The ways of searching for the meaning of life by the main characters of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace. All school essays on literature

25.04.2019

Huge, truly global scale, and the subject of his research has always been man, the human soul. For Tolstoy, man is part of the universe. He is interested in the path a person’s soul takes in its pursuit of the high, the ideal, in its attempts to know itself. It is no coincidence that when reading Tolstoy we remember the term first introduced into literary use by N. G. Chernyshevsky - “dialectics of the soul.” According to him, the writer is most interested in the mental process itself, its forms, its laws, the dialectics of the soul...

How is this process shown in L. N. Tolstoy’s immortal novel and epic “War and Peace”? Main problem, which the writer poses in his novel, is the problem of human happiness, the problem of searching for the meaning of life. His favorite heroes are Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha and Nikolai Rostov, people searching, tormenting, suffering. They are characterized by a restless soul, a desire to be useful, needed, loved. The most beloved and closest hero to the writer is Pierre Bezukhov. Like Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre is honest and highly educated. But if Andrei is a rationalist (for him, reason prevails over feelings), then Bezukhov is a “direct type”, capable of acutely feeling, easily excited.” Pierre is characterized by deep thoughts and doubts in search of the meaning of life. His life path is complex and tortuous. At first due to the recklessness of his youth and under the influence of the surrounding environment, he makes many mistakes: he leads the reckless life of a social reveler and a slacker, allows Prince Kuragin to rob himself and marry the frivolous beauty Helen, Pierre shoots himself in a duel with Dolokhov, breaks up with his wife, becomes disillusioned with life. He hates the universally recognized lies of secular society, and he understands the need for a different path.

At this critical moment, Bezukhov meets the freemason Bazdeev. This “preacher” deftly places in front of the gullible graph the networks of a religious and mystical society that called for the moral improvement of people and their unification on the basis of brotherly love. Pierre understood Freemasonry as a doctrine of equality, brotherhood and love, and this helps him direct his efforts to improve the lives of serfs. He was going to free the peasants, establish hospitals, shelters, and schools.

The War of 1812 forces Pierre to get down to business again, but his passionate appeal to help the Motherland causes general discontent among the Moscow nobility. He fails again. However, overwhelmed by a patriotic feeling, Pierre, with his own money, equips a thousand militia and himself remains in Moscow to kill Napoleon. Either die, or stop the misfortunes of all of Europe, which, according to Pierre, came from Napoleon alone. This is how the author arranges his forces at this moment.

An important step in Pierre's quest is his visit to the Borodino field during the famous battle. Here he realized that history is created by the most powerful force in the world - the people. The sight of animated and sweaty peasant militiamen working in the field with loud talk and laughter, “affected Pierre more than anything that he had seen and heard so far about the solemnity and significance of the present moment.” Pierre's even closer rapprochement with ordinary people occurs after a meeting with a soldier, former peasant, Platon Karataev, who, according to Tolstoy, is a part of the masses. From Karataev, Pierre gains peasant wisdom, and in communication with him “finds that calmness and self-satisfaction for which he had vainly strived before.”

The life path of Pierre Bezukhov is typical of the best part of the noble youth of that time. It was from such people that the iron cohort of the Decembrists was made up. They have much in common with the author of the epic, who was faithful to the oath given to him and his youth: “To live honestly, you have to struggle, get confused, fight, make mistakes, start and give up again, and start again and give up again, and forever fight and lose. And calmness is spiritual meanness.”

Other heroes of Tolstoy’s novel are also mentally restless: Andrei Bolkonsky, who achieves harmony with himself only on the Borodino field, Natasha - when she becomes a wife and mother, Nikolai - having made a military career. With the fates of the heroes of the novel, Tolstoy confirmed his main idea: “Man is everything... he is a fluid substance.” In his work, L.N. Tolstoy managed to fulfill the main task - to capture and show the moment of fluidity of life.

Table of contents.
1. Introduction.
2. Creative history of “War and Peace”.
3. First meetings with Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky.
4. Pierre's Freemasonry.
5. “No, life is not over at thirty-one...”
6. Participation in the War of 1812.
7. Death of Andrei Bolkonsky.
8. Captivity of Pierre. Meeting Karataev. Marriage to Natasha.
9. Decembrist plans of Pierre Bezukhov.

