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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 one of the most useful person in the squad. 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 the actions of the partisan detachments of 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.

Introduction

“The subject of history is the life of peoples and humanity,” this is how L.N. Tolstoy begins the second part of the epilogue of the epic novel “War and Peace.” He further asks the question: “What force moves nations?” Reflecting on these “theories,” Tolstoy comes to the conclusion that: “The life of peoples does not fit into the lives of a few people, because the connection between these several people and nations has not been found...” In other words, Tolstoy says that the role of the people in history is undeniable, and the eternal truth that history is made by the people was proven by him in his novel. “People's thought” in Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” is indeed one of the main themes of the epic novel.

The people in the novel "War and Peace"

Many readers understand the word “people” not quite the way Tolstoy understands it. Lev Nikolaevich means by “people” not only soldiers, peasants, men, not only that “huge mass” driven by some force. For Tolstoy, the “people” are officers, generals, and nobility. This is Kutuzov, and Bolkonsky, and the Rostovs, and Bezukhov - this is all of humanity, embraced by one thought, one deed, one purpose. All the main characters of Tolstoy's novel are directly connected with their people and are inseparable from them.

Heroes of the novel and “folk thought”

The fates of the beloved heroes of Tolstoy’s novel are connected with the life of the people. “People's thought” in “War and Peace” runs like a red thread through the life of Pierre Bezukhov. While in captivity, Pierre learned his truth of life. Platon Karataev, a peasant peasant, opened it to Bezukhov: “In captivity, in a booth, Pierre learned not with his mind, but with his whole being, with his life, that man was created for happiness, that happiness is in himself, in the satisfaction of natural human needs, that all misfortune occurs not from lack, but from excess.” The French offered Pierre to transfer from a soldier's booth to an officer's, but he refused, remaining faithful to those with whom he suffered his fate. And for a long time afterwards he recalled with ecstasy this month of captivity, as “a complete peace of mind, about the perfect inner freedom that he experienced only at this time.”

Andrei Bolkonsky also felt his people at the Battle of Austerlitz. Grabbing the flagpole and rushing forward, he did not think that the soldiers would follow him. And they, seeing Bolkonsky with a banner and hearing: “Guys, go ahead!” rushed at the enemy behind their leader. Unity of officers and ordinary soldiers confirms that the people are not divided into ranks and titles, the people are united, and Andrei Bolkonsky understood this.

Natasha Rostova, leaving Moscow, dumps her family property on the ground and gives away her carts for the wounded. This decision comes to her immediately, without thinking, which suggests that the heroine does not separate herself from the people. Another episode that speaks of the true Russian spirit of Rostova, in which L. Tolstoy himself admires his beloved heroine: “Where, how, when did she suck into herself from the Russian air that she breathed - this countess, raised by a French governess - this spirit, where she got these techniques from... But these spirits and techniques were the same, inimitable, unstudied, Russian.”

And Captain Tushin, who sacrificed own life for the sake of victory, for the sake of Russia. Captain Timokhin, who rushed at the Frenchman with “one skewer.” Denisov, Nikolai Rostov, Petya Rostov and many other Russian people who stood with the people and knew true patriotism.

Tolstoy created collective image people - a united, invincible people, when not only soldiers, troops, but also militias fight. Civilians help not with weapons, but with their own methods: men burn hay so as not to take it to Moscow, people leave the city only because they do not want to obey Napoleon. This is what “folk thought” is and how it is revealed in the novel. Tolstoy makes it clear that the Russian people are strong in a single thought - not to surrender to the enemy. A sense of patriotism is important for all Russian people.

Platon Karataev and Tikhon Shcherbaty

The novel also shows the partisan movement. A bright representative here Tikhon Shcherbaty appeared, who with all his disobedience, dexterity, and cunning fought the French. His active work brings success to the Russians. Denisov is proud of his partisan detachment thanks to Tikhon.

Opposite to the image of Tikhon Hollow-toothed image Platon Karataev. Kind, wise, with his worldly philosophy, he calms Pierre and helps him survive captivity. Plato's speech is filled with Russian proverbs, which emphasizes his nationality.

Kutuzov and the people

The only commander-in-chief of the army who never separated himself and the people was Kutuzov. “He knew not with his mind or science, but with his whole Russian being, he knew and felt what every Russian soldier felt...” The disunity of the Russian army in the alliance with Austria, the deception of the Austrian army, when the allies abandoned the Russians in battles, were for Kutuzov unbearable pain. To Napoleon’s letter about peace, Kutuzov replied: “I would be damned if they looked at me as the first instigator of any deal: such is the will of our people” (italics by L.N. Tolstoy). Kutuzov did not write on his own behalf, he expressed the opinion of the entire people, all Russian people.

The image of Kutuzov is contrasted with the image of Napoleon, who was very far from his people. He was only interested in personal interest in the struggle for power. An empire of worldwide submission to Bonaparte - and an abyss in the interests of the people. As a result, the war of 1812 was lost, the French fled, and Napoleon was the first to leave Moscow. He abandoned his army, abandoned his people.

conclusions

In his novel War and Peace, Tolstoy shows that people's power