-Zaimishche. Kutuzov understood that the salvation of Russia lay in the systematic retreat of the Russian army into the interior of the country; however, being well aware of the mood in the army, he was clearly aware of the necessity of the truth that in order to maintain the morale of the army it was necessary to give a general battle. The novel describes a historical meeting with the commander-in-chief in Fili after the battle of Borodino, the abandonment and fire in Moscow.
After the French captured Smolensk, a partisan war began, the people “calmly awaited their fate, feeling the strength in themselves in the most difficult moment to find what they had to do. And as soon as the enemy approached, the richest elements of the population left, leaving their property; the poorest remained and set fire and destroyed what was left.” Napoleon accused Kutuzov of not complying with the “rules of war.” Tolstoy showed that for the Russian people, war was not a duel of fencers, where compliance with the “rules” was required, but a struggle where the fate of the country was decided. “And good for that people,” the writer notes, “... who, in a moment of trial, without asking how others acted according to the rules similar cases, with simplicity and ease, picks up the first club he comes across and nails it with it until in his soul the feeling of insult and revenge is replaced by contempt and pity.”
The people began partisan actions on their own, spontaneously. Denis Davydov was the first to legitimize them and give them organized forms. The war took folk character. “The partisans destroyed the great army piece by piece... There were small parties, combined, on foot and on horseback, there were peasant and landowner parties, unknown to anyone. The head of the party was a sexton who took several hundred prisoners a month. There was the elder Vasilisa, who killed a hundred French.”
The goals of the Patriotic War are clear to every militiaman, peasant, and soldier. The general opinion is expressed by the soldier who met Pierre in Mozhaisk: “They want to rush in with all the people; one word - Moscow. They want to make one end.” The Battle of Borodino is portrayed as a "people's battle". The “hidden warmth of patriotism” that flared up in the soul of every soldier, and the general “spirit of the army” determined the victory of the Russians.
Let us remember the scenes at the Raevsky battery. And the young officer, and Pierre, and the red-skinned soldier are all overwhelmed by a common feeling, although no one directly expresses it.
The Battle of Borodino reveals the true beauty of the Russian man. Tolstoy claims that the Russians won “a moral victory, one that convinces the enemy of the moral superiority of his enemy and of his own powerlessness.” On Napoleonic France in this battle “the hand of the strongest enemy was laid down.”
Tolstoy depicts the greatness of the feat of a fighting people and at the same time the hardships, disasters, and torment that war brings. The men are ruined. Cities and villages are dying in the fires. It’s painful to look at the “broken, knocked out rye like hail,” at the road laid by artillery across the arable land.
Let us remember the retreat of our troops along the Smolensk road or the pursuit of the French in the winter of 1812, what severe hardships the Russian army and Russian peasants endured on their shoulders! People “with faces disfigured by suffering”, “frightened or distraught soldiers”, “disasters of the people and troops” - all this is truthfully depicted by the writer. But he calls all this a “terrible necessity” and speaks with love, pride and delight about those who endured difficult trials in the name of liberation native land.
Soldiers, men, and other characters from the people appear in various parts of the work, act, express their opinions and disappear. Each of them represents individuality, is endowed with specific features, and together they give an idea of the people as a whole, of their complex, dialectically contradictory worldview and activities. Kutuzov’s words “wonderful, incomparable people” are the words of the author himself. The merchant Ferapontov came from peasant background and retained all the features of popular ideas about war. He is convinced that the French will not be allowed into Moscow: “We must have taken it, it is said: they will not let us in. That means strength." He associates Moscow with all of Russia. The message about the surrender of Moscow gives rise to an alarming thought about the “destruction” of Russia. If Russia is dying, then there is nothing to save our property. Ferapontov shouts to the soldiers to take away all his goods so that nothing is left for the “devils.” “It’s decided! Race! - he shouted. - Alpatych! I've decided! I'll light it myself. I decided...” Tolstoy shows that among the merchants there were those who tried to preserve their property. Such is the hotel palace with “an expression of calculation on his well-fed face” who asked the officer to protect his goods. Very soon the peasants of the villages near Moscow saw true face their enemy: Karp and Vlas refused to sell fodder to the French, took up arms and went into the forest. During the War of 1805, the Russian army fought on foreign territory, and there were strangers all around. Russia had no vital interests in this war; the soldiers did not know why they were driven to distant lands. The old bachelor Shinshin expresses his thoughts with the question: “Why is it difficult for us to fight with Bonoparte...”