Introduction.
Recently, in literature lessons, we studied the epic novel “War and Peace” by L. N. Tolstoy. In this novel, L. N. Tolstoy depicted the life, worries, hobbies, love of the noble class of Russia in early XIX century. In his novel, the writer very vividly, figuratively and without embellishment depicted the war of 1805-1807 and 1812 with the French and the participation of his main characters in these wars and their greatest patriotism in defending their Motherland. Shows how the worldview and way of thinking of the advanced part of the Russian aristocracy and nobility is changing. Among the huge number of characters in War and Peace (and there are about six hundred of them) there are both outstanding historical figures and ordinary participants in 1812. Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov, as well as Tolstoy, who were looking for truth, justice and real human happiness in life, are depicted with great sympathy. The greatness and significance of this novel in world literature is confirmed by the statements of contemporaries. Gorky called "War and Peace" greatest work world literature in the 19th century." “This novel is perhaps the greatest that has ever been written,” said the French communist writer Louis Aragon. The classic of French literature G. Flaubert, having become acquainted with this work, wrote to Turgenev: “Thank you for making me read Tolstoy’s novel. It's first class. What a painter and what a psychologist!..” Next, I will try to show the full validity of these statements about L.N. Tolstoy as a great writer.

Creative history of "War and Peace".

In the early 60s, Tolstoy plunged headlong into social work. Welcoming the reform of 1861, he becomes a “world mediator” and defends the interests of the peasants. Tolstoy gets carried away pedagogical activity, twice travels abroad to study the organization of public education in Western Europe...
But is it even possible for the nobles to reconcile with the people? Are their hopes not utopian? Tolstoy recalled the besieged Sevastopol in December 1854 and convinced himself once again that it was possible: after all, then the Sevastopol garrison really represented a world of officers, sailors and soldiers united into one whole. And the Decembrists, who gave their lives for the interests of the people, and the Patriotic War of 1812........

Conclusion.
So, let's summarize. In "War and Peace" Tolstoy's ability to depict human experiences was very clearly demonstrated. The writer achieved the ability to convey the “dialectics of the human soul” using the internal monologues of the characters. Such, for example, are the thoughts of Andrei Bolkonsky, who suddenly saw the high sky above him.
Tolstoy was able to convey with extraordinary force the patriotic uplift that the Russian people experienced in 1812. “In War and Peace, I loved the people’s thought,” said the writer.
Everything that was removed and debunked by life during the War of 1812 - both proud dreams of glory, and the high Bolkonsky sky, and painful introspection in search of truth - all this returns to normal again in the finale of the epic novel. Pierre Bezukhov, who discovered in tests Patriotic War the universal meaning of Karataev’s folk truth moves away from him to proud dreams, doubts and anxieties. Glory again calls young Bolkonsky, who dreams of following in his father’s footsteps.
If L.N. Tolstoy would have written this the only novel in our lives, we would still consider him a great Russian writer.

References.
1. Tolstoy L.N., War and Peace, ed. Education, M., 1981, volume 1-4.
2. Popovkin A., L. N. Tolstoy, ed. GIDL, M., 1963.
3. Children's Encyclopedia, ed. Enlightenment, M., 1968
4. Collection of articles-L. N. Tolstoy in Russian criticism, ed. Soviet Russia, M., 1978.
5. A short reference book for schoolchildren, ed. Astrel, M., 2003.
6. Great encyclopedia Cyril and Methodius, ed. "LLC "Cyril and Methodius"", M., 2005.

Essay on the topic “What do the heroes of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace see as the meaning of life?”

Completed by 10th grade student Victoria Lukina

What is life? Why was it given to us and for what? What mission lies on our shoulders? These and other questions are always inextricably linked with human activity. They most deeply absorb educated minds, and people whose position in life is determined go towards their goal, achieving what is otherwise called an ideal. But, despite little mental interest, the majority still does not deny themselves the pleasure of looking into their supposed future and boldly fantasizes, even in a more insignificant and moderate format, about happiness for themselves and the benefits obtained at the least cost. Life and destinies weak people sometimes more interesting than the stories of geniuses. “Among the wisest there are no strangers,” are words that have come down to us from the beginnings of antiquity. The destinies of the righteous of reason are equally beautiful, bright, sonorous, while others lack beauty, strength, curiosity... or a billion other characteristics. The lives of ordinary people are complex, confusing, crazy, illogical. Their characters, whims, complexes are much more interesting to unravel and laugh at the chosenness of a few in educational circles. L.N. Tolstoy in his work “War and Peace” provided us with a completely different and only occasionally similar people. More than five hundred heroes are desperately fighting for their happiness, for their loved ones, for life. But what does life mean for the heroes of this epic?

