In the image of which hero is the popular thought reflected? Popular thought in the epic novel “War and Peace”

Composition

L. N. Tolstoy's epic "War and Peace" tells about the glorious past events, recreating typical features era early XIX century. In the center of the image is the Patriotic War of 1812, which united the population of Russia in a single patriotic impulse, forced people to cleanse themselves of everything superficial and accidental and, with all clarity and acuteness, realize the eternal human values. The Patriotic War of 1812 helped Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov find the lost meaning of life, forget about their personal problems and experiences. The crisis situation in the country, caused by the rapid advance of Napoleonic troops deep into Russia, revealed their best qualities, made it possible to take a closer look at that guy, which was previously perceived by the nobles only as an obligatory attribute of the landowner's estate, whose lot was heavy peasant labor. Now, when a serious threat of enslavement loomed over Russia, the men, dressed in soldiers' greatcoats, having forgotten their long-standing sorrows and grievances, together with the "gentlemen" courageously and steadfastly defended their homeland from a powerful enemy. Commanding a regiment, Andrei Bolkonsky for the first time saw patriotic heroes in serf slaves, ready to die to save the fatherland. In these main human values, in the spirit of “simplicity, goodness and truth,” Tolstoy sees “folk thought,” which constitutes the soul of the novel and its main meaning. It is she who unites the peasantry with the best part of the nobility with a single goal - the fight for the freedom of the fatherland. Therefore, I think that by the word “people” Tolstoy understood the entire patriotic population of Russia, including the peasantry, the urban poor, the nobility, and the merchant class.

The novel is replete with numerous episodes depicting the varied manifestations of patriotism by Russian people. Of course, love for the fatherland, the willingness to sacrifice one’s life for it, is most clearly manifested on the battlefield, in direct confrontation with the enemy. Describing the night before the Battle of Borodino, Tolstoy draws attention to the seriousness and concentration of the soldiers who clean their weapons in preparation for battle. They refuse vodka because they are ready to consciously enter into battle with a powerful enemy. Their feeling of love for the Motherland does not allow reckless drunken courage. Realizing that this battle could be the last for each of them, the soldiers put on clean shirts, preparing for death, but not for retreat. While courageously fighting the enemy, Russian soldiers do not try to look like heroes. They are alien to panache and pose; there is nothing ostentatious in their simple and sincere love for the Motherland. When, during the Battle of Borodino, “one cannonball blew up the ground two steps away from Pierre,” the broad, red-faced soldier innocently confesses to him his fear. “She won’t have mercy. She’ll smack her guts out. You can’t help but be afraid,” he said laughing. "But the soldier, who didn’t try to be brave at all, died soon after that short dialogue, like tens of thousands of others, but did not give up and did not retreat. However, the patriotism of the Russian people is manifested not only in battle. After all, not only that part of the people who were mobilized into the army took part in the fight against the invaders.

"Karps and Vlas" did not sell hay to the French even for good money, but burned it, thereby undermining the enemy army. The small merchant Ferapontov, before the French entered Smolensk, asked the soldiers to take his goods for free, since if “Raceya decided,” he himself would burn everything. Residents of Moscow and Smolensk did the same, burning their houses so that they would not fall to the enemy. The Rostovs, leaving Moscow, gave up all their carts to transport the wounded, thus completing their ruin. Pierre Bezukhov invests huge amounts of money in the formation of a regiment, which he takes for his own support, while he himself remains in Moscow, hoping to kill Napoleon in order to behead the enemy army.

A huge role in the final destruction of the enemy was played by the peasantry, which organized partisan detachments that fearlessly exterminated the Napoleonic army in the rear. The most striking and memorable is the image of Tikhon Shcherbaty, who stands out in Denisov’s detachment for his unusual daring, dexterity and desperate courage. This man, who at first fought alone against the “miroders” in his native village, attached to Denisov’s partisan detachment, soon became the most useful person in the detachment. Concentrating in this hero the typical features of the Russian folk character. Tolstoy shows in the novel a different type of man in the image Platon Karataev, whom Pierre Bezukhov met in French captivity. What struck Pierre with this inconspicuous round man, who managed to restore his faith in people, goodness, love, justice? Probably due to his humanity, kindness, simplicity, indifference to hardships, and sense of collectivism. These qualities contrasted sharply with the arrogance, selfishness and careerism of the highest society of St. Petersburg. Platon Karataev remained the most precious memory for Pierre, “the personification of everything Russian, good and round.”