. The soldiers, in their own way, understand the looming threat of war with Napoleon: “Now the Prussian is rebelling. The Austrian, therefore, pacifies him. Once he makes peace, then war will open with Bunopart.” After talking a little about the war, they move on to talking about the rest and food that awaits them after a difficult march. Soldiers are depicted by Tolstoy in less detail than officers. They are good-natured, cheerful, do not lose spirit, they love their native Russian song, which also inspires them in a foreign land. “Songwriters, forward!” - the captain's cry was heard. And twenty people ran out in front of the company from different sides. The drummer-singer turned to face the songwriters and, waving his hand, began a drawn-out soldier’s song that began: “That’s it, brothers, there will be glory for us and Kamensky, our father...”. This song was composed in Turkey and was now sung in Austria, only with the change that in place of “Kamensky the Father” the words “Kutuzov the Father” were inserted. The soldiers sing and “Oh, my canopy, my canopy!”, the danger makes them more collected and calm: “... The closer... to the chain of the French, the more self-confident the appearance of our troops became.” On the front line, soldiers are happily engaged in peaceful activities: carrying firewood and brushwood, building “booths,” and mending clothes by the fires. “All the faces were so calm, as if everything was happening not in sight of the enemy, before a task where at least half of the detachment had to remain in place, but as if somewhere in their homeland, waiting for a calm stop.” Soldier Sidorov, distorting Russian words, begins to babble “in French,” and this causes such laughter in the chain that even the French begin to laugh. “...After this,” writes Tolstoy, “it seemed that it was necessary to quickly unload the guns, detonate the charges, and everyone should quickly go home.” At the beginning of the battle near Shengraben, Andrei Bolkonsky sees animation on the faces of the soldiers: “It has begun! Here it is! Scary and fun! " - the face of every soldier and officer spoke. In a moment of danger, the mass of soldiers unites even more.
Before the Battle of Borodino there was general enthusiasm in the army. After all, we need to defend our native land, Moscow. Prince Andrei tells Pierre that the entire army, both himself and Timokhin, treat the French as enemies, criminals who came to ruin their homes and ruin Moscow. Soldiers have an organic sense of military duty. Tolstoy describes in particular detail the actions of the artillerymen in the Battle of Borodino. At the Raevsky battery, “one felt the same and common to everyone, like a family revival,” the soldiers loaded their guns and fired without any panic, good spirits did not leave them in the most dangerous moments. They “loaded, turned, loaded, and did their job with intense panache.” Some of the soldiers are scared, but they hide their anxiety with a joke. So the “red-skinned” soldier, who was afraid of death, accompanied the flight of each shell onto the battery with a joke. “Oh, I almost knocked off our master’s hat”; “Oh, awkward,” he says about the enemy cannonball that hit the cannon wheel and crushed the soldier’s leg. One of the artillerymen, seeing a man crouched under a flying cannonball, sneers: “What, friend?” Tolstoy writes that in the Battle of Borodino, Napoleonic France “was laid by the hand of the strongest enemy in spirit.” Russian soldiers and officers showed their moral superiority over the enemy on this day.
On the Borodino field in the novel there are thousands of people, representatives of all types of weapons. They all create the image of a collective hero. The characterization of some characters is short - two or three phrases, but it gives an idea about this person and is a necessary touch in the overall panorama of an intense, never-ending battle. In the picture created by the writer there are no conventional dramatic effects, romantic elation and pathos; everything is simple, businesslike, the description of death is adjacent to a joke from one of the participants in the battle. The world depicted by Tolstoy is in continuous motion, one state is replaced by another. But the commonality of experience, a single patriotic feeling and goal remains immutable.
Depicting the war, Tolstoy follows the principles that he developed at the time of “Sevastopol Stories”: he does not show galloping soldiers with unfurled banners and their commanders, not a parade, not the splendor of victories, but military everyday life, ordinary soldiers, their everyday hard work. It reveals the inner world of an ordinary person who has a unique personality and attracts with his spiritual beauty. The writer claims that the outcome of historical events depends on the will and efforts of the mass of such simple, ordinary people.
Let us recall the chapters devoted to the Battle of Shengraben. Before us are infantry regiments, disorganized under the influence of the senseless terrible word“Cut off!” “The moral vacillation that decided the fate of the battles was apparently resolved in favor of fear.” But here the modest, inconspicuous Timokhin comes to the rescue. Since the time of Ishmael, he knows what hand-to-hand combat is. It was not numerical superiority, not the strategic plans of wise commanders, but the inspiration of the company commander, carrying the soldiers along with him, that influenced the course of the battle. “Timokhin rushed at the French with such a desperate cry and with such insane and drunken determination, with one skewer, ran at the enemy that the French, without having time to come to their senses, threw down their weapons and ran.” The writer shows the heroism of a man whom no one considers a hero, who himself least of all thinks about his own heroism. But it was not for nothing that Kutuzov remembered Timokhin and called him during the review in Braunau “Izmailov’s comrade”, “brave officer”. Apparently, this is not the first time he has truly committed heroic deed humble officer.