“Have you ever thought about marrying your prodigal son Anatoly. They say, she said, that old maids are ont la manie des marriages. I don’t yet feel this weakness in me, but I have one petite personne who is very unhappy with her father, une parente a nou, Une princesse Bolkonskaya...” - such a small passage gives us several ideas and conclusions about the characters presented here: the happiness of fatherhood , a recreational activity for an older woman, the position of a daughter…. Each of them chooses their own path, together these dissimilar heroes are united by a common goal - to do as much as possible for their own pleasure. Even without reading the rest of the epic, we can roughly formulate the further outcome of this meeting. Every woman considers it her duty and goal in life to get married successfully, as far as this imposed opinion is not important, what is important is that in reality people approve of such determination and help the formation of marriages with psychological support, the most important of the disciplines of society. People, especially those who do not have material wealth or a spiritual component, either envy and hate others in this world, or help improve the lives of others. Who else but the queen of society takes care of the family happiness of relatives, relatives, loved ones, and acquaintances? The goal of her life is quite noble and needed by society, in which Anna Pavlovna grows up with her successes and affections.

Prince Vasily is painted less affably, and the word dirty is more suitable to his person. The reason is simple - to use the son’s marriage for the sake of material enrichment and, ultimately, transferring sins from the shoulders of the father to the future wife.

“My children are a burden to my existence...” is a very clearly stated reason for the desire to get rid of my son by changing his reality.

Anatoly shows his happiness by a very clear definition of a way of life, which does not consist in the search for an ideal self and the desire for the Almighty, and not even in the goal of finding peace and home.

The figure of Princess Bolkonskaya is main theme discussions between Anna Pavlovna and Prince Vasily, despite the fact that she does not participate in this conversation at all, and is not even aware of it. An unhappy girl living in a village without friends and society under the yoke of a father with oddities and a difficult character. Unhappy? A daughter living in love, prosperity, one of the representatives of the noblest of families... The opinion about the wonderful relationship between fathers and children is very contradictory and unclear. The only thing life experience can offer is to be proud of what you have - others have it even worse. And if it’s true, why is Princess Bolkonskaya sad throughout the entire novel? Since childhood, her tender and vulnerable nature was offended only by the cold and self-confident appearance of her father. And his manner of conversation? Corporal punishment for her insufficiently developed mathematical mind, constant bullying and reproaches for her ugliness. What is the poor child's fault? The fact that he does not support someone’s aspirations and is simply unable to fulfill them due to the absurdity of someone else’s desire? Maria, even without constant supervision, thanks to her intelligence and attentiveness, perfectly understood her position, and she simply did not need witnesses from above. I don’t know how attentive the reader is, but one of the scenes incredibly outraged me and changed my opinion about the old prince, not for the better - Maria is ugly - no one can love such a woman, the only hope is a dowry. You can have a passion for beautiful body, but people have true love for the most worthy people around them, without thinking about beauty, material wealth and position in society. Either Prince Bolkonsky is incredibly stupid, and so much so that he does not tolerate other benefactors other than external charm, or he does not truly love his daughter and does not think about which man she can be with. Remember how unhappy Maria’s father was when the groom arrived - to keep the girl near him until the end of her days - the selfish dream was higher than the daughter’s happiness! Bolkonskaya Tolstoy Prince War

And if you look at the situation soberly, what else but marriage can free her from the monstrous captivity of the old man?..

“I don’t understand, I absolutely don’t understand, why men can’t live without war?..

That's how all men are selfish; everyone, everyone is selfish! Because of his own whims, God knows why, he abandons me, locks me in the village alone...

I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time, Andre: why did you change so much towards me? What have I done to you? You are going to the army, you don’t feel sorry for me...”

The hopeless cries of the soul of a lonely woman, afraid of losing those last crumbs of happiness that she has. Resentment for her husband leaving her life, fear of changing places and a forced change of interests. What is happiness for Lisa? A beloved husband who is always there, a simple life without war, a beloved company and a healthy child born without pain. Another positive character of this epic, except for the quality of life that Princess Bolkonskaya chose. The stupidest society of the aristocracy, the desire for constant ethereal praise from the spouse, the imaginary confidence of family and well-being, detachment from life outside of balls and entertainment events... Boring, sad, sluggish... An ordinary, unremarkable character.

Despite the maintenance of intrigue and the growing tragic component throughout the novel, this episode, in my opinion, is the saddest of the passages, mostly due to the inevitability of fate and the most abstract concept of happiness. The rest of the destinies, no matter how cynical and arrogant it may sound, had power over their charges and could very well turn their lives, if not into a fairy tale with a happily boring ending, then at least into a worthy component of history. Only the love of one's neighbor and the inequality of the nature of types cannot be corrected, no matter how history turns, the Bolkonsky spouses would never be able to truly appreciate and love each other - opposites do not attract. A creature that has no power over its own destiny is forced to suffer from complete powerlessness, fully understanding the deplorable situation.

From the side of the culprit of the collapsed fate of Liza, Prince Andrey, the situation looks even more deplorable, and it is unlikely that his life is characterized by the word “beautiful”.

