The theme of the people in the work is war and peace. Essay on the topic The image of the common people in the novel “War and Peace”

Transcript

1 Municipal educational institution Gymnasium 64 2 The theme of the people in the novel “War and Peace”. Examination essay on literature. Golubenko Diana Romanovna, 11 A Ilyina Tatyana Nikolaevna, teacher Lipetsk, 2007

2 3 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3 1.GENRE ORIGINALITY AND STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF THE NOVEL WAR AND PEACE 6 2.CONTRASTING TRUE AND FALSE PATRIOTISM IN THE NOVEL "WAR AND PEACE" 12 3.PATRIOTISM OF THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE IN THE PATRIOTIC WAR NOT 1812 14 4. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NOVEL “WAR AND THE WORLD" IN WORLD LITERATURE 16 CONCLUSION 20 LIST OF REFERENCES USED 23

3 4 INTRODUCTION There are two sides of life in every person: personal life, which is the more free the more abstract its interests are, and spontaneous, swarm life, where a person inevitably uses the laws prescribed to him. L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". “This talent is new and, it seems, reliable,” this is how N.A. responded to the appearance of the new writer. Nekrasov. I.S. Turgenev noted that the first place among writers rightfully belongs to Tolstoy, and that soon “he alone will be known in Russia.” N.G. Chernyshevsky, reviewing the writer’s first collections, defined the essence of his artistic discoveries in two terms: “dialectics of the soul” and “purity of moral feeling.” For Tolstoy, a microscope was a tool for studying mental life. psychological analysis became the main one among others artistic means. An unprecedentedly close interest in mental life is of fundamental importance for Tolstoy the artist. In this way, the writer opens in his characters the possibilities of change, development, internal renewal, and confrontation with the environment. The ideas of the revival of man, people, humanity constitute the pathos of Tolstoy’s work. Starting from his early stories, the writer deeply and comprehensively explored the possibilities of the human personality, its ability for spiritual growth, and connection to the high goals of human existence. In 1860, Tolstoy began writing the novel “The Decembrists,” conceived as the story of a Decembrist returning from exile. It was this novel that served as the beginning for the creation of War and Peace. At an early stage of work, the Decembrist theme determined the composition of the planned monumental work about the almost half-century history of Russian society.

4 5 The writer’s desire to explore the depths of historical and personal existence was reflected in his work on the great epic. In search of the origins of the Decembrist movement, Tolstoy inevitably came to the era of the Patriotic War, which shaped the future noble revolutionaries. Admiration for heroism and sacrifice " the best people The writer kept the beginning of the 19th century for the rest of his life. In the early 60s, important changes occurred in his worldview. Tolstoy recognizes the decisive role of the people in the historical process. The pathos of “War and Peace” is in the affirmation of “people's thought.” The author’s deep, albeit peculiar, democracy determined the angle of view necessary for the epic in assessing all persons and events on the basis of “popular opinion.” Work on the novel “War and Peace” lasted 7 years (from 1863 to 1869). Tolstoy begins his novel in 1805. He intended to lead the heroes through historical events 1805, 1807, 1812, 1825 and end it in 1856. That is, the novel had to cover a large historical period. However, in the process of work, the writer gradually narrowed chronological framework and so I came to create a new work. This book combines the most important images of historical events and a deep analysis of human souls. The relevance of this work lies in the need to consider the character of the Russian people, which manifests itself with equal force in peaceful, Everyday life and in large, landmark historical events, during military failures and in moments of greatest glory in order to vivid examples and artistic images to understand your people and the country in which you and I have the honor of living. The purpose of this work, “The Theme of the People in the Novel “War and Peace,” is a detailed examination of the artistic originality and significance of the theme of the people in the novel “War and Peace,” as well as the significance of this theme for L.N. Tolstoy as a novelist.

5 6 In connection with this goal, we will define the tasks: 1. Consider the genre and structural features of the novel “War and Peace”; 2. Show true and false patriotism shown by L.N. Tolstoy in the novel; 3. Identify the meaning of the novel “War and Peace” in world literature and the historiography of the study. The range of problems under study is framed within a chronological framework from 1805 to 1820, but goes beyond the personal fate of the heroes and examines the grandiose epic picture of Russian life at the beginning of the 19th century.

6 7 1. GENRE ORIGINALITY AND STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF THE NOVEL WAR AND PEACE Tolstoy began writing the novel War and Peace in October 1863, and completed it by December 1869. The writer devoted more than six years to incessant and exceptional work, daily, painfully joyful work, which required from him the utmost exertion of spiritual and physical strength. The appearance of War and Peace was truly the greatest event in the development of world literature. Tolstoy's epic showed that the peculiarities of the national-historical development of the Russian people, their historical past give the brilliant writer the opportunity to create gigantic epic compositions like Homer's Iliad. War and Peace also testified to high level and the depth of realistic mastery achieved by Russian literature in just some thirty years after Pushkin. There are still ongoing debates about how the second half of the now familiar title should be understood, that is, what is the meaning of the word world. This word is used in its twofold meaning: firstly, it denotes the ordinary, non-military life of people, their destinies in the period between wars, in peaceful living conditions; secondly, peace means a community of people based on close similarity or complete unity of their national or social feelings, aspirations, and interests. But be that as it may, the title War and Peace contains the idea of national, universal unity, the brotherhood of people in the name of opposing war as evil, the idea of denying enmity between people and nations. War and Peace is not a novel in the generally accepted sense of the term. Tolstoy is cramped within the certain boundaries of the novel. Narration in

7 8 War and Peace went beyond the novel form and approached the epic as the most high form epic story. The epic gives an image of a people in difficult periods for its existence, when great tragic or heroic events shake and set in motion the entire society, country, nation. Somewhat sharpening the thought, Belinsky said that the hero of the epic is life itself, and not a person. The genre originality and structural feature of War and Peace lie in the fact that this work combines the features and qualities of a novel and an epic in their organic fusion, unity. This is a novel epic or an epic novel, that is, both a novel and an epic. Tolstoy depicts private and national life, puts forward the problem of the destinies of man and Russian society, the state, the Russian nation, all of Russia at a crucial moment in their historical existence. Tolstoy tried to write the history of the people, painted a picture of people's life in its military and everyday manifestations. In an effort to capture everything that he knew and felt, Tolstoy gave in War and Peace a kind of code of life, morals, spiritual culture, beliefs and ideals of the people during the dramatic period of their history during the Patriotic War of 1812. Both in historical science and in the fiction of those years, the topic of national Russian history was widely discussed, and the question of the role of the masses and the individual in history aroused keen interest. Tolstoy's merit as the author of an epic novel lies in the fact that he was the first to so deeply reveal and so convincingly illuminate the great role of the masses in the historical events of the early 19th century, in the life of the Russian state and society, in the spiritual existence of the Russian nation. Understanding the people as the decisive force in the battle with external enemies gave Tolstoy the right to make the people the true heroes of his epic. He was convinced that the reason for our triumph was not accidental, but lay in the essence of the character of the Russian people and troops.

