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

June 26 2010

The people in “War and Peace” are Tikhon Shcherbaty, Tushin and Timokhin, Pierre Bezukhoe and Nikolai Rostov and. The Kuragins and Drubetskys also belong to the historical people. The people in War and Peace are not only morally healthy and positive. For the author of a historical epic dedicated to the Patriotic era with Napoleon, the concept of “people” contained a complex and contradictory unity, heterogeneous both in moral and socially. Throughout Tolstoy's life, many of his concepts changed radically. Including the concept of “people”. Perhaps it was this change in Tolstoy’s understanding of what a people is that most clearly expressed the nature and direction of Tolstoy’s special and historically significant path.

In the 80s, after the crisis he experienced and his transition to the position of defender of peasant interests, only “working people”, only the working classes will be recognized with the right to be called the people. Then the concepts of “man” and “master” will become for him deeply opposite in their social and moral sense and values. In “War and Peace” this has not yet and could not happen. It could not be due to the peculiarities of the historical material of the work, and due to the peculiarities of Tolstoy’s worldview at that time. It is worth noting that in “The Morning of the Landowner,” written in the 50s, Tolstoy calls the peasants not the people, as he would do starting in the 80s, but “the class of the people.” , The people in “War and Peace” - as it should be with historical people- many-sided and multidimensional. On the pages of Tolstoy's novel people of different characters and different social positions collide, meet and part, diverge and come together, love and hate, live and die. These are landowners and peasants, officers and soldiers, merchants and townspeople, etc. However, Tolstoy devotes the most attention and space to the depiction of people belonging to the noble class. This is explained not only by the fact that, as Tolstoy himself admits, the nobles, their way of life, customs, their deeds and thoughts were better known to him. This is also justified by purely objective circumstances: the action of Tolstoy’s historical novel takes place at a time when it was the nobility that was the main conscious participant in the historical process and therefore, not only in Tolstoy’s imagination, but also in reality, in reality, found itself in the foreground of events. Let us remember that the era that Tolstoy depicted in the novel was attributed by V.I. Lenin to the noble period in the development of the Russian revolutionary movement.

The fact that Tolstoy treats the nobility with special attention does not at all mean that Tolstoy, the author of War and Peace, has the same attitude towards to different people from among the nobles. To Tolstoy, some characters are clearly attractive, sweet, and spiritually close, and this immediately becomes noticeable to the reader. Other heroes are alien and unpleasant to Tolstoy, and this is also felt by the reader immediately and in the most direct way. The author’s “purity of moral feeling” is evident, which has an organic ability to infect in an artistic sense. As in his earlier works, so in War and Peace, Tolstoy is never morally indifferent to his heroes. Like Pierre Bezukhov, he constantly asks himself questions: “What is bad? What well? What should you love, what should you hate? These are the most fundamental questions artistic worldview Tolstoy. For him, these are the most fundamental questions of history, of all human illumination and reproduction of history.

“War and Peace” is one of the brightest works of world literature, revealing extraordinary wealth human destinies, characters, an unprecedented breadth of coverage of life phenomena, the deepest depiction of the most important events in the history of the Russian people. The basis of the novel, as L.N. Tolstoy admitted, is “folk thought.” “I tried to write the history of the people,” said Tolstoy. The people in the novel are not only peasants and peasant soldiers in disguise, but also the Rostovs' courtyard people, and the merchant Ferapontov, and the army officers Tushin and Timokhin, and representatives of the privileged class - the Bolkonskys, Pierre Bezukhov, the Rostovs, and Vasily Denisov, and the field marshal Kutuzov, that is, those Russian people for whom the fate of Russia was not indifferent. The people are opposed by a bunch of court aristocrats and a “big-faced” merchant, worried about his goods before the French capture Moscow, that is, those people who are completely indifferent to the fate of the country.