“Never, never marry, my friend; Here's my advice to you, don't get married until you tell yourself that you did everything you could, and until you stop loving the woman you chose, until you see her clearly, otherwise you will make a cruel and irreparable mistake. Marry an old man, good for nothing... otherwise everything that is good and lofty in you will fall. Everything will be spent on little things. Yes, yes, yes! Don't look at me with such surprise. If you expect something from yourself in the future, then at every step you will feel that everything is over for you, everything is closed except the living room...

You say Bonaparte; but Bonaparte, when he worked, walked step by step towards his goal, he was free, he had nothing but his goal - and he achieved it. But tie yourself to a woman and, like a shackled convict, you lose all freedom. And everything that you have in you of hope and strength, everything only weighs you down and torments you with remorse. Living rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot escape...

I'm going to save the army...

He holds the rank of army duty officer under Kutuzov, but he does everything alone. The next battle was won by him alone. Kutuzov is replaced, he is appointed...

What should I do if I love nothing but glory, human love..."

Sister Maria wishes for herself the simple happiness of a woman and mother and, in the absence of this, devotes all her spiritual strength to the good of her neighbors. Noble and sublime as the dream is, it would be blasphemy to doubt the ideal of a woman as the image of Mary. But isn’t it a lack of sensitivity and attention that pushes people to actions that are destructive to them?

“Against your will, he will save and have mercy on you and turn you to himself, because in him alone there is truth and peace...”

Someone said that a person begins to believe in God when he stops hoping for everything else. Religion, self-sacrifice, complete submission to everything that is offered to her... A faceless heroine who gives false superiority in the eyes of the same people who have achieved nothing in life. One gets the feeling that her detachment from the world of passions is nothing more than a calming measure and that Maria is not innocent and beautiful, but not persistent enough, decisive, and purposeful. Self-sacrifice in her situation looks like hopelessness, there is no nobility in this feeling, rather disgust - being strong is hard and scary, she voluntarily abandoned it and equates her own inaction to one of the highest benefactors. The only distinctive and perfect character trait is sincerity and the impulse to protect what one values. A sweet, touching scene of sincere love for his brother and excitement for his future fate.

During the transition of the story from one scene to another in any of the episodes, a thin line of connection with the war can be traced, and the only thought of all of the participants in the hostilities is to stay alive and protect what is dear.

“Walk these hundred steps - and, probably, you will be saved; stand there for another two minutes and you’ll probably die...”

Moving on to the next chapters of the epic, metropolitan life stands out in contrast high society, with his petty and unassuming amusements for his talents:

“Iogel had the most fun balls in Moscow. This was said by the mothers, looking at their adolescents performing their adolescent act... this was said by grown-up girls and young men who came to these balls with the idea of condescending to them and finding the best fun in them. That same year, two marriages took place at balls. Two pretty princesses of the Goncharovs found suitors and got married, and even more so they launched these balls into glory ... "

How shallow and narrow the circle of interests is, the only news that spoke of high quality business is its proximity to the main sources of the flesh - satisfaction of sexual desire, hunger, thirst for entertainment. Due to the lack of social and physical activity, people stop looking for it altogether, and, as a result, personality degradation through underdevelopment of the mind covers entire cities, countries, the world...

Some live in vice, debauchery, having wealth, do not give anything to those in need, others want most of all to simply survive in the war, and, in contrast to everyone, some individuals completely hate life and their position. Pierre's meeting with the brotherhood of free masons only temporarily makes the main character feel new opportunities, but still only temporarily. What is he missing? Prince Bolkonsky also gives us the answer: “The old prince, despite his senile weakness, which became especially noticeable during the period of time when he considered his son killed, did not consider himself right to refuse the position to which he was appointed by the sovereign himself, and this again the activity that opened up to him aroused and strengthened him." As we see further, not only people with power in society can lose themselves in a task that captivates them: "From the morning of that day, Natasha did not have a moment of freedom and never had time to think about what was to come “her” activity, any activity that does not destroy the soul, is always for the good, when you have no time to think about purpose, about moral qualities and self-improvement, when you simply do what you consider necessary, then you find peace and happiness. If you look at the role of activity and its derivatives from a modern point of view, the working class dreams of getting rich for the purpose of relaxation and aesthetic pleasure from beautiful objects, the rich continue to work, fearing to lose what they have or simply not to replenish the fading supply. What do we see in the work? From childhood, having everything necessary for needs and oddities - position in society, wealth, confidence in constancy - the nobility has all this, regardless of whether their everyday life is deserved, princes and princesses have nothing to strive for, they do not value what they have and do not see the need for work. The peasants are aware of their situation, knowing that nothing can be changed, and they simply live. Working thirteen hours a day, how often do they stroke their egos by doing soul-searching? Yes, the nature of people with education is more complex and susceptible to the unrest of society; it is more difficult for them, in the delirium of unconsciousness and sudden disappointments, to organize their life without useless labor. When in your power any of the whims of the brain becomes on par with everyday life, only external influence can influence and direct the inexorable thirst for fantasy in a different direction. Some, in search of themselves, recognize a new society, others plunge headlong into learning, while others are ordered by circumstances to change their behavior to suit their surroundings. Few people were not interested in the question of the correctness of his actions and actions. Everyone finds the right answers in their own epics, which are distinctive to the majority.