One of the most significant characters in the novel is Captain Tushin. The reader first meets this “little, dirty, thin artillery officer” in the sutler’s tent. He appears a second time on the Shengraben field, where his battery took a central position. Prince Andrei hears a conversation coming from the booth. Captain Tushin says: “If it were possible to know what will happen after death, then none of us would be afraid of death.” The soldiers of Tushin’s company are cheerful, cheerful, “handsome fellows” who know their job. In the midst of battle, Tushin and his soldiers are unusually active. Their feelings are the same. “The soldiers... all looked at their commander like children in difficulty.” And he addresses them not as a boss, but as good friend. He calls his beloved soldier “uncle”, admires his every movement, addresses the fireworksman affectionately: “dear”, consults with sergeant major Zakharchenko, for whom he has great respect. Every word of Tushin rings with simplicity and extraordinary kindness. “Dear soul! Farewell, my dear,” he says to Prince Andrei.
Tolstoy repeatedly emphasizes that there is nothing military, much less warlike, in Tushin’s appearance. Let us remember how he and Zherkov salute their superiors. Tushin, with his weak, timid and awkward movements, does this “not at all the way the military salutes.” Zherkov salutes “briskly, without removing his hand from his cap.” But in battle, Zherkov chickened out, and Tushin showed himself to be a real warrior. No wonder that fantasy world, which, under the influence of extreme tension of mental strength, formed in his head, “he himself imagined himself to be of enormous stature, a powerful man who throws cannonballs at the French with both hands.” Outwardly, Tushin is completely different, but such is the strength of his spirit. It is Tushin and Timokhin who are shown as the true heroes of the Battle of Shengraben. Victory in the Battle of Borodino, according to Prince Andrei, will depend on the feeling that is in him, in Timokhin and in every soldier. “Tomorrow, no matter what, we will win the battle!” - says Prince Andrei, and Timokhin agrees with him: “Here, your Excellency, the truth, the true truth.”
The spirit of the people - the avenger, the resourcefulness and prowess of the Russian peasantry is embodied by Tolstoy in the image of the partisan Tikhon Shcherbaty. This is “the most useful and brave man” in Denisov’s detachment. With an ax in his hands, he goes to the enemy, not because someone forces him, but under the influence of natural patriotic feelings and hatred of uninvited guests. These feelings are sometimes so strong that Tikhon becomes cruel, the French are his enemies and only his enemies. We don’t see Tikhon yet, but we hear his comrades in arms talking about him. In their rude words one can feel admiration, respect, even a kind of affection: “What a rogue,” “Well, he’s clever,” “What a beast.” His movements are dexterous and fast: for the first time he appears running, we watch how he “threw” into the river, “climbed out on all fours,” and “ran further.”
He is all in a rush of action. While telling the story, he “suddenly and flexibly lay down on his belly,” “quickly and easily jumped up,” and “swinged his arms.” His speech is just as dynamic: “Alone and catch up... I’ll rob him in this manner... Let’s go, I say, to the colonel. How loud he will be! And here there are four of them. They rushed at me with skewers. I hit them with an ax in this manner: why are you, Christ is with you...”
Tikhon Shcherbaty embodies the qualities inherent in the entire Russian people, with its strength, endurance, and courage; the figure of Tikhon Shcherbatov with an ax in his hands seems to symbolize the War of 1812 as a whole. Yellowfang was wounded several times, but did not go to the infirmary; he did not know the feeling of fear. “When it was necessary to do something especially difficult and nasty - turn a cart out of the mud, pull a horse out of a swamp by the tail, skin it, climb into the very middle of the French, walk 50 miles a day, everyone pointed, laughing, at Tikhon: “ What the hell is he doing..." Tolstoy shows that at critical moments for the homeland, people’s activity increases; the people not only fight the external enemy, but also begin to think about their situation and realize themselves as a force.
By creating the image of the people as an avenger, Tolstoy shows not only their hatred of the enemy, determination, energy, courage, but also their humanism. It is not for nothing that after everything that Pierre saw on the Borodino field, the soldiers and militia appear to him “with their simple, kind and firm faces.” “Simplicity, goodness and truth” are those high quality, which distinguish both individual heroes of War and Peace, and collective image people. In this image, Tolstoy reveals both unity and contradiction, integrity and diversity.
Tolstoy considered the war of 1812 to be a people's war, realizing that it was the people who won the victory over Napoleon's previously invincible army. This point of view Patriotic War most clearly expressed in the conversation between Prince Andrei and Pierre on the eve of the Battle of Borodino. Remembering the wars of 1805-1807, Bolkonsky states: “We “went to fight in Austria and Prussia, without knowing why.” He spoke about the war of 1812 in a completely different way: “The French have ruined my house and are going to ruin Moscow, they have insulted and are insulting me every second. They are my enemies, they are all criminals, according to my standards. And Timokhin and the entire army think the same. We must execute them."