The epic novel has more than five hundred characters, describes two wars, the events unfold in Europe and Russia, but like cement, all the elements of the novel are held together by “popular thought” and “the author’s original moral attitude to the subject.” According to L.N. Tolstoy, an individual person is valuable only when he is an integral part of a great whole, his people. “His hero is an entire country fighting the invasion of the enemy,” wrote V. G. Korolenko. The novel begins with a description of the 1805 campaign, which did not touch the hearts of the people. Tolstoy does not hide the fact that the soldiers not only did not understand the goals of this war, but even vaguely imagined who Russia’s ally was. Tolstoy is not interested in the foreign policy of Alexander I; his attention is drawn to the love of life, modesty, courage, endurance, and dedication of the Russian people. Tolstoy's main task is to show the decisive role of the masses in historical events, to show the greatness and beauty of the feat of the Russian people in the conditions mortal danger when a person psychologically reveals himself most fully.

The basis of the plot of the novel is the Patriotic War of 1812. The war brought decisive changes to the life of the entire Russian people. All the usual living conditions had shifted, everything was now assessed in the light of the danger that hung over Russia. Nikolai Rostov returns to the army, Petya volunteers for the war, old prince Bolkonsky forms a militia detachment from his peasants, Andrei Bolkonsky decides to serve not in the headquarters, but directly command the regiment. Pierre Bezukhov gave part of his money to equip the militia. The Smolensk merchant Ferapontov, in whose mind an alarming thought about the “destruction” of Russia arose when he learned that the city was being surrendered, does not seek to save property, but calls on the soldiers to drag everything from the store so that nothing goes to the “devils.”

The War of 1812 is more represented by crowd scenes. The people begin to realize the danger as the enemy approaches Smolensk. The fire and surrender of Smolensk, the death of the old Prince Bolkonsky at the time of the review of the peasant militia, the loss of the harvest, the retreat of the Russian army - all this increases the tragedy of the events. At the same time, Tolstoy shows that in this difficult situation something new was born that was supposed to destroy the French. In the growing mood of determination and bitterness against the enemy, Tolstoy sees the source of the approaching turning point in the course of the war. The outcome of the war was determined long before its end by the “spirit” of the army and the people. This decisive “spirit” was the patriotism of the Russian people, which manifested itself simply and naturally: the people abandoned cities and villages captured by the French; refused to sell food and hay to enemies; banded together behind enemy lines partisan detachments.

The Battle of Borodino is the climax of the novel. Pierre Bezukhov, watching the soldiers, experiences a feeling of horror of death and suffering that war brings, on the other hand, a consciousness of the “solemnity and significance of the upcoming minute” that the people inspire in him. Pierre became convinced of how deeply, with all his heart, the Russian people understand the meaning of what is happening. The soldier, who called him “countryman,” tells him confidentially: “They want to rush in with all the people; one word - Moscow. They want to make one end.” The militias who have just arrived from the depths of Russia, in accordance with custom, put on clean shirts, realizing that they will have to die. Old soldiers refuse to drink vodka - “not such a day, they say.”

In these simple forms associated with folk concepts and customs, the high moral strength of the Russian people was manifested. The high patriotic spirit and moral strength of the people brought victory to Russia in the War of 1812.

The people in the novel "War and Peace".