At some moments, signs help you get closer to the truth, as happened once with Prince Andrei.

“Yes, here, in this forest, there was this oak tree, with which we agreed,” thought Prince Andrei, “but where is it?” thought Prince Andrei, looking at the left side of the road and, without knowing it, without recognizing it, admired the oak tree he was looking for....” Of course, it’s sad when your only friend, even for a short period, becomes a soulless creature. But it is human nature to communicate and desire outside support; someone like me will forgive and be able to understand, appreciate, and help. But what to do when your image, your exact copy, changes before your eyes, and you are happy about these changes, you are ready to follow them. Friends who speak the same language as you, without realizing it, change you and magical power affect your reality. Surround yourself with the right things, talented people, the best of people - isn’t that L.N. Tolstoy tells us whether these particles of the universe form the basis of a full life? And love... Prince Bolkonsky wants to test himself, to find something new, but he doesn’t know what exactly will give him the tart pleasure of bliss. But the answer is simple and clear, like the very source of all mental suffering - what is different from you is a creation that completely corresponds to all desires and thoughts - a dear person who gives all earthly blessings, recognized and deified by more than one generation of society.

“I have been waiting for you for a long time” is the only worthy answer to such a sudden change in the meaning of life, the very charm and innocence was given to him entirely, not as a reward for the difficult years and trials he had lived through, only out of his own desire and the similarity of his inner worlds. We all live in anticipation of something: the start of holidays, vacations, the birth of children, own death, new interesting meetings, pleasant moments. And that trembling moment when what we want comes true, we feel strength, passion, and charm with life.

What is the highest bliss and love?

“In peace - all together, without distinction of classes, without enmity, and united by brotherly love - let us pray,” thought Natasha.

This highest idea of love, equality, happiness... A beautiful, noble pipe dream. It is logical, out of equality and absolute love, to demand from everyone in this world an ongoing flow of joy and passion for life. A utopia that will never become closer to us and more accessible than it was originally. We can only endlessly strive for complete personal freedom

“If even one person out of millions over a thousand-year period of time had the opportunity to act freely, that is, as he wanted, then it is obvious that one free act of this person, contrary to the laws, destroys the possibility of the existence of any laws for all of humanity. If there is at least one law governing the actions of people, then there cannot be free will, because the will of people must be subject to this law...”

Thanks to the work “War and Peace” we can independently choose and follow our destiny - to be happy. Analyzing situations, the possibility of choosing the most correct action on our part increases, the epic gives us the right to proudly recognize ourselves, at least in part, but still, as psychologists, keepers of human secrets, masters of psychoanalysis. By laying out the lives and events of others, everyone is able to understand the correctness of their actions and find in this variety of moments in someone else’s history the necessary clarity for themselves.

The work of Leo Tolstoy is a gift to humanity, a textbook of life for listening readers, life itself.

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Abstract

on the topic: The path of searching for the meaning of life by the heroes of L.N. Tolstoy in the novel "War and Peace"

Introduction

The study of human consciousness, prepared by introspection, allowed Tolstoy to become a profound psychologist. In the images he created, especially in the images of the main characters of the novel, the inner life of a person is exposed - a complex contradictory process usually hidden from prying eyes. Tolstoy, according to N.G. Chernyshevsky, reveals the “dialectic of the human soul,” i.e. "barely perceptible phenomena... inner life, replacing one another with extreme speed.” The spiritual beauty of Tolstoy's favorite heroes - Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov - is manifested in the tireless search for the meaning of life, in dreams of activities useful for the whole people. Their life path- this is the path of searching for the meaning of life and death.

I decided to take the topic of research on this search because I consider it the closest and most interesting to me.

Every thinking person sooner or later asks himself the question: “What is life? What is death? What am I in their endless cycle?” I am interested in how the smartest people of their time - Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov - search for answers to these eternal questions.