We see that Tolstoy, drawing contrasting images of Tikhon Shcherbaty and Platon Karataev, concentrated the main qualities in each of them Russian people, who appears in the novel in the person of soldiers, partisans, servants, peasants, and the urban poor. There is an episode when about twenty thin, exhausted shoemakers, who were deceived by the master, are in no hurry to leave Moscow. Having responded to the calls of Count Rastopchin, they want to enroll in the Moscow militia to defend the ancient capital.

The true feeling of love for the motherland is contrasted with the ostentatious, false patriotism of Rostopchin, who, instead of fulfilling the duty assigned to him - to remove everything valuable from Moscow - worried the people with the distribution of weapons and posters, since he liked the “beautiful role of the leader of popular feeling.” At a time when the fate of Russia was being decided, this false patriot dreamed only of a “heroic effect.” When great amount people sacrificed their lives to save their homeland, the St. Petersburg nobility wanted only one thing for themselves: benefits and pleasures. All these people “caught rubles, crosses, ranks,” using even such a disaster as war for their own selfish purposes. A bright type of careerist is given in the image of Boris Drubetsky, who skillfully and deftly used connections and the sincere goodwill of people, pretending to be a patriot, in order to move up the career ladder. The problem of true and false patriotism, delivered by the writer, allows you to paint a broad and comprehensive picture military everyday life, express your attitude towards the war.

The aggressive, aggressive war was hateful and disgusting to Tolstoy, but, from the point of view of the people, it was fair and liberating. The writer's views are revealed in realistic paintings depicting blood, death, suffering, and in the contrasting comparison of the eternal harmony of nature with the madness of people killing each other. Tolstoy often puts his own thoughts about the war into the mouths of his favorite heroes. Andrei Bolkonsky hates it because he understands that its main goal is murder, which is accompanied by treason, theft, robbery, drunkenness, that is, war reveals the basest instincts in people. During the Battle of Borodino, Pierre realizes with horror that many of those people who look at his hat with surprise are doomed to wounds and death.

Thus, Tolstoy’s novel affirms the anti-human essence of war, when the death of tens of thousands of people becomes the result of the ambitious plans of one person. This means that we see here a combination of the writer’s humanistic views with the thought of the national dignity of the Russian people, their power, strength, and moral beauty.

Tolstoy believed that a work can be good only when the writer loves his main idea. In War and Peace, the writer, as he admitted, loved "people's 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.

The crisis situation in the country, caused by the rapid advance of Napoleonic troops deep into Russia, brought out their best qualities in people and made it possible to take a closer look at the man who was previously perceived by the nobles only as an obligatory attribute landowner's estate, whose lot was hard peasant labor. When a serious threat of enslavement loomed over Russia, the men, dressed in soldiers' greatcoats, forgetting their long-standing sorrows and grievances, together with the “gentlemen” courageously and steadfastly defended their homeland from a powerful enemy. Commanding a regiment, Andrei Bolkonsky for the first time saw patriotic heroes in the serfs, ready to die to save the fatherland. These main human values, in the spirit of “simplicity, goodness and truth,” according to Tolstoy, represent “folk thought,” which constitutes the soul of the novel and its main meaning. It is she who unites the peasantry with the best part nobility with a single goal - the fight for the freedom of the Fatherland. The peasantry, which organized partisan detachments that fearlessly exterminated the French army in the rear, played a huge role in the final destruction of the enemy.

By the word “people” Tolstoy understood the entire patriotic population of Russia, including the peasantry, the urban poor, the nobility, and the merchant class. The author poetizes the simplicity, kindness, and morality of the people, contrasting them with the falsehood and hypocrisy of the world. Tolstoy shows the dual psychology of the peasantry using the example of his two typical representatives: Tikhon Shcherbaty and Platon Karataev.

Tikhon Shcherbaty stands out in Denisov’s detachment for his unusual daring, agility and desperate courage. This man, who at first fought alone against the “miroders” in native village, attached to Denisov’s partisan detachment, soon became the most useful person in the detachment. Tolstoy concentrated in this hero the typical features of the Russian folk character. The image of Platon Karataev shows a different type of Russian peasant. With his humanity, kindness, simplicity, indifference to hardships, and a sense of collectivism, this inconspicuous “round” man was able to return to Pierre Bezukhov, who was in captivity, faith in people, goodness, love, and justice. His spiritual qualities are contrasted with the arrogance, selfishness and careerism of the highest St. Petersburg society. Platon Karataev remained the most precious memory for Pierre, “the personification of everything Russian, good and round.”