In War and Peace, Tolstoy raised the question of the role of the individual and the people in history.
Tolstoy was faced with the task of comprehending the War of 1812 artistically and philosophically.
"The truth of this war is that it was won by the people."
Carried away by the thought of the national character of the war, Tolstoy was unable to resolve the question of the role of the individual and the people in history; in part 3 of volume 3, Tolstoy enters into an argument with historians who claim that the course of the entire war depends on “great people.”
Tolstoy tries to convince that a person’s fate does not depend on their will.
When depicting Napoleon and Kutuzov, the writer almost never shows them in the sphere of government activities. He focuses his attention on those qualities that characterize him as a leader of the masses.
Tolstoy believes that it is not a man of genius who directs events, but events that direct him. Tolstoy portrays the council in Fili as advice that makes no sense, because Kutuzov had already decided that Moscow should be abandoned: “The power entrusted to me by the sovereign and the fatherland is an order to retreat.” Of course, this is not true; he has no power. The departure from Moscow is a foregone conclusion. It is not in the power of individuals to decide where history will turn.
But Kutuzov managed to understand this historical inevitability. This phrase is not spoken by him, fate speaks through his lips. It is so important for Tolstoy to convince the reader of the correctness of his views on the role of the individual and the masses in history that he considers it necessary to comment on each episode of the war from the perspective of these views. The idea is not developed, but is illustrated by new facts in the history of the war. Any historical event was a consequence of the interaction of thousands human wills. One person cannot prevent what is about to happen due to the confluence of many circumstances. The offensive became necessary for many reasons, the sum of which led to the Battle of Tarutino.
main reason- the spirit of the army, the spirit of the people, which had a decisive influence on the course of events.
Tolstoy wants to emphasize with a wide variety of comparisons that great people are confident that the fate of humanity is in their hands, that ordinary people do not talk or think about their mission, but do their job.
The individual is powerless to change anything.
The story of Pierre's meeting with Karataev is the story of a meeting with the people, a figurative expression of Tolstoy. Tolstoy suddenly saw that the truth was among the people, and therefore he learned it by becoming close to the peasants. Pierre must come to this conclusion with the help of Karataev.
Tolstoy decided this last stage novel.
The role of the people in the War of 1812 is the main theme of the third part. People - main strength, determining the fate of the war. But the people do not understand and do not recognize the game of war. The war poses a question of life and death.
Tolstoy is a historian, thinker, and welcomes partisan warfare. Finishing the novel, he praises the “club of the people’s will,” considering the people’s war an expression of just hatred of the enemy.
In War and Peace, Kutuzov is shown not at headquarters, not at court, but in the harsh conditions of war. He inspects them and speaks kindly to the officers and soldiers. Kutuzov is a great strategist, he uses all means to save the army. He sends a detachment led by Bagration, entangles the French in the networks of their own cunning, accepting the proposal for a truce, and energetically advances the army to join forces with troops from Russia.
During the battle, he was not just a contemplator, but fulfilled his duty.
Russian and Austrian troops were defeated. Kutuzov was right - but the realization of this did not soften his grief. To the question: “Are you wounded?” - he replied: “The wound is not here, but here!” - and pointed to the running soldiers. For Kutuzov, this defeat was a serious mental wound. Having taken command of the army when the War of 1812 began, Kutuzov’s first task was to raise the morale of the army. He loves his soldiers.
The Battle of Borodino shows Kutuzov as an active, exceptionally strong-willed person. with their own bold decisions it influences the course of events. Despite the Russian victory at Borodino, Kutuzov saw that there was no way to defend Moscow. All of Kutuzov’s latest tactics were determined by two tasks: first, the destruction of the enemy; the second is the preservation of Russian troops, for his goal is not personal glory, but the fulfillment of the will of the people, the salvation of Russia.
Kutuzov is shown in various life situations. Kutuzov's portrait characteristic is unique - a “huge nose,” the only sighted eye in which thought and care shone. Tolstoy repeatedly notes Kutuzov's senile obesity and physical weakness. And this testifies not only to his age, but also to hard military labor and a long combat life.
Kutuzov's facial expression conveys the complexity of his inner world. The face bears a stamp of concern in front of decisive matters.
Extraordinarily rich speech characteristic Kutuzova.
He talks to the soldiers in simple language, in elegant phrases - with the Austrian general.
Kutuzov's character is revealed through the statements of soldiers and officers.
Tolstoy, as it were, sums up this entire multifaceted system of methods for constructing an image with a direct description of Kutuzov as a carrier best features Russian people.