1. The path of searching for the meaning of life by Pierre Bezukhov

human consciousness thick war

At the beginning of the novel, Pierre Bezukhov is shown as young, energetic, completely different from all those who surround him. Having just arrived from abroad, he still does not know how to behave in a secular environment, and therefore all his words and actions seem absurd and even indecent to the hypocritical aristocrats. Only one person understands Pierre and is always glad to have his company - Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. He gives Pierre instructions and advice - but he forgets about the advice given and his promises as soon as he leaves Prince Andrei. Under the influence of his youth, Pierre leads a reckless life as a social reveler and slacker, making many mistakes - in particular, together with the “golden youth” he participates in tying a policeman to a bear with the subsequent launching of both of them into the water; he almost dares, sitting on the ledge and risking falling, to drink in one fell swoop a bottle of rum. Having become the owner of a huge fortune, he marries the soulless beauty Helen. It is noteworthy that in one of the most lyrical and happiest moments for most people - a declaration of love - Pierre forgot what to say. Here we are faced with Tolstoy’s concepts such as the present and the real. If the feeling is real, the words come from the very heart, from the depths of the soul. Bezukhov’s unreal feeling became his big mistake.

Pierre was unhappy in his marriage. A crisis comes in his life, he painfully searches for a way out of a moral impasse. The situation is aggravated by his wife’s betrayal and such a shock for Pierre, who does not even know how to hold a pistol, like a duel with Dolokhov, who insulted him. As a result, after the duel, the always calm, balanced Pierre, in response to his wife’s insolence, breaks down and almost kills her. Shocked by his action, Pierre realizes that he can no longer stay in Moscow, next to his wife and with people condemning him for the duel. He leaves for St. Petersburg, runs away from himself, from his old life, realizing the need for change.

Pierre is at a crossroads in life, he does not know what to do, what to do now, freed from the shackles of secular society and breaking with his former life. On the way to St. Petersburg, Pierre thinks about the meaning of life, trying to find a place for himself in this world and understand his purpose. And then one of the key events in Bezukhov’s life happens - he meets the freemason Bazdeev. Taking advantage of the fact that Pierre is at a crossroads in life, Bazdeev easily lures him into the Masonic society, which supposedly preaches the ideals of goodness and religion and has the goal of eradicating evil and improving the human race.

In fact Masonic lodge- the same secular society, and many had only the goal of making a profitable acquaintance by joining its ranks, as Boris Drubetskoy did. But Pierre became seriously interested in the ideas of Freemasonry, understanding it as a teaching about brotherhood and love. He is open to goodness, he is impatient to do something good, and he directs his energies to the improvement of the serfs, the construction of schools and hospitals. But, as Tolstoy wrote, “Pierre did not have that practical tenacity,” and therefore nothing really worked out for him - the elders lied and robbed him, although he himself was sure that all things were going well.

The Masonic brothers did not share Pierre's enthusiasm. They took advantage of his generosity and naivety, getting their hands on the money allocated to him for charity. Pierre makes a speech in the lodge, calling on his “like-minded people” to turn to the original ideals of Freemasonry and devote themselves to achieving the goals that Pierre has set for himself and to which, in his opinion, every Mason should strive. But he remained misunderstood.

The outbreak of the War of 1812 forced Pierre to leave Masonic activities. Overwhelmed by patriotic feelings, he equips the regiment, wanting to contribute to the fight against Napoleon. A strong desire to be involved in the holy cause of liberating the Fatherland leads Pierre to the Borodino field. Communicating with soldiers - ordinary people - he realized that true history is created by the most powerful force in the world - the people.

Here are his thoughts after the nightmare of the Borodino battle he experienced: “Thank God this is no longer the case. Oh, how terrible the fear and shameful I surrendered to it! And they... they were firm and calm all the time, until the end...” In Pierre's understanding, they were simply soldiers - those who were next to him on the battlefield and died for Russia. Pierre thought: “To be a soldier, just a soldier! Login to this common life with their whole being, to become imbued with what makes them so. But how to throw off all this unnecessary, devilish, all the burden of this outer man? At one time I could have been this. I could run away from my father as I wanted. Even after the duel with Dolokhov, I could have been sent as a soldier.” These thoughts contain Pierre's desire to be closer to the people, to be imbued with their wisdom and simplicity.

As a result of these thoughts and various cabalistic calculations, he decides to stay in Moscow, seeing his destiny in the murder of Napoleon. But fate decrees otherwise - he is captured by the French.