In the images of Tikhon Shcherbaty and Platon Karataev, Tolstoy concentrated the main qualities of the Russian people, who appear in the novel in the person of soldiers, partisans, servants, peasants, and the urban poor. Both heroes are dear to the writer’s heart: Plato as the embodiment of “everything Russian, good and round,” all those qualities (patriarchalism, kindness, humility, non-resistance, religiosity) that the writer highly valued among the Russian peasantry; Tikhon is the embodiment of a heroic people who rose up to fight, but only at a critical, exceptional time for the country (the Patriotic War of 1812). Tolstoy condemns Tikhon’s rebellious sentiments in peacetime.

Tolstoy correctly assessed the nature and goals of the Patriotic War of 1812, deeply understood and decisive role a people defending their homeland in war from foreign invaders, rejecting official assessments of the war of 1812 as a war of two emperors - Alexander and Napoleon. On the pages of the novel and, especially 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 thought about what is driving force stories. According to Tolstoy, 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. IN Patriotic War Tolstoy’s 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.

The main idea determined not only art form works, but also characters, assessment of his heroes. The War of 1812 became a milestone, a test for everyone goodies in the novel: for Prince Andrei, who feels an extraordinary uplift before the Battle of Borodino, believes in victory; for Pierre Bezukhov, all of whose thoughts are aimed at helping to expel the invaders; 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.

Subject 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 brutal, life-and-death war "club" people's war": "The club of the people's war rose with all its formidable and majestic strength, 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 everything was lost invasion". In action partisan detachments In 1812, Tolstoy saw the highest form of unity between the people and the army, which radically changed the attitude towards war.

Tolstoy glorifies the “club of the people’s war”, glorifies the people who raised it against the enemy. “Karps and Vlass” did not sell hay to the French even for good money, but burned it, thereby undermining the enemy army. The small merchant Ferapontov, before the French entered Smolensk, asked the soldiers to take his goods for free, since if “Raceya decided,” he himself would burn everything. Residents of Moscow and Smolensk did the same, burning their houses so that they would not fall to the enemy. The Rostovs, leaving Moscow, gave up all their carts to transport the wounded, thus completing their ruin. Pierre Bezukhov invested huge amounts of money in the formation of a regiment, which he took as his own support, while he himself remained in Moscow, hoping to kill Napoleon in order to behead the enemy army.

“And good for that people,” wrote Lev Nikolaevich, “who, not like the French in 1813, saluted according to all the rules of art and turned the sword over with the hilt, gracefully and courteously handing it over to the magnanimous winner, but good for those people who, in a moment of testing, without asking how others acted according to the rules similar cases, with simplicity and ease, picks up the first club he comes across and nails it until in his soul the feeling of insult and revenge is replaced by contempt and pity.”

The true feeling of love for the Motherland is contrasted with the ostentatious, false patriotism of Rostopchin, who, instead of fulfilling the duty assigned to him - to remove everything valuable from Moscow - worried the people with the distribution of weapons and posters, since he liked the “beautiful role of the leader of popular feeling.” At an important time for Russia, this false patriot dreamed only of a “heroic effect.” When a huge number of people sacrificed their lives to save their homeland, the St. Petersburg nobility wanted only one thing for themselves: benefits and pleasures. A bright type of careerist is given in the image of Boris Drubetsky, who skillfully and deftly used connections and the sincere goodwill of people, pretending to be a patriot, in order to move up the career ladder. The problem of true and false patriotism posed by the writer allowed him to broadly and comprehensively paint a picture of military everyday life and express his attitude towards the war.

The aggressive, aggressive war was hateful and disgusting to Tolstoy, but, from the point of view of the people, it was fair and liberating. The writer's views are revealed in realistic paintings saturated with blood, death and suffering, and in a contrasting comparison of the eternal harmony of nature with the madness of people killing each other. Tolstoy often puts his own thoughts about the war into the mouths of his favorite heroes. Andrei Bolkonsky hates her because he understands that her main goal is murder, which is accompanied by treason, theft, robbery, and drunkenness.

According to Tolstoy himself, he loved “folk thought” in the novel most of all. Reflections on this topic became the most important thing for the writer that he wanted to convey to the reader. What did he mean?

“People's thought” in the novel is not in the depiction of the Russian people as a community and not in the abundance of crowd scenes, as it may seem to an inexperienced reader. It is in the point of view of the writer, the system of moral assessments that he gives and historical events, and to their heroes. Don't confuse this!

1. Mass scenes in the novel are associated with the depiction of battle scenes of 1805, scenes of the Battle of Borodino, the defense and abandonment of Smolensk, and partisan warfare.