8 9 Tolstoy himself gave great importance his established philosophy of history, developed in War and Peace. These thoughts are the fruit of all the mental work of my life and form an inseparable part of that worldview, which (God alone knows!) through what labors and sufferings was developed in me and gave me complete peace and happiness, wrote Tolstoy regarding the philosophical and historical chapters of War and Peace. The basis of this worldview was the idea that the course of the historical life of mankind is governed by incomprehensible laws, the action of which is as inexorable as the action of the laws of nature. History develops independently of the will and aspirations of individuals. A person sets certain goals for himself, towards the achievement of which he directs his activities. It seems to him that he is free both in defining goals and in his actions. In fact, he is not only unfree, but his actions, as a rule, do not lead to the results that he strives for. The activities of many people form a historical process independent of their individual goals and aspirations. Tolstoy, in particular, was clear that in great historical events decisive force are the masses. This understanding of the role of the masses in history forms the subjective basis of the broad epic image of the historical past that War and Peace provides. It also made it easier for Tolstoy to artistically recreate the image of the masses themselves when depicting their participation in the war. In his descriptions of the war, Tolstoy focuses on the deep national qualities of the Russian people: the inflexibility of their will in the face of the most terrible invasion, patriotism, and readiness to die rather than submit to the conqueror. At the same time, Tolstoy also presents us with detailed images (Alexander, Napoleon, Kutuzov and others) of historical figures of this era. Moreover, it was the image of Kutuzov that gave

9 10 Tolstoy’s opportunity to practically visibly reveal the national character of the Patriotic War of 1812. What makes Kutuzov a great historical figure is the Patriotic War and the trust that the people and the army placed in him. This deep and correct thought guided Tolstoy when creating the image of Kutuzov in War and Peace. Tolstoy sees the greatness of Kutuzov the commander, first of all, in the unity of his spirit with the spirit of the people and the army, in the understanding of the national character of the war of 1812 and in the fact that he embodies the features of the Russian national character. In creating the image of the old field marshal, Tolstoy undoubtedly took into account Pushkin’s characterization: Kutuzov alone was vested with the people’s power of attorney, which he so wonderfully justified! As if in focus, he concentrates in himself those moods that were inherent in the old Prince Bolkonsky, and Prince Andrei, and Timokhin, and Denisov, and the nameless soldiers. A deep connection with his homeland, with everything Russian, was the source of his strength as a commander and as a historical figure. Only then does a personality fully manifest itself and leave a mark in history, when it is organically connected with the people, when everything that the people live with in a given historical period is extremely concentrated and then revealed, such a conclusion can be drawn from considering the image of Kutuzov. Kutuzov as a representative people's war in the novel he opposes Napoleon, the arrogant and cruel conqueror, whose actions as depicted by Tolstoy are not only not justified either by history or by the needs of the French people, but also contradict the moral ideal of humanity. In Tolstoy's depiction, Napoleon is the executioner of nations, a man without convictions, without habits, without traditions, without a name, not even a Frenchman, that is, devoid of a sense of homeland, for whom France was the same means in achieving world domination as other peoples and states.

10 11 Tolstoy's Napoleon is a gambler, a presumptuous adventurer, whom history, in the person of the Russian people, has cruelly and deservedly taught a lesson. In his philosophical digressions and chapters, Tolstoy more than once repeats the idea that historical events occur only because they must occur, and that the more we try to rationally explain historical phenomena, the more incomprehensible they become to us. To explain the phenomena of history, it is necessary to penetrate into the essence of the connection between a person and an event, and for this it is necessary to know the history of all, without one exception, all people taking part in the event, for all people spontaneously participate in the socio-historical process and, therefore, unconsciously create history. And since it is not possible to do this, we inevitably have to admit fatalism in history. So, there are two sides of life in every person: personal life, which is the more free the more abstract its interests are, and spontaneous, swarm life, where a person inevitably fulfills the laws prescribed to him. In other words: Man consciously lives for himself, but serves as an unconscious instrument for achieving historical, universal goals. This is how Tolstoy defines the boundaries of human freedom and independence, the area of his conscious activity and the area of necessity, in which the will of providence reigns. This leads to a solution to the question of the role of personality in history. The general formula, often repeated in different ways by the author of War and Peace, sounds like this: ... one has only to delve into the essence of each historical event, that is, into the activities of the entire mass of people who participated in the event, in order to be convinced that the will historical hero Not only does she not direct the actions of the masses, but she herself is constantly led... The role of an outstanding personality in history is insignificant. No matter how brilliant a person is, he cannot at will direct the movement of history, dictate his will to it, predetermine the movement of history and

11 12 control the actions of a huge mass of people living a spontaneous, swarm life. History is made by people, the masses, the people, and not by a person who has risen above the people and taken upon himself the right to arbitrarily predict the direction of events. Tolstoy writes: Fatalism for a person is the same nonsense as arbitrariness in historical events. It does not follow from this that Tolstoy completely denied any role of man in history and that he reduced it to zero. He recognizes the right and even the obligation of every person to act within the boundaries of the possible, to consciously intervene in ongoing historical events. That one of the people who, taking advantage of every moment of freedom, not only directly participates in events, but is also gifted with the ability, instinct and intelligence to penetrate into the course of events and grasp and comprehend their general meaning, who is united with the people, deserves the name of a truly great person, genius personality. There are only a few of them. Kutuzov belongs to them, and his antipode is Napoleon.

12 13 2. CONTRASTING TRUE AND FALSE PATRIOTISM IN THE NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” The main theme of the novel “War and Peace” is the depiction of the feat of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812. The author speaks in his novel both about the faithful sons of the fatherland and about false patriots who think only about their own selfish goals. Tolstoy uses the technique of antithesis to depict both the events and characters of the novel. Let's follow the events of the novel. In the first volume, he talks about the war with Napoleon, where Russia (an ally of Austria and Prussia) was defeated. There is a war going on. In Austria, General Mark was defeated near Ulm. The Austrian army surrendered. The threat of defeat loomed over the Russian army. And then Kutuzov decided to send Bagration with four thousand soldiers through the rugged Bohemian mountains to meet the French. Bagration had to quickly make a difficult transition and delay the forty-thousand-strong French army until Kutuzov arrived. His squad needed to accomplish a great feat in order to save the Russian army. Thus, the author leads the reader to the image of the first great battle. In this battle, as always, Dolokhov is bold and fearless. Dolokhov's bravery is manifested in the battle, where "he killed one Frenchman at point-blank range, the first took the surrendering officer by the collar." But after that he goes to the regimental commander and reports on his “trophies”: “Please remember, Your Excellency!” Then he untied the handkerchief, pulled it and showed the dried blood: “Wound with a bayonet, I stayed at the front. Remember, Your Excellency.” Everywhere, always, he remembers, first of all, about himself, only about himself, everything he does, he does for himself. We are not surprised by Zherkov’s behavior either. When, at the height of the battle, Bagration sent him with an important order to the general of the left flank, he did not go forward, where he heard

13 14 shooting, and began to look for the general away from the battle. Because of an untransmitted order, the French cut off the Russian hussars, many died and were wounded. There are many such officers. They are not cowards, but they do not know how to forget themselves, their careers and personal interests for the sake of the common cause. But the Russian army consisted not only of such officers. In the chapters depicting the Battle of Shengraben, we meet the true heroes. Here he sits, the hero of this battle, the hero of this “deed,” small, thin and dirty, sitting barefoot, having taken off his boots. This is artillery officer Tushin. “With big, smart and kind eyes, he looks at the commanders who entered and tries to joke: “Soldiers say that you are more agile when you take off your shoes,” and he is embarrassed, feeling that the joke was a failure.” Tolstoy does everything so that Captain Tushin appears before us in the most unheroic form , even funny. But this one. funny man was the hero of the day. Prince Andrei will rightly say about him: “We owe the success of the day most of all to the action of this battery and the heroic fortitude of Captain Tushin and his company.” The second hero of the Battle of Shengraben is Timokhin. He appears at the very moment when the soldiers panicked and ran. Everything seemed lost. But at that moment the French, who were advancing on ours, suddenly ran back... and Russian riflemen appeared in the forest. This was Timokhin's company. And only thanks to Timokhin, the Russians had the opportunity to return and assemble battalions. Courage is diverse. There are many people who are uncontrollably brave in battle, but get lost in everyday life. In the war of 1812, when every soldier fought for his home, for his family and friends, for his homeland, the consciousness of danger “increased” his strength tenfold. The further Napoleon advanced deeper into Russia, the more the strength of the Russian army grew, the more the French army weakened, turning into a bunch of thieves and marauders. Only the will of the people, only people's patriotism, the "spirit of the army" makes the army invincible. Tolstoy makes this conclusion in his immortal epic novel War and Peace.