For Pierre, the final stage of his journey of searching for the meaning of life begins. He meets Platon Karataev. In Bezukhov’s mind, he became the personification of the entire Russian people - infinitely wise, kind, meek. In communication with Karataev, Pierre acquires all these qualities and “that calmness and self-satisfaction that he had vainly strived for before.” But the main thing is that Pierre found God. “He could not have a goal, because he now had faith - not faith in some rules, or words, or thoughts, but faith in a living, always felt god... He learned in captivity that the god in Karataev is greater, infinite and incomprehensible than in the Architect of the universe recognized by the Freemasons... Previously, the terrible question that destroyed all his mental structures: why? did not exist for him now. Now to this question - why? a simple answer was always ready in his soul: because there is a God, that God, without whose will a hair will not fall from a man’s head.”

Pierre achieved harmony with himself, found answers to questions that tormented him all his life, he learned not to look at everything petty, everyday, everyday. He “joyfully contemplated around him the ever-changing, ever-great, incomprehensible and endless life.”

2. The path of searching for the meaning of life of Andrei Bolkonsky

Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky are internally close to each other and alien to the world of Kuragin and Scherer. They meet at different stages of life: both at the time of Prince Andrei’s happy love for Natasha, and during the break with her, and on the eve of the Battle of Borodino. And every time they turn out to be the closest people to each other, although each of them goes to goodness and truth in his own way.

Prince Andrei first appears in the same place as Pierre - at a social evening with Anna Pavlovna Scherer. But if Bezukhov is shown as young, energetic, having his own point of view on everything and ready to defend it passionately, then Prince Andrei has the appearance of a tired, bored, sated person with life. He was tired of social life with all its endless balls and receptions. He is also unhappy in family life, in which there is no understanding.

Andrei Bolkonsky dreams of glory similar to Napoleonic, he wants to quickly escape from the familiar world to military service. He is waiting in the wings, when there will be a chance to make all his dreams come true: “And he imagined the battle, the loss of it, the concentration of the battle on one point and the confusion of all the commanders. And now that happy moment, that Toulon, which he had been waiting for so long, finally appears to him. He firmly and clearly speaks his opinion to Kutuzov, Weyrother, and the emperors. Everyone is amazed at the correctness of his idea, but no one undertakes to carry it out, and so he takes a regiment, a division, pronounces the condition that no one will interfere with his orders, and leads his division to the decisive point and alone wins. What about death and suffering? says another voice. But Prince Andrei does not answer this voice and continues his successes. The disposition of the next battle is made by him alone. He holds the rank of army duty officer under Kutuzov, but he does everything alone. The next battle was won by him alone. Kutuzov is replaced, he is appointed... Well, and then? another voice speaks again, and then, if you are not wounded, killed or deceived ten times before; Well, then what? …I will never tell anyone this, but, my God! What should I do if I love nothing but glory, human love? Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear or dear many people are to me - my father, sister, wife - the people dearest to me - but, no matter how scary and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for love for to myself people whom I do not know and will not know, for the love of these people.”

From my point of view and from Tolstoy’s point of view, such thoughts are unacceptable. Human glory is a changeable phenomenon. Suffice it to recall the French Revolution - yesterday's idols are cut off their heads the next day to make way for new idols, who will soon also end their lives under the knife of the guillotine. But in the consciousness of Prince Andrei there is still a place for an inner voice, warning him about the insidiousness of human glory and about the terrible path through death and suffering that he will be forced to go through.

And now at the Battle of Austerlitz such a chance appears. At the decisive moment, Bolkonsky picks up the banner and shouts “Hurray!” leads the soldiers forward, to feat and glory. But by the will of fate, one stray bullet does not allow Prince Andrei to complete his triumphal procession. He falls to the ground and sees the sky in a way that no one will probably ever see him again. “How come I haven’t seen this high sky before? And how happy I am that I finally recognized him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is deception, except this endless sky. There is nothing, nothing, except him. But even that is not there, there is nothing but silence, calm. And thank God!..”

At this moment, Prince Andrei understands how empty and soulless his dreams of glory were. He decides to find happiness in a quiet family life, devoting himself only to a narrow circle of people and concerns.

Returning to Bald Mountains, his father’s estate, Prince Andrei finds the moment of the birth of his son and the death of his wife. Dreams of family happiness crumbled into dust, and a deep mental crisis began.

Only a meeting with his old friend Bezukhov, albeit partially, brought Prince Andrei back to life. Pierre's words “you have to live, you have to love, you have to believe” make Bolkonsky again think about the meaning of life, again direct his consciousness towards the path of quest. As Tolstoy wrote, “the meeting with Pierre was for Prince Andrei the era from which, although in appearance the same, but in the inner world, his new life began.”

But for now, Prince Andrei continues to live in the village, still not seeing any goals or opportunities for himself. This is confirmed by his thoughts at the sight of an old, dry oak tree, which with all its appearance said, in Bolkonsky’s mind, that there could be no spring, no love, no happiness: “Yes, he is right, this oak tree is right a thousand times,” thought Prince Andrei, - let others, young people, succumb to this deception again, but we know life - our life is over!