While working on the novel, Tolstoy thought intensely about the role of the people in history. He came to the logical conclusion that Russia’s main strength is its people. The people are all those who work to earn their bread, are deprived of many benefits and rights in life, have not received an education, this is the overwhelming majority of the nation, its essence, its foundation. Tolstoy witnessed the heroism of the Russian people in Sevastopol, and this remained forever in his consciousness. He is convinced that the people won the War of 1812. In this he was close to the Decembrists and progressive figures of this era. The same idea permeates Herzen’s article “Russia”, in which he wrote that Napoleon raised the entire Russian people against himself. Chernyshevsky emphasized that the Russians twice saved Europe from the yoke of the Mongols and “another yoke - the French and Napoleon.” Dobrolyubov called the war of 1812 a people's war.
“War and Peace” is a great heroic-epic patriotic work that captures the feat of the Russian people in a just war of liberation. It will always retain this meaning, inspiring and inspiring peoples to defend their native land from foreign invaders, to engage in a sacred liberation struggle.
Condemnation of unjust wars of aggression was already heard in Tolstoy’s works, written a decade before War and Peace. For five years the writer wore a military uniform, being an artillery officer in the active Russian army.
Taking part in the heroic defense of Sevastopol in Crimean War 1853-1855, under enemy cannonballs and bullets, he wrote stories in which he forever immortalized the unparalleled valor and courage of the city’s defenders and at the same time showed the war not from the front side, but, as he says, “in its real expression - in blood, suffering, death."
Here is what one of the main characters of War and Peace, Captain Tushin, says about it: “War, in my opinion, is the extreme degree of human irrationality, it is a manifestation of the most senseless side of human nature: people, without any reason, kill each other friend."
Expressing the thoughts of the author himself, another of Tolstoy’s favorite heroes, Prince Andrei, speaks with hatred about those military men for whom “war is their favorite pastime.” Such “heroes,” he says, “will come together to kill each other, kill, maim tens of thousands of people, and then they will serve thanksgiving services for having beaten many people... Believing that the more people they beat, the greater the merit.”
There is only one type of war in which Prince Andrei finds it possible to participate - that war when “the issue of life and death of the fatherland was being decided.” And Tolstoy and his favorite heroes accept this war as a “terrible matter” and as a “terrible necessity.” In an unforgettable scene of a night conversation with Pierre on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Prince Andrei expresses his thoughts about the merciless extermination of enemies who invaded Russian soil. Elsewhere in the novel, Tolstoy claims that this consciousness “lay and lies in the soul of the Russian person” and that “it will always be so.”
But at the same time, in many scenes of the novel, Tolstoy depicts the deep, primordial, genuine love of peace of the Russian people. It is enough to recall the touching care that Petya Rostov showed for the captive French drummer Vincent, “the pitiful boy,” as Denisov called him, “Spring,” as the soldiers affectionately called him.
Or let us remember how Kutuzov, addressing the soldiers near Krasnoye, said, pointing to the captured French, who had become “worse than the last beggars,” that “now you can feel sorry for them.” Or let us remember the words of Nikolai Rostov “Long live the whole world!”, with which he greeted the inhabitants of an Austrian village...
Our contemporaries, reading “War and Peace,” pay special attention to those pages where Tolstoy’s favorite heroes solve problems that are consonant with our time. When Pierre Bezukhov was faced with the question of what people should do good will in the face of growing danger, he answered it like this: “... All thoughts that have huge consequences are always simple. My whole idea is that if vicious people are connected with each other and constitute a force, then honest people need to do only the same. It’s so simple.”
Really - how simple! But how difficult it is to achieve this unity of people of good will! “And I say,” Pierre insists, “let us join hand in hand, those who love goodness, and let there be one banner - active virtue.”
There is something unusually consonant in these words from Tolstoy’s novel with those passionate calls to unite and fight against the threat of war, with which participants in the peace movement are addressing all people of good will these days.
There is no need to remind that the problem of war and peace in our era has become a thousand times more terrible than in Tolstoy’s era. But his heroes are so dear to us because they also reflected on her decision, passionately wishing all people peace, goodness and happiness.
In one of the early editions of the novel, the young heroes of War and Peace discuss the question: “How can we arrange the fate of humanity so that human rights are recognized equally by the entire educated world and so that the possibility of war between nations is eliminated?”
In Tolstoy's great epic, the idea of a just world triumphs over the idea of aggressive, aggressive war. And this alone makes “War and Peace” highest degree modern book, consonant with the most cherished aspirations of the advanced and progressive people of our time.
Bibliography
1. Bocharov S. A. L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”
2. Kandiev B.I. L. N. Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace.” A comment.
3. Kuzmin A. I. Heroic theme in Russian literature.
4. Lomunov K. N. Leo Tolstoy in the modern world.