14 15 3. PATRIOTISM OF THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE IN THE PATRIOTIC WAR OF 1812 So the novel “War and Peace” in terms of genre is an epic novel, since Tolstoy shows us historical events that cover a large period of time (the action of the novel begins in 1805 and ends in 1821, in the epilogue), there are over 200 characters in the novel characters, there are real historical figures (Kutuzov, Napoleon, Alexander I, Speransky, Rostopchin, Bagration and many others), all social strata of Russia of that time are shown: high society, noble aristocracy, provincial nobility, army, peasantry, even merchants (remember the merchant Ferapontov, who sets fire to his house so that it does not fall to the enemy). Important topic The novel is the theme of the feat of the Russian people (regardless of social affiliation) in the War of 1812. It was a just people's war of the Russian people against the Napoleonic invasion. An army of half a million, led by a major commander, attacked Russian soil with all its might, hoping to conquer this country in a short time. The Russian people stood up to defend their native land. A feeling of patriotism gripped the army, the people and the best part nobility. The people exterminated the French by all legal and illegal means. Circles and partisan detachments were created to exterminate French military units. In that war they showed best qualities Russian people. The entire army, experiencing an extraordinary patriotic upsurge, was full of faith in victory. In preparation for the Battle of Borodino, the soldiers wore clean shirts and did not drink vodka. It was a sacred moment for them. Historians believe Napoleon won battle of Borodino. But the “won battle” did not bring him the desired results. People abandoned their property and

15 16 left the enemy. Food supplies were destroyed so that they would not reach the enemy. There were hundreds of partisan detachments. They were big and small, peasant and landowner. One detachment, led by a sexton, captured several hundred prisoners in a month. There was the elder Vasilisa, who killed hundreds of French. There was the poet-hussar Denis Davydov, the commander of a large, active partisan detachment. Kutuzov M.I. proved himself to be a true commander of the people's war. he is an exponent of the national spirit. This is what Prince Andrei Bolkonsky thinks about him before the Battle of Borodino: “He will have nothing of his own. He will not come up with anything, will not undertake anything, but he will listen to everything, remember everything, put everything in its place, will not interfere with anything useful and nothing harmful he won’t allow it. He understands that there is something more significant than his will... And the main thing why you believe him is that he is Russian...” All of Kutuzov’s behavior indicates that he was trying to understand the events taking place. active, correctly calculated, deeply thought out. Kutuzov knew that the Russian people would win, because he perfectly understood the superiority of the Russian army over the French. When creating his novel “War and Peace,” L.N. Tolstoy could not ignore the theme of Russian patriotism. Tolstoy extremely truthfully depicted the heroic past of Russia, showed the people and their decisive role in the Patriotic War of 1812. For the first time in the history of Russian literature, the Russian commander Kutuzov is truthfully depicted. Depicting the war of 1805, Tolstoy paints various pictures of military operations and various types of its participants. But this war was fought outside Russia, its meaning and goals were incomprehensible and alien to the Russian people. The War of 1812 is a different matter. Tolstoy paints it differently. He portrays this war as a people's war, a fair one, which was waged against enemies who encroached on the country's independence.

16 17 4. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” IN WORLD LITERATURE There are great poems, great works of universal significance, eternal songs bequeathed from century to century; There is no educated person who does not know them, has not read them, has not lived them... wrote A. I. Herzen. Among such great creations is War and Peace. This is Tolstoy’s most monumental creation, which occupied a very special place in his work, in the history of Russian and world literature, in the development artistic culture of all humanity. War and Peace is the pinnacle of Tolstoy's epic work. This eternal book marked the beginning of the writer’s pan-European fame and brought him almost global recognition as a brilliant realist writer. A person’s happiness lies in love for everyone, and at the same time he understands that there cannot be such love on earth. Prince Andrei had to either abandon these views or die. In the first versions of the novel, he remained alive. But then Tolstoy’s philosophy would die. To the writer, his worldview was more valuable than the hero’s, so he emphasized many times that anyone who interferes in the course of events and tries to change them with the help of reason is insignificant. The greatness and happiness of a person lies in another. Let us turn to the description of Pierre’s internal state: “The expression of the eyes was firm, calm and animatedly ready, such as Pierre’s gaze had never had before. Now he found the truth he was looking for in Freemasonry, in social life, in wine, in self-sacrifice, in romantic love for Natasha. He looked for it with the help of thought and, like Prince Andrei, came to the conclusion about the powerlessness of thought, about the hopelessness of searching for happiness “through thought.” Where did Pierre find happiness now? “Satisfaction of needs, good food, cleanliness, freedom seemed to Pierre perfect happiness”

17 18 A thought that tries to raise a person above his immediate needs only brings confusion and uncertainty into his soul. A person is not called to do more than what concerns him personally. Tolstoy says that a person must determine the boundaries of his freedom. And he wants to show that a person’s freedom is not outside of him, but within himself. Having felt inner freedom, becoming indifferent to the external flow of life, Pierre is in an unusually joyful mood, the mood of a man who has finally discovered the truth. The role of the people in the War of 1812 is another main theme of the novel. According to Tolstoy, the fate of a war is decided not by conquerors, not by battles, but by the hostility of the population towards the army of conquerors, the unwillingness to submit to it. People main strength, which determined the fate of the war. Tolstoy welcomes the people's war. Words appear that are unusual for his style: “majestic power”, “good for that people”. The writer praises the “club of the people’s war” and considers the partisan movement an expression of just people’s hatred of the enemy. “War and Peace” is a novel about life and death, about the rebellious force of vitality inherent in man. Tolstoy reveals that special state of the soul when a person seems to lift himself off the ground and sees more than in everyday, ordinary life. Let us remember the experiences that Natasha experiences after breaking up with Prince Andrei. She is alienated from the everyday world, but love brings her back to life. “Love woke up, and life woke up,” writes Tolstoy. This is no longer the love that Prince Andrei recognized, this is earthly love. The writer always dreamed of harmony, that people, loving themselves, would love others. And Natasha is closest to this ideal. She knows how to enjoy life, knows how to understand and alleviate the suffering of others. The author shows this state of the heroine in this way: “Under what seemed to her an impenetrable layer of silt that covered her soul, thin,

18 19 tender young needles of grass, which were supposed to take root and so cover with their vital shoots the grief that had crushed her, that it would soon be invisible and imperceptible.” Tolstoy depicts the “special” love of Natasha and Pierre. Bezukhov hardly recognized Rostova, but when she smiled, he was overcome by long-forgotten happiness. Pierre is struck by the appearance of the present Natasha: “She could not be recognized, because on this face, in the eyes of which a hidden smile of the joy of life had always shone, now there was not even a shadow of a smile, there were only eyes, attentive, kind and sadly inquiring.” This sadness is not only due to personal losses: Natasha’s face reflected all the sadness of the people who suffered so much for Last year. She not only understands her own grief, but also knows how to empathize with the suffering of another person and understand them. Natasha listened to Pierre's story about his adventures, catching the unspoken word on the fly, and directly brought it into her open heart. Only a person whose heart is open to other people, a person in whom living life beats, can listen this way. Now in the finale, after the epic and tragic chapters, a lyrical song of love sounds. From this theme of two people's love for each other grows the theme of love for life. The main crime against life is war. But the war is over, the suffering it brought is a thing of the past. The wounds heal. At the end of the novel, the writer affirms the right of people to love, to happiness, to life. At the heart of War and Peace is Tolstoy's worldview. This is faith in the eternity of the people, in the eternity of life, hatred of wars, belief in the need for persistent searches for truth, aversion to the cult of personality, glorification of pure love, contempt for individualism, a call for the unity of people. Tolstoy's novel was hailed as a masterpiece of world literature. G. Flaubert expressed his admiration in one of his letters to Turgenev (January 1880): “This is a first-rate thing! What an artist and what a psychologist! Two

The 19 20 first volumes are amazing. Yes, it’s strong, very strong!” D. Galsworthy called "War and Peace" best novel, which has ever been written." R. Rolland wrote about how, as a very young man, a student, he read Tolstoy’s novel: this “work, like life, has neither beginning nor end. It is life itself in its eternal movement.” The whole world studied and Russia is studying from this book. The artistic laws discovered by the great writer constitute an indisputable model to this day. “War and Peace” is the result of Tolstoy’s moral and philosophical quest, his desire to find the truth and meaning of life. This work contains a piece of his immortal soul.

20 21 CONCLUSION The novel "War and Peace" was conceived as a novel about a Decembrist returning after an amnesty in 1856. But the more Tolstoy worked with archival materials, the more he realized that it was impossible to write this novel without talking about both the uprising itself and the War of 1812. So the concept of the novel gradually transformed, and Tolstoy created a grandiose epic. "War and Peace" is a story about the feat of the people, about the victory of their spirit in the war of 1812. Later, speaking about the novel, Tolstoy wrote that the main idea novel - "folk thought". It lies not only and not so much in the depiction of the people themselves, their way of life, their life, but in the fact that every positive hero of the novel ultimately connects his fate with the fate of the nation. In the second part of the epilogue, Tolstoy says that until now all history has been written as the history of individuals, as a rule, tyrants, monarchs, and no one has yet thought about what is the driving force of history. Tolstoy believed that this is the so-called “swarm principle”, the spirit and will of not one person, but the nation as a whole, and how strong the spirit and will of the people are, so probable are certain historical events. So Tolstoy explains the victory in the Patriotic War by the fact that two wills collided: the will of the French soldiers and the will of the entire Russian people. This war was fair for the Russians, they fought for their Motherland, so their spirit and will to win turned out to be stronger than the French spirit and will. Therefore, Russia's victory over France was predetermined. So, the relevance of this work lay in the need to consider the character of the Russian people in order to use these vivid examples and artistic images to understand our people and the country in which you and I have the honor of living. I think that I managed to achieve this in my work “The Theme of the People in the Novel “War and Peace”. After all, the war of 1812

21 22 became a milestone, a test for all the good characters in the novel: for Prince Andrei, who feels an extraordinary upsurge before the Battle of Borodino, faith in victory; for Pierre Bezukhov, all of whose thoughts are aimed at helping to expel the invaders - he even develops a plan to kill Napoleon; for Natasha, who gave the carts to the wounded, because it was impossible not to give them back, it was shameful and disgusting not to give them back; for Petya Rostov, who takes part in the hostilities of a partisan detachment and dies in a battle with the enemy; for Denisov, Dolokhov, even Anatoly Kuragin. All these people, throwing away everything personal, become one and participate in the formation of the will to win. While researching the material for writing the work, I realized that the will to win is especially clearly manifested in mass scenes: in the scene of the surrender of Smolensk (remember the merchant Ferapontov, who, succumbing to some unknown, inner force, orders all his goods to be distributed to the soldiers, and what cannot be endured - set fire); in the scene of preparation for the Battle of Borodino (the soldiers put on white shirts, as if preparing for the last battle), in the scene of the battle between the partisans and the French. In general, the theme of guerrilla warfare occupies a special place in the novel. Tolstoy emphasizes that the war of 1812 was truly a people's war, because the people themselves rose up to fight the invaders. The detachments of elders Vasilisa Kozhina and Denis Davydov were already operating, and the heroes of the novel, Vasily Denisov and Dolokhov, were also creating their own detachments. Tolstoy calls the cruel, life-and-death war “the club of the people’s war”: “The club of the people’s war rose with all its formidable and majestic force, and, without asking anyone’s tastes and rules, with stupid simplicity, but with expediency, without understanding nothing, rose, fell and nailed the French until the entire invasion was destroyed."

22 23 It seems to me that, unfortunately, the prospect of this research will never dry up. Only eras, peoples, personalities and heroes will change. Because any war should be considered a people’s war because There will definitely be a defending side that will be involved in a war only to protect its people. And there will always be wars

23 24 References. 1. Ermilov V. Tolstoy the artist and the novel “War and Peace”. M., “Soviet writer”, Kogan P.S. Essays on the history of modern Russian literature in two volumes, vol. 2, M., Tolstoy L.N. Complete collection op., t L.N. Tolstoy in Russian criticism. M., Goslitizdat, Matyleva T. About the global significance of Tolstoy. M., “Soviet writer”. 6. Plekhanov G.V. Art and literature. M., Goslitizdat, 1948.

Plyasova G.N. Grade 10B “I myself tried to write the history of my people.” L. Tolstoy The theme of the people is the main one in the literature of the 60s of the 19th century. “People's thought” is one of the main ones in the novel. People, Russian army at war

True and false in the novel “War and Peace” Usually, when starting to study a novel, teachers ask about the title of the novel “War and Peace,” and students diligently answer that it is an antithesis (although the title can be considered

Stepanova M.V. teacher of Russian language and literature 1. Reveal the significance of the Battle of Borodino in the life of Russia and in the life of the heroes of the novel. 2. Master the content of the main episodes and scenes of volume 3. 3. Cultivate feeling

II All-Russian Tolstoy Olympiad in Literature Task 1. 10th grade 1. In captivity, Pierre: A) succumbed to a feeling of fear; B) felt like a person deprived of freedom; B) learned that there is no situation in which

Essay on what Tolstoy’s favorite characters see as the meaning of life. The search for the meaning of life by the main characters of the novel War and Peace. My favorite hero in the novel War and Peace * For the first time Tolstoy introduces us to Andrey Read the essay

ANALYSIS OF THE EPISODE “Sonya and Raskolnikov read the Gospel” from the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment” (part 4, chapter IV) Introduction. 1. What is the theme of the novel? (Briefly say what the novel is about, without retelling

2015: CORRESPONDENT TOUR: ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE CORRESPONDENT TOUR OF THE 2015 TOLSTOY OLYMPIAD IN LITERATURE 27. Years of life of L.N. Tolstoy: A) 1905 1964; B) 1828 1910; B) 1802 1836; D) 1798 1864 28. L.N. Tolstoy defined it this way

Patriotic War of 1812 on the pages works of art“The twelfth year is a folk epic, the memory of which will pass on to centuries and will not die as long as the Russian people live” M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy “War and Peace” Count Tolstoy has true talent; you need to have a lot of taste to appreciate the beauty of Count Tolstoy’s works; but a person who knows how to understand true beauty,

What does Tolstoy value in people in the novel War and Peace essay The great Russian writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy is considered to be This type of work is considered War and Peace, known throughout the world. value

An essay on the topic why Natasha Rostova cheated on Prince Andrei so Prince Andrei saw the sky above Austerlitz (. Essay on the topic The image of Natasha Rostova in the novel War and Peace Tolstoy’s favorite heroine. Topics

Materials for an essay in the direction “Year of Literature in Russia” The direction is like a magic wand: if you don’t know Russian classical literature, write in this direction. That is, you can at least

Silvie Doubravská učo 109233 RJ2BK_KLS2 epic novel describing the events of the wars against Napoleon: 1805 and the Patriotic War of 1812 Battle of Austerlitz Epic is an ancient genre where life is depicted in

Virtual book exhibition of the library of the BPOU UR "Glaaovsky Technical College" N. M. Karamzin " Poor Lisa"(1792) The story became a model of Russian sentimental literature. As opposed to classicism

True and false patriotism and heroism in the understanding of L.N. Tolstoy in the novel *War and Peace." The concept of "War and Peace" goes back to Tolstoy's novel. 32603176739726 L. N. Tolstoy also showed attention to this event.

Materials for an essay in the direction of “Home” (based on L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”): home, sweet home What a pity that this novel evokes fear in you, my friends, by its very appearance! Great novel of the great

Essay on the topic my opinion about the novel Eugene Onegin Essay on the topic Onegin as a hero of our time Eugene Onegin is the first Russian realistic novel and the only novel in Russian literature in This

The problem of faith as a manifestation of a person’s moral fortitude essay The problem of a person’s moral choice in extreme life situation. The problem of people being rude to each other

Essay on the topic my favorite literary hero Andrey Bolkonsky Olga Vasilievna Kuznetsova, teacher of Russian language and literature. Natasha Rostova and Maria Bolkonskaya are Tolstoy's favorite heroines with Marya and

In memory of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) The work was carried out by Irina Nikitina, 16 years old, student of MBOU secondary school 36, Penza, class 10 “B”, Teacher: Fomina Larisa Serafimovna Alexander Blagov These days

Essay on the topic of woe from mind, the life ideals of the Famus society, Chatsky and Famusov society(based on Griboedov's comedy Woe from Wit). Denis Povarov added an essay, April 29, 2014, 18:22, 158 views.

Essay reflection my understanding of human happiness Essays Essays by Tolstoy War and Peace essays based on the work. L. N. Tolstoy, Natasha Rostova won my heart, entered my life True

Problems of the novel An epic novel is not an ordinary literary work - it is an artistic presentation of a certain philosophy of life. 1) The writer is trying to understand the laws that govern the world.

The largest battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 between the Russian army under the command of M.I. Kutuzov and the French army of Napoleon I Bonaparte. Took place on August 26 (September 7), 1812 near the village of Borodino,

An essay on the theme of Borodino from the perspective of a soldier. An appeal to Lermontov's poem Borodino, which opens the section From. not directly from himself, but on behalf of the narrator - a soldier, a participant in the battle. If you liked it

Patriotic lyrics of Lermontov. Lermontov's poems are almost always an internal, intense monologue, a sincere confession, questions asked to oneself and answers to them. The poet feels his loneliness, melancholy,

The dark ring is located in the middle of a field occupied by pyramids and a sphinx so... In the battle of Borodino in 1812, the Russian army was defeated... Since 1858, he lectured on Sanskrit language and literature,...

Napoleon's Invasion On June 24, 1812, Russia was invaded by a dangerous and powerful enemy, the army of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Our troops were more than two times smaller than the French. Napoleon

Work plan: 1. Quiz: The Patriotic War of 1812 and its historical significance. 2. Drawing competition on the theme “The Patriotic War of 1812.” 3. Game travel “Faithful Sons of the Fatherland.” 4. Calendar

Kutuzov in the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace". Kutuzov is, above all, natural in his every movement - this is what Tolstoy loves about him. Kutuzov was tired of the long and difficult life, it’s hard for him to wear his blurry

An essay on the topic of fighting for a person in the tragedy Faust The tragedy Faust by Johann Wolfgang Goethe: summary It should bring joy and fun to a person, and this is best done, Brother Valentin.

SEPTEMBER 8, 1812 BATTLE OF BORODINO The Patriotic War of 1812 occupies a special place in Russian history. It was a just, national liberation war, in which the peoples multinational Russia,

Open letter Veteran Student Action primary classes Municipal educational institution "Secondary School 5 UIM" Agaki Egor 2 "a" class Dear veterans! Congratulations on the anniversary of the Victory! Days, years, almost centuries have passed, But we will never forget you!

Essay on the topic of life little man Chekhov Maxim said about the significance of the work of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov that it will take a long time for him to learn to understand life from his writings, illuminated by the sad smile of the abyss of philistinism,

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM Sadovnikova Vera Nikolaevna graduate student of the Tula State Pedagogical University named after. L.N. Tolstoy" Tula, Tula region. PHILOSOPHICAL ORIGINS OF THEATER PEDAGOGY

THE THEME OF THE COLLISION OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW AND REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS IN “IMPATIENCE” Y. TRIFONOVA Baimusaeva B.Sh., Zhumabaeva Sh.D. South Kazakhstan State University named after. M. Auezova Shymkent, Kazakhstan

Gaidar. Time. We. Gaidar is ahead! Completed by an 11th grade student at the Poshatovsky Municipal Educational Institution orphanage-school" Pogodina Ekaterina "There is a time for everything, and a time for every thing under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die;

MOUDOD "Zharkovsky House" children's creativity» Summary of the event on the topic “I am a citizen of Russia” dedicated to the Day national unity(1st grade) Additional education teacher: Makarova N.G. P. Zharkovsky,

Gallery of books about the Great Patriotic War IT IS TERRIBLE TO REMEMBER, YOU CANNOT FORGET. Yuri Vasilyevich Bondarev (born 1924) Soviet writer, participant in the Great Patriotic War. Graduated from the Literary Institute

An essay on the topic of the fate of the generation of 1830 in Lermontov's lyrics From an early age, Lermontov reflected on fate, on a high destiny, spent two years in the Moscow noble boarding school, and in 1830 he entered

L. N. Tolstoy 1828 1910 “To live honestly, you have to rush, get confused, fight, make mistakes, start and quit, and always struggle and lose, and peace of mind is meanness.” L. N. Tolstoy I. E. Repin Portrait

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION NATIONAL RESEARCH TOMSK STATE UNIVERSITY ISSUES OF HISTORY, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND DOCUMENTATION Collection of materials XI

HAPPINESS as a unifying Highest Value What are Highest Values? Not everyone thinks about how important this issue is for any person. The highest value has many meanings: for some it is material

May 9 is a special holiday, “a holiday with tears in our eyes.” This is the day of our pride, greatness, courage and bravery. The last shots of a tragic, unforgettable war have long been fired. But the wounds don't heal

Read carefully a fragment of L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” (vol. I, part, chapter 9) and complete the tasks. Despite the fact that five minutes before, Prince Andrei could say a few words to the soldiers,

Gayamova Larisa Raffaelevna Collection “Philological science and school: dialogue and cooperation” Part 1, Moscow 2014 Moral education of students in literature lessons when studying the works of L.N. Tolstoy

MDOU "Kindergarten 110" Sonkovsky district of the Tver region A story about the monuments of the Great Patriotic War Educator: Tarakanova S.V. Goal: formation of the foundations of patriotism; nurturing interest and feelings

Among Russian poets M. Yu. Lermontov occupies a special place. Poetic world Lermontov is the element of a powerful human spirit, rejecting the vulgar pettiness of everyday life. Special, Lermontov, element

Conversation, review of the book exhibition: “Glory to you, conquering soldier” (February 23, Defender of the Fatherland Day). Goal: to introduce students to the history of the origin of the holiday Objectives: to cultivate respectful

About the war War, a terrible war! What did she bring us? Devastation, hunger, poverty, There is only emptiness in the hearts of people, And fear for loved ones, for children They take healthy, strong, young guys back to the front, And they return

Class hour “Lesson of Courage - Warm Heart” Goal: to form an idea of courage, honor, dignity, responsibility, morality, to show students the courage of Russian soldiers. The board is divided

I tried to write the history of the people.

L. Tolstoy

L.N. Tolstoy believed that the movement of the hands on the clock of history depends on the rotation of many wheels interlocking with each other, and these wheels turn out to be people with an infinite variety of characters.

In the novel “War and Peace” - the greatest work of not only Russian but also world literature - Tolstoy managed not only to depict major events in the history of the Russian people, but also to reveal the features of Russian national identity.

Having based the novel on “people's thought,” the writer tests the value and maturity of his characters by their attitude towards ordinary Russian men, towards soldiers. Observing the people, plunging into the thick of events, Tolstoy’s heroes make important discoveries for themselves, which often change their future lives.

Sincere, open, cheerful Natasha Rostova, one might say, is imbued with the Russian national spirit: “Where, how, when did this countess, raised by a French governess, suck into herself from the Russian air that she breathed, this spirit, where did she get these techniques from... But these spirits and techniques were the same, inimitable, unstudied, Russian.” That is why folk music is close to Natasha, folk dances. But her love for the people is not limited to passive admiration, and in difficult times for the country, Natasha demands that their carts, where property has already been loaded, be given to the wounded. When communicating with Russian soldiers, Pierre Bezukhov finds the meaning and goals of life, realizing the falsity of his previous attitudes. He remains forever grateful to Platon Karataev, whom he met in captivity by the French, a Russian soldier who preached goodness and love of life.

The courage and dedication of the Russian people during the Battle of Austerlitz largely influenced the abandonment of the ambitious aspirations of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. And the prince devoted his entire life to this people when the Patriotic War of 1812 began - a time of terrible trials that brought huge changes to the life of the entire Russian people.

The French attack on Russia caused a colossal wave of anger among all people who were not indifferent to the fate of their homeland. The whole country rose up to fight the enemy. Many, including Andrei Bolkonsky, went into the active army. People like Pierre Bezukhov donated their money for military needs and equipped militias. Many merchants, for example Ferapontov, burned their shops or gave away property so that the French would not get anything. Civilians of Moscow, before Napoleon's troops entered the city, left the city so as not to fall under the power of the invaders. Material from the site

The Russian people showed a high patriotic spirit during the Battle of Borodino, where they showed a high sense of camaraderie, a sense of duty, and the physical and moral strength of the soldiers. On the Borodino field, the French first encountered an enemy of such fortitude. That is why the Russian people won this war, because the flight of the French from Moscow and their final defeat were the result of joint actions of the regular army, partisan detachments and local residents, who refused to sell hay and food to the enemies, left cities and villages captured by the enemies, they burned supplies and warehouses, dooming the French to starvation. The Russian people understood that the outcome of the war depended on each of them, and therefore did not need either convincing or urging. And they defended their lives. “The club of the people’s war rose with all its formidable and majestic force and, without asking anyone’s tastes and rules, with stupid simplicity, but with expediency, without considering anything, it rose, fell and nailed the French until the entire invasion was destroyed "

L.N. Tolstoy calls the Russian people “a wonderful, incomparable people,” admiring their courage, dedication, and fortitude of spirit, which helped defeat even Napoleon’s previously invincible army.

Didn't find what you were looking for? Use the search

On this page there is material on the following topics:

carts into which the property was loaded
people in LN Tolstoy's novel War and Peace
Raised by a French governess, the countess
wonderful incomparable people in the novel war and peace essay
civilians in Tolstoy's novel War and Peace

The author of War and Peace pays a lot of attention to the depiction of ordinary people. The peasantry appears before us in the person of serfs, corvées and courtyard workers, and in the person of soldiers who retain their peasant traits, and in the person of partisans. As Tolstoy's worldview changes, he is interested in different aspects of the external and internal life of the peasants, but he always draws them unusually truthfully and vividly. The crowd scenes with their diversity of behavior and relationships of individual characters are amazing in their skill; speech characteristics amaze with their life truth.

When describing the campaign of 1805 in Austria, Russian peasants appear as living people, dressed in soldiers' greatcoats, but without losing their special peasant appearance. They go to fight, not knowing exactly why, with whom and where. On a hike, people show their usual endurance, simplicity, good nature, and cheerfulness - a sign of great physical and moral strength. Making a tedious transition, they exchange separate phrases among themselves. At the command of the captain, the songwriters ran forward, sang a song, and after that the soldier ran forward and began to dance. But here the soldiers are shown in battle, in action, in hard work in a time of mortal danger hanging over Russia, and one immediately feels new feature national character - perseverance and courage.

During the heroic battle of Shengraben, the battery that was left without cover continued to fire and was not taken by the French. Within an hour, seventeen out of forty servants were killed,” but the soldiers, led by their officer, continued to courageously fight against the superior forces of the enemy. Over the course of several years of work on War and Peace, Tolstoy’s interest in the peasantry increased and the nature of his portrayal changed somewhat. The plight of the people is becoming increasingly clearer. On Bezukhov’s estates and after his “reforms,” “the peasants continue to give with work and money everything that they give from others, that is, everything they can date.

The old Prince Bolkonsky orders his servant to serve as a soldier because he mistakenly served coffee first to the prince’s daughter, and not to the Frenchwoman who was currently enjoying the old man’s favor. Such manifestations of lordly tyranny were not isolated occurrences, as is clear from Andrei Bolkonsky’s conversation with Pierre during their trip to Bald Mountains. Describing the Rostovs' hunt, Tolstoy introduces a new, episodic person - the landowner Ilagin, the owner of a wonderful hunting dog, for which the “representative, courteous gentleman” “a year ago gave three families of servants to his neighbor.”
The discontent of the peasants is manifested repeatedly in War and Peace. The dissatisfaction of the peasants with their position, the awareness of the injustice of the existing system is emphasized by such a small episode. When the wounded Prince Andrei was brought to the dressing station and the doctor ordered him to be immediately carried to the tent, “a murmur arose in the crowd of waiting wounded.

"It is seen. and in the next world the gentlemen will live alone. - said one." The proximity of the French shook the lordly power. and men begin to talk openly about it. that they have been sick for a long time. The hatred of the peasants for the landowners was so great. as well as “the last stay of Prince Andrei in Bogucharovo. with his innovations hospitals. schools and ease of rent. - did not soften their morals, but. against. strengthened those character traits in them. which the old prince called savagery." Princess Marya’s promises to give them bread and care in new places did not inspire confidence in them either. where she suggested they move.

However, the nobles do not feel calm either. The meaning of this concern is clearly expressed by Pierre. speaking in the epilogue to Nikolai Rostov. that it is necessary to prevent possible Pugachevism. But. despite his difficult situation. the peasants do not want to give up their homeland to the power of the French invaders and at the same time show boundless courage and fortitude. Before the Battle of Borodino, the mobilized militia men put on clean shirts: they prepared for death. but not to retreat. The expression of this simple and sincere. alien to any panache and theatricality of love for one’s homeland is unshakable perseverance. the courage of Russian soldiers. The valiant Russian warriors have nothing ostentatious. They stand in their places and that the French do not dare to attack anymore.” This incomprehensible strength of the Russian army was the strength of the Russian people. fighting for his homeland. And Tolstoy again leads the reader to the source of this strength of the Russian army - ordinary Russian people. peasants. dressed in soldiers' greatcoats.

The same Prince Andrei, who once, in a conversation with Pierre, from his aristocratic position, spoke so contemptuously about the peasants, as he came into close contact with the soldier-peasant mass in the common cause of defending the homeland, he was imbued with deep respect for them. Not only that part of the people that was mobilized into the army took part in the fight against the invaders. After the Battle of Borodino, the French “had no fodder to feed horses and cattle. Nothing could help this disaster, because the surrounding men burned their hay and did not give it to the French.” The peasantry played a huge role in the final destruction of the enemy and by organizing partisan detachments that fearlessly exterminated Napoleon’s “great” army.

Peasants, including soldiers, appear in “War and Peace” vividly, vividly, convincingly truthfully, thanks to a huge number of individual bright sketches, sometimes small touches that characterize the general appearance of the masses. From time to time, individual artistically complete images emerge from the general mass for a more or less long period of time. Each of them has its own striking features. For example, Platon Karataev, who played such an important role in the life of Pierre Bezukhov, differs sharply from the headman of Dron. Complete indifference to deprivation, the “swarm principle”, simplicity, affection - all this struck Pierre as a sharp contrast with the need for luxury, careerism, gross selfishness and arrogance of the “high society”, the society of the Kuragins, Scherers and the like, which weighed so heavily on him. The humanity and compassion of this Russian peasant helped Pierre to re-enter the world of human relations after the terrible spectacle of the execution of innocent people in Moscow, occupied by the enemy.

Peering into Karataev’s simple activities, his attitude towards people and life in general, Pierre, as it seemed to him at that time, found a solution to the dissatisfaction that tormented him. Reconciliation with all the suffering and hardships that befell him, confidence in the expediency of everything that was happening seemed to Pierre at this time greatest wisdom life. Karataev’s life, “as he himself looked at it, had no meaning as a separate life. It made sense only as a part of the whole, which he constantly felt.” The positive qualities of Karataev in Pierre’s eyes did not reduce either his thievery or the lack of special attachments: “Platon Karataev remained forever in Pierre’s soul as the strongest and dearest memory and the personification of everything Russian, kind and round.” The image of Karataev is not given by Tolstoy directly from himself, but only through the perception of Pierre, and in a special state of mind, and this leaves a special imprint on him. Particular significance is given to this image by the peculiar speech, which contains very little of Karataev’s own, but in which centuries-old folk wisdom resounds. But these sayings do not always reflect his personal feelings and life rules. Along with speech characteristics, Karataev’s image is revealed through his work activity and attitude towards the people around him. Tolstoy is touched by Karataev’s patience, humility, goodness, compassion and hard work. The author decorated his speech with wise sayings borrowed from centuries-old life experience a number of generations, but did not at all show him as the embodiment of the best traits of the people, although Karataev’s fatalism is to some extent consonant with the views of the author. Showing in the person of Karataev endless patience and all-encompassing kindness and benevolence, Tolstoy obscures the severity of class contradictions between landowners and peasants. A different type is given in the image of the partisan Tikhon Shcherbaty. At a time when the commanders of large detachments did not yet dare to think about invading the very center of the French army, “the Cossacks and men who climbed among the French believed that now everything was possible.”

Among these men, for whom “everything is possible,” Tikhon Shcherbaty stands out with his extraordinary prowess. First, he caught the “miroders” while living in his village of Pokrovskoye near Gzhat, and then joined Denisov’s partisan detachment. He did all sorts of heavy lifting there. chores, and then, when he showed his fearlessness and dexterity, he was enlisted in the Cossacks. Tikhon was the most useful and brave man in the detachment. No one else discovered cases of French attacks. Tikhon was not proud of his exploits, but once he was wounded and since then he has not taken prisoners: apparently, the wound embittered him. One of the manifestations of Shcherbaty’s inner strength is his ability to humorously portray even the most dangerous situations in which he found himself. Along with love for the motherland, perseverance, simplicity and selfless courage, along with close comradeship and a sense of collectivity, Tolstoy shows a special feature of the Russian people - humanity. After the enemy was defeated, in the souls of the people “the feeling of insult and revenge” replaced the axis with “contempt and pity.”

When Kutuzov on November 5, the first day of the Battle of Krasnensky, rode with his “huge retinue of generals who were dissatisfied with him and whispering behind him,” he saw French prisoners disfigured by sores and tearing raw meat with their hands. The same good-natured attitude towards prisoners is also evident in the descriptions of the subsequent stages of the expulsion of the French army from Russia. Russian soldiers lift and carry the weakened Rambal to the officer's hut. Thus, in Tolstoy’s great work, peasant Rus' emerges in all its diversity, with all its contradictions, with its strength and weakness.

The folk theme is the main theme of War and Peace. It should be noted that the image of Karataev is in conflict with the general image of the Russian people - a fearless defender of their homeland. Less attention is paid to the urban lower classes than to the peasantry in War and Peace, but they are depicted with great artistic power and truth.

In Smolensk, the population sets fire to their houses so that the French do not get anything. The small merchant Ferapontov, in despair, shouts for the soldiers to take everything and that he himself will set fire to his house. These abandoned people do not believe in the possibility of leaving Moscow and, reading Rastopchin’s posters, go to Count Rastopchin for instructions on how and where to take part in the defense of their native city. But Rostopchin, with his ostentatious, false patriotism, does not know the ordinary Russian people and is afraid of them. Having provoked the murder of Vereshchagin, he leaves Moscow from the back porch, reflecting in French that “the crowd of people is terrible, disgusting. They are like wolves: you can’t satisfy them with anything except meat.” And these “wolves,” the crowd that Rostopchin had pushed to kill, began to hastily move around the lying bloody corpse. These people then took upon themselves the full brunt of life in a city occupied by enemies, even to the point of executions for arson for which they were not guilty. Thus, before us passes Russian peasantry(and partly the urban lower classes) in all its diversity, with his selfless love for his homeland, with his fearlessness, endurance, hard work, with his deep humanity - traits that developed in the conditions of working life. It was in this class, despite its weaknesses and shadow sides, noticed by the keen eye of the brilliant realist writer, that the strength of Russia at that time lay.

Common people in the novel War and Peace

5 (100%) 2 votes

1867 L. M. Tolstoy finished work on the epoch-making novel of his work "". The author noted that in “War and Peace” he “loved the people’s thought,” poetizing the simplicity, kindness and morality of the Russian people. This “folk thought” is revealed by depicting the events of the Patriotic War of 1812. It is no coincidence that L. Tolstoy describes the war of 1812 only on the territory of Russia. The historian and realist artist L. Tolstoy showed that the Patriotic War of 1812 was a just war. In defense, the Russians raised "the club of people's war, which would punish the French until the invasion was stopped." The war radically changed the life of the entire Russian people.

The author introduces The novel contains many images of men, Soldiers, whose thoughts and considerations together make up the people's worldview. The irresistible power of the Russian people is fully felt in the heroism and patriotism of Moscow residents who were forced to abandon hometown, your treasure, but not conquered in the soul; peasants refuse to sell food and hay to enemies and create partisan detachments. L. Tolstoy showed real heroes, persistent and firm in fulfilling their military duties, in the images of Tushin and Timokhin. The theme of the people's element is revealed more expressively in the depiction of guerrilla warfare. Tolstoy creates a vivid image of the partisan Tikhon Shcherbatov, who arbitrarily joined Denisov’s detachment and was “the most useful person in the squad." - a generalized image of the Russian peasant. In the novel, he appears on those pages where Pierre's stay in captivity is depicted. The meeting with Karataev changes a lot of things in Pierre's attitude towards life. Deep folk wisdom seems to be concentrated in the image of Plato. This is calm, sensible wisdom, without tricks and cruelty. From her, Pierre changes, begins to experience life in a new way, and is renewed in his soul.

Hatred for the enemy representatives of all layers of Russian society felt equally, and the patriotism and closeness to the people most inherent in Tolstoy’s favorite heroes -,. The simple Russian woman Vasilisa, the merchant Feropontov, and the family of Count Rostov feel unity in their desire to help the country. The spiritual strength that the Russian people showed in the Patriotic War of 1812 is the same strength that supported their activity as a talented Russian and commander. He was elected commander-in-chief “against the will of the sovereign and in accordance with the will of the people.” This is why, Tolstoy believes, he was able to fulfill his great historical mission, since each person is worth something not on his own, but only when he is part of his people. Thanks to unity, high patriotic enthusiasm and moral strength, the Russian people won the war.

"People's Thought" – main idea novel "War and Peace". Tolstoy knew that simple life people, with their “personal” destinies, vicissitudes, joy, make up the fate and history of the country. “I tried to write the history of the people,” said Tolstoy, of the people in the broad sense of the word. Therefore, “people's thought” plays a huge role for the author, affirming the place of the people as a decisive force in history.

The people in the epic. “I sought to write the history of the people,” Tolstoy noted about “War and Peace.” But he was sometimes reproached for the fact that in such a large-scale work the writer paid little attention to the people and did not reflect all the horrors of serfdom. It is estimated that only 8 percent of the text consists of episodes involving ordinary people. But at the same time, in the epic there are more than a hundred crowd scenes alone, over two hundred named characters from the people. The writer did not identify the people only with the peasantry. In the novel, the word “people” is used in a meaning closer to the concept of “nation”, in the center of which there are two classes - the peasantry (representatives of the common people) and the nobility, but the author does not oppose them to each other: the best representatives of the nobility have an extremely complex inner world, and the peasant’s view of the world around them is harmonious in its simplicity. The author’s favorite noble heroes come, as a result of their spiritual quest, to unite with the people, accept their way of life and moral values.
“People's thought,” which, according to his own remark, Tolstoy loved most in the novel, is revealed in “War and Peace” in two aspects: philosophical and moral. From the perspective of Tolstoy's philosophy, the people are the driving force of history. It was precisely because the entire people began to defend their country that the Russians won the Patriotic War of 1812. Napoleon could not win this war even theoretically, since he fought not with an army, but with an entire people. In moral and ethical terms, the people are the bearers of the best human qualities, therefore absolutely all events in the novel are assessed from the people’s point of view. Both of these aspects are inextricably interconnected and provide the author with a criterion for assessing his heroes - closeness to the people, their fate and history divides the novel’s heroes into two groups.
In the novel, Tolstoy poetizes the people as a spiritual unity of people based on centuries-old traditions. He contrasts him with the crowd - aggressive, selfish people. The crowd is led by Rastopchin, Napoleon's army fleeing from Russia turns into a crowd. These characters cannot be called heroes. The true hero is Kutuzov - the bearer of “national feeling” in the epic.
Through the prism of the people's worldview, the novel evaluates social life. Natasha Rostova could not appreciate the opera where she met Anatole. The girl saw artificiality and falsehood in the scenery, in the plot, and in the acting of the actors, “she felt either funny for the actors or ashamed of them.”
Tolstoy’s people are the army, the partisans, and the Smolensk merchant Ferapontov, who is ready to set fire to his house so that the goods do not go to the enemies. These were men who did not want to sell hay to the French even for good money and burned it. These were Muscovites who left their homes because it was impossible to remain under the rule of enemies. This is Marya Bolkonskaya, who, after the death of her father, was horrified by the offer of her companion Burien to stay in Bogucharovo and ask for protection from the French general. These are the Rostovs, abandoning their belongings to find a place for the wounded. In Tolstoy's understanding people's soul reflected by Vasily Denisov, and Kutuzov, and the Rostovs, and the Bolkonskys, and the author himself. They are characterized by compassion and patriotism - the best traits of the people's character, which were most clearly manifested in the Patriotic War.
And yet the writer does not degaze the people. He talks about the Cossacks who returned from Muscovites and men from neighboring villages, who returned to the capital to plunder, “continued what the French were doing.” Tolstoy introduces into the novel a narrative about the revolt of Bogucharov’s peasants as a kind of spontaneous force that unexpectedly broke through and is difficult to explain, not controlled by reasonable means. The Bogucharovites refused to give carts to Princess Marya and did not accept the landowner’s bread, which Princess Marya allowed them to distribute. But they did this by believing false French leaflets that Napoleon would grant them freedom and land (which he had no intention of doing). The author draws attention to the fact that such a senseless revolt could only happen on this Bolkonsky estate, since life in Bogucharovo in peacetime was very different from Lysogorsk. There were few literate people here, the village was virtually isolated from the outside world. Therefore, the peasant revolt was quite natural, but extremely untimely. The Bogucharovites fall out of the general unity; they are ready to betray their masters and homeland by submitting to the French emperor. This spontaneous rebellion could not be resolved through reasonable actions, as Princess Marya tried to do, but Rostov’s unreasonable animal anger was able to sober up the crowd of peasants.
The images of Platon Karataev and Tikhon Shcherbaty are considered to be the embodiment of Russian folk character. These heroes are united not only by peasant origin. They found themselves at war. But Platon joined the army as a recruit, and Tikhon joined Denisov’s “party” of his own free will. They both attract people: Tikhon with jokes, Plato with stories. Both know how to adapt to the situation and can be called folk craftsmen. But each of them represents its own version of the Russian national character: Tikhon is its active principle, and Plato is a passive worldview, close to Christian charity.
Tags: Folk theme in Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”, Folk thought in the work “War and Peace”, image of the people in “War and Peace”

(No Ratings Yet)

Tolstoy's realism in the depiction of the war of 1812 in the novel “War and Peace” I. “The hero of my story was truth.” Tolstoy about his view of the war in “Sevastopol Stories”, which became decisive in...
The epic “War and Peace” – greatest work Russian and world literature. L.N. Tolstoy painted a broad picture of the life of Russian society in the period from 1805 to 1820. IN...
THE IMAGE OF KUTUZOV AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY IN L. TOLSTOY’S NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” Hardly anyone doubts that the image of Kutuzov in the novel “War and Peace” is in direct connection...
Captain Timokhin is outwardly clumsy, looking like a schoolboy who is being told to retell a lesson he has not learned. He fully justifies Kutuzov’s assessment: “Another Izmailovo officer... A brave comrade!” When the troops, taken by surprise, fled, he...
Leo Tolstoy in his works tirelessly argued that the social role of women is exceptionally great and beneficial. Its natural expression is the preservation of the family, motherhood, caring for children and the duties of a wife. In the novel...
Just as A. S. Pushkin showed us his favorite female image in his novel “Eugene Onegin,” so L. N. Tolstoy painted the image of a woman near and dear to his heart. If...
In the epic novel “War and Peace,” Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy talentedly portrayed several female characters. The writer tried to delve into the mysterious world female soul, to determine the moral laws of life of a noblewoman in Russian society. One...
L. N. Tolstoy shows us the young Pierre Bezukhov for the first time in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer as an obvious violator of both public peace and the smooth flow of the evening in general. Him from everyone...
Historical figure- the essence of the label that history hangs on this or that event. L. N. Tolstoy “War and Peace” is a historical novel in which the author covers all sides public life...
After the French left Moscow and moved west along the Smolensk road, the collapse of the French army began. The army was melting before our eyes: hunger and disease pursued it. But worse than hunger and...
The originality of the composition. The most important feature of the epic novel is its complex multi-level composition. Each part and each volume, finally, the entire work has its own culmination and denouement. There are several in the epic storylines, which are closely intertwined...
While working on the work, Tolstoy saw that official information about the events that interested him differed sharply from information gleaned from private correspondence, memoirs, etc. This is how the writer came to create his own democratic...
It is difficult to truly understand the incredible detail and events described by Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy >>> without actually reading some of his works. Leo Tolstoy was a unique person with his own point of view on...
“War and Peace” was written in the 60s years XIX century. The government of Alexander I abolished serfdom, but did not give the peasants land, they rebelled. Russia and the West, the historical destinies of Russia and...
The storm of the twelfth year has arrived - who helped us here? The frenzy of the people, Barclay, winter or the Russian god? A. S. Pushkin For many years, many researchers of the novel firmly held the opinion that...
main topic the novel “War and Peace” is an image of the feat of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812. The author speaks in his novel both about the faithful sons of the fatherland and about false patriots who think...
There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth. L. N. Tolstoy The great writer and philosopher Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, rightly polemicizing with the scientists who created the cult great personality, a historical hero, by...
“War and Peace” is a Russian national epic, which reflected the character of a great people at the moment when its historical destinies were being decided. Tolstoy, trying to embrace everything he knew...
CLASSICS OF L. N. TOLSTOY MOSCOW IN L. N. TOLSTOY’S NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” Moscow for Tolstoy is not just a city in which he often visited and lived for a long time. Moscow has become...
L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” is, according to the majority famous writers and critics greatest novel in the history of mankind. “War and Peace” is an epic novel telling about significant and...
THE THEME OF PATRIOTISM IN L. N. TOLSTOY'S NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” L. N. Tolstoy, according to A. P. Chekhov, holds first place among the figures of Russian art. The brilliant author of “War and Peace”...
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy - writer and public figure, author brilliant novel“War and Peace,” written during a time of national insight and the unification of peasants with the nobility to fight against strangers. Reading a novel...
PICTURES OF THE WAR OF 1812 IN L. N. TOLSTOY’S NOVEL “WAR AND PEACE” At the center of the novel “War and Peace” is the Patriotic War of 1812, which shook up the entire Russian people and showed...
The very title of Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” speaks of the scale of the topic under study. The writer has created a historical novel in which major events in world history are interpreted, and their participants are real historical figures....
“THERE IS NO GREATNESS WHERE THERE IS NO SIMPLICITY, GOOD AND TRUTH” (the contrast between Kutuzov and Napoleon in the epic novel “War and Peace”) The plot of L.N. Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace” is based on...
In the novel “War and Peace” L, N, Tolstoy appears before the reader not only as a brilliant writer, but also as a philosopher and historian. The writer creates his own philosophy of history. A statement of the writer's views...
War and Peace was not compared to a painting, a fresco or a mosaic. And these are not just metaphors. Tolstoy's novel resembles a monumental canvas, which was created with small strokes. Their role in the work is played by...

The image of the people in the novel War and Peace