Bolkonsky is carrying out on his estates the reforms that Pierre planned to carry out at his place and which he, due to lack of “practical tenacity,” did not complete. Prince Andrei succeeds, he transfers his peasants to free cultivators, essentially freeing them.

Having arrived on business with Count Ilya Andreevich Rostov, Prince Andrei first sees Natasha running past him in a crowd of peasant girls. And it hurts him because she is young, happy, and she doesn’t care about his existence.

And finally, the final stage of Bolkonsky’s return to life was a second meeting with the oak tree. This tree, which previously symbolized hopelessness for him, the end of life’s journey, has now blossomed and harmoniously merged into that world of love, spring and happiness, which was previously an antonym in the minds of Prince Andrei. “No, life is not over at the age of 31,” Prince Andrei suddenly finally, unchangeably decided. - Not only do I know everything that is in me, it is necessary for everyone to know it... it is necessary for everyone to know me, so that my life does not go on for me alone, so that they do not live so independently of my life, so that it was reflected on everyone and so that they all lived with me!”

Bolkonsky's active personality could not, of course, remain without some kind of occupation. Prince Andrey enters the public service and works together with Speransky on various bills. But all the innovative ideas he proposed did not come to fruition, since they were too bold for that time. Having failed to find support for promoting his reforms, Bolkonsky ceases his government activities.

At the same time, an important period begins in the life of Prince Andrei - an affair with Natasha Rostova. Bolkonsky, meeting Rostova for the first time at a ball, was immediately captivated by her charm. Prince Andrei's love was mutual, and he proposes to Natasha and receives consent. But Bolkonsky’s father set a condition - the wedding could take place in no less than a year. And Prince Andrei decides to spend this year abroad, in particular, to improve his health.

However, Natasha Rostova’s feelings cooled so much this year that she fell in love with Anatoly Kuragin and decided to flee Russia with him. But the escape did not take place.

And again, Prince Andrei’s dreams of a happy family life do not come true. It’s as if an inexorable fate is pursuing him, forcing him, through the pain of loss, to return to the path of quest.

Returning from abroad on the eve of the Patriotic War, Bolkonsky re-enters the army and looks for Anatole there to demand satisfaction. Prince Andrei was wounded on the Borodino field. At the dressing station the truth is revealed to him eternal love“Yes, love,” he thought again with perfect clarity, “but not the love that loves for something, for something or for some reason, but the love that I experienced for the first time when, dying , I saw my enemy and still loved him. I experienced that feeling of love, which is the very essence of the soul and for which no object is needed. I still experience this blissful feeling. Love your neighbors, love your enemies. To love everything - to love God in all manifestations. You can love someone dear human love; but only an enemy can be loved with divine love.”

Prince Andrey completes his path of life's quest with the discovery in himself of this amazing, comprehensive and truly divine feeling. But he also ends his life’s journey, “he was too good to live.” Tolstoy gave his hero the opportunity to understand the basis of the universe - love, the opportunity to become, albeit for a short time, a perfect person, and in return he took away his life.

The last truth revealed to him is “Death is an awakening!” - erased in Bolkonsky’s soul the fear of the unknown on the other side of life. “And Prince Andrei died.”

Conclusion

The subject of his research is L.N. Tolstoy was a man, his soul. For him, man is part of the Universe. He is interested in the path that the human soul goes through in the quest for the high, the ideal, in the quest to know itself.

The main problem that the writer poses in his novel is the problem of human happiness, the problem of searching for the meaning of life. His heroes - Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov - are searching, tormented, suffering heroes.

By tracing the life path of Prince Andrei and Pierre, we can understand which worldview is closest to the author, and, therefore, what is the image ideal person from Tolstoy's point of view.

To walk along with the heroes of “War and Peace” their life path, to see how they make mistakes, search, suffer, get into a dead end and get out of it, analyze the road they have chosen at the crossroads of life - this is what, in my opinion, is the most attractive and interesting in the immortal novel by L.N. Tolstoy.

In this novel, I am attracted to Pierre Bezukhov, with his positive attitude towards life, throughout the entire story he develops, searches for himself, believes in the best, supports his friends, although not everything is going well in his life.

List of used literature

1. L.N. Tolstoy. “War and Peace.” M.: Education, 1995.

2. Lebedinskaya L.E. "Living Heroes". M.: Education, 1991.

3. Cepled.ucoz.ru (illustration) - Napoleon

4. Peremeny.ru (illustration) - Pierre after the Battle of Borodino.

5. Liveinternet.ru (illustration) - Pierre Bezukhov and Prince Andrei

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