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 research tool mental life microscope 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 to spiritual growth, connection to high goals 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. The writer retained his admiration for the heroism and sacrifice of the “best people” of the early 19th century throughout 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 take the heroes through the historical events of 1805, 1807, 1812, 1825 and end 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 deep analysis 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 use these vivid examples and artistic images 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 artistic originality and the meaning of the theme of the people in the novel “War and Peace” as well as the meaning 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 being studied is framed within a chronological framework from 1805 to 1820, but goes beyond the personal fate of the heroes and considers the grandiose epic picture Russian life of the early 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 tension of spiritual and physical strength. The advent of War and Peace was truly 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 the high level and 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 fate 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, 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 highest form of epic storytelling. 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. How 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 reveal so deeply and so convincingly illuminate 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 attached great importance to his philosophy of history, developed in War and Peace. These thoughts are the fruit of all the mental work of my life and form an indivisible 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 the decisive force is 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, first of all, sees the greatness of Kutuzov the commander in the unity of his spirit with the spirit of the people and the army, in his understanding of the popular 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, as 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 of the people's war, in the novel opposes Napoleon, the arrogant and cruel conqueror, whose actions, as depicted by Tolstoy, are not only not justified by history or the needs of the French people, but also contradict moral ideal 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 gambler, a presumptuous adventurer whom history, in the person of the Russian people, 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. 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 spontaneously, 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 every person’s right and even obligation to act within the boundaries of the possible, to consciously intervene in ongoing historical events. 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 the course of events and grasp and comprehend them general meaning He who is united with the people deserves the name of a truly great man, a 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 awareness 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 at that time are shown: high society, noble aristocracy, provincial nobility, the army, the peasantry, even the 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 of the 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 that Napoleon won the 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 of 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; no at all educated person who would not know them, would not read them, would not live them... wrote A. I. Herzen. Among such great creations is War and Peace. This is the most monumental creation of Tolstoy, occupying absolutely 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 laid the foundation for 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's look at the description internal state Pierre: “The expression in 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. Feeling inner freedom Having become 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. The people are the main force that 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 soul when a person seems to be lifted off the ground and sees more than in everyday life. everyday 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 with 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 there beats living life. Now in the finale, after epic and tragic chapters, it sounds lyrical song love. From this theme of two people's love for each other grows the theme of love of 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 her perpetual motion" 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 of ​​the novel is “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 driving force stories. 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 positive 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 crowd scenes: in the scene of the surrender of Smolensk (remember the merchant Ferapontov, who, succumbing to some unknown, inner strength, orders all his goods to be distributed to the soldiers, and what cannot be taken out - to be set on 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, it 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.

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1867 L. M. Tolstoy completed work on the epoch-making novel of his work, “War and Peace.” The author noted that in “War and Peace” he “loved the people’s thought,” poeticizing the simplicity, kindness and morality of the Russian people. L. Tolstoy reveals this “folk thought” 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 into the novel 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." Platon Karataev is a generalized image of a 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 soul.

Hatred of the enemy was felt equally by representatives of all layers of Russian society, and patriotism and closeness to the people were most inherent in Tolstoy’s favorite heroes - Pierre Bezukhov, Andrei Bolkonsky, Natasha Rostova. 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 Kutuzov’s activities 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.” That is why, Tolstoy believes, Kutuzov 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.

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L. N. Tolstoy’s epic “War and Peace” has become one of the most significant works of world literature, touching on moral problems and providing answers to such important historical and philosophical questions that relate to the meaning of an individual’s life...

“Deep knowledge of the secret movements of psychological life and the immediate purity of moral feeling, which now gives a special physiognomy to the works of Count Tolstoy, will always remain essential features of his talent” (N.G. Chernyshevsky) Beautiful...

Natasha Rostova - central female character the novel “War and Peace” and, perhaps, the author’s favorite. Tolstoy presents us with the evolution of his heroine over the fifteen-year period of her life, from 1805 to 1820, and over more than one and a half thousand...

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   War and peace are everything in human life, its universal scope and at the same time its deepest contradiction. S. G. Bocharov L. N. Tolstoy, having decided to write a large epic canvas, intended to title it like this: “Everything is good that ...