In the depiction of the War of 1805 Special attention devoted to two battles: Austerlitz and Schöngraben. Tolstoy's goal is to show why the army wins or loses. Shengraben is a “forced” battle, 4 thousand soldiers must cover the retreat of the forty thousand strong Russian army. The battle is observed by Kutuzov’s envoy, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. He sees how the soldiers show heroism, but not in the way that this quality seemed to the prince: Captain Timokhin and his detachment, with skillful actions, force the French to retreat, Captain Tushin, unnoticed humble person, “does his job,” cheerfully and efficiently, his battery destroys the main French positions, sets fire to the village and forces them to retreat, and they do not even suspect that they are “ordinary heroes.”

On the contrary, the Battle of Azsterlitz is a “battle of three emperors”, with unclear goals and an unclear plan. It is no coincidence that at the military council, Kutuzov dozed off like an old man to the measured muttering of the Austrian general. Kutuzov wants to save soldiers who do not understand what they are fighting for; it is not for nothing that the landscape of the beginning of the battle is symbolic: the fog covering the battlefield. The author comes to the conclusion: it is not the generals who win the battle, the soldiers win the battle, or rather, the spirit of the army, the understanding of what they are doing.

The same thing happens at Borodino: Kutuzov almost does not participate in the leadership of the battle, unlike Napoleon, who believes that the outcome depends on the will of the emperor. No, the outcome depends on the soldiers gathering for last battle like on a holiday, putting on clean shirts. According to Kutuzov, the Battle of Borodino was neither won nor lost in terms of consequences, but the Russians won, suppressing the French with fortitude and unprecedented unity of all against a single enemy.

So in crowd scenes“folk thought” appeared.

1. The partisan war that spontaneously unfolded during the invasion also testifies to the unity of the Russian people. IN different places under the French, landowners and peasants took up pitchforks and axes to drive out the enemy from native land. The “club of the people’s war” rose and “nailed ... the Frenchman until the invasion itself perished.” Drawing pictures of guerrilla warfare, Tolstoy depicts some peasant heroes. One of them is Tikhon Shcherbaty, like a wolf attacking the enemy, “the most useful person in the detachment", cruel and merciless. According to Tolstoy, this folk type, which manifests itself in difficult times for the Motherland. The second folk type is Platon Karataev, from whom Pierre learned to live simply and harmoniously, to accept everything that happens on a person’s path, he realized “that ballet shoes squeeze just like peasant bast shoes,” and therefore a person needs little to be happy. So moral values for Tolstoy they become the measure of everything else: peace, war, people, actions.
2. While in captivity, Pierre has a dream. In a dream Earth It seems to him like a ball of drops that tremble, shimmer, separate somewhere, merge somewhere. And every drop reflects God. This metaphor is an idea of folk life Tolstoy himself: a person lives his swarm life“, is busy with his problems and thoughts, but he must “conjugate” (the writer’s word) his life with the lives of others. And if the desires and needs of many people coincide at one point, history makes its movement there. This is another aspect of “folk thought in the novel.”
3. And Tolstoy “measures” his heroes with this yardstick. If they are far from common interests, common aspirations, if they do not understand what is common, they put own interests above others or try to interfere with the natural course of life, then everyone sinks lower and falls into a spiritual crisis. This happens with Prince Andrey, when he raises soldiers in a senseless attack at Austerlitz, and with Pierre, trying to kill Napoleon. Some of the heroes never realize own life, more precisely, existence - such is Helen, Rostopchin with his “posters”, Napoleon. Pierre, trying to somehow help Russia, equips a regiment with his own money, Natasha gives carts to the wounded, without thinking about the well-being of the family, and Berg is trying to “buy a shelf that Verochka likes so much.” Which of them lives according to popular laws?

So, “People's Thought,” according to Tolstoy, is the thought of the need to connect one’s life with common interests, life according to moral laws, existing in the world for centuries, life together.

Here is a magnificent essay on Russian literature on the topic “PEOPLE’S THOUGHT” in L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “WAR AND PEACE”. The essay is intended for 10th grade students, but can also be used by students of other grades in preparation for Russian language and literature lessons.

“PEOPLE’S THOUGHT” in the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "WAR AND PEACE"

Tolstoy is one of greatest writers Russia. He lived during a time of peasant unrest, and therefore he was captivated by all the most important questions of the era: about the paths of development of Russia, about the fate of the people and their role in history, about the relationship between the people and the nobility. Tolstoy decided to look for answers to all these questions by studying the events of the early 19th century.

According to Tolstoy, main reason Russian victory in 1812 was this “ popular thought ", this is the unity of the people in the fight against the conqueror, its enormous, unshakable strength that has risen, dormant until time in the souls of people, which with its enormity overthrew the enemy and forced him to flee. The reason for the victory was the justice of the war against the conquerors, the readiness of every Russian to defend the Motherland, and the people's love for their fatherland. Historical figures and invisible participants in the war, the best people Russia and money-grubbing, careerists walk through the pages of the novel “ War and Peace". There are more than five hundred characters. Tolstoy created many unique characters and showed us a lot of people. But Tolstoy does not imagine these hundred people as a faceless mass. All this huge material is connected by a single thought, which Tolstoy defined as “ popular thought «.

The Rostov and Bolkonsky families differ from each other in their class status and in the atmosphere that reigned in their homes. But these families are united by a common love for Russia. Let us remember the death of old Prince Bolkonsky. Last words his were about Russia: “ Russia is dead! Ruined!". He worried about the fate of Russia and the fate of all Russian people. All his life he served only Russia, and when his death came, all his thoughts, of course, were turned to his Motherland.

Let's consider Petit's patriotism. Petya went to war very young and did not spare his life for his fatherland. Let us remember Natasha, who is ready to give up all her valuables just because she wants to help the wounded. In the same scene, Natasha’s aspirations are contrasted with the aspirations of the careerist Berg. Only the best people in Russia could perform feats during the war. Neither Helen, nor Anna Pavlovna Scherer, nor Boris, nor Berg could perform feats. These people did not experience patriotic feelings. All their motives were selfish. During the war, following fashion, they stopped speaking French. But does this prove their love for Russia?

Battle of Borodino - climax in Tolstoy's work. Tolstoy confronts almost all the heroes of the novel at the Battle of Borodino. Even if the characters are not on the Borodino field, their fates completely depend on the course of the War of 1812. The battle is shown through the eyes of a non-military man - Pierre. Bezukhov considers it his duty to be on the battlefield. Through his eyes we see the rallying of the army. He becomes convinced that the words of the old soldier are correct: “ All the people want to pile on ". Unlike Battle of Austerlitz The participants in the Battle of Borodino understood the goals of the War of 1812. The writer believes that the coincidence of millions of reasons helps victory. Thanks to wishes ordinary soldiers, commanders, militias and all other participants in the battle, the moral victory of the Russian people became possible.

Tolstoy's favorite heroes - Pierre and Andrei - were also participants in the Battle of Borodino. Bezukhov deeply feels the popular character of the War of 1812. The hero's patriotism is poured into very specific deeds: equipping the regiment, monetary donations. The turning point in Pierre's life is his stay in captivity and his acquaintance with Platon Karataev. Communication with the old soldier leads Pierre to “ agree with yourself “, simplicity and integrity.

War of 1812 - major milestone in the life of Andrei Bolkonsky. Andrei abandons his military career and becomes the commander of a Jaeger regiment. Andrei deeply understands Kutuzov, a commander who sought to avoid unnecessary casualties. During the Battle of Borodino, Prince Andrei takes care of his soldiers and tries to get them out of the fire. Andrei’s dying thoughts are imbued with a sense of humility:

“Love your neighbors, love your enemies. To love everything, to love God in all manifestations.”

As a result of his search for the meaning of life, Andrei was able to overcome his selfishness and vanity. Spiritual quests lead the hero to moral enlightenment, to natural simplicity, to the ability to love and forgive.

Leo Tolstoy paints the heroes of the partisan war with love and respect. And Tolstoy showed one of them more close-up. This man is Tikhon Shcherbaty, a typical Russian peasant, as a symbol of the avenging people fighting for their homeland. He was " the most useful and a brave man "in Denisov's detachment, " his weapons consisted of a blunderbuss, a pike and an ax, which he wielded like a wolf wields his teeth " In Denisov’s consolation, Tikhon occupied an exceptional place, “ when it was necessary to do something especially difficult and impossible - turn a cart out of the mud with your shoulder, pull a horse out of a swamp by the tail, saddle it and climb into the very middle of the French, walk fifty miles a day - everyone pointed, laughing, at Tikhon " Tikhon feels a strong hatred for the French, so strong that he can be very cruel. But we understand his feelings and sympathize with this hero. He is always busy, always in action, his speech is unusually fast, even his comrades talk about him with affectionate irony: “ Well, he's clever », « what a beast " The image of Tikhon Shcherbaty is close to Tolstoy, who loves this hero, loves all the people, highly values "people's thought" . In the novel War and Peace, Tolstoy showed us the Russian people in all their strength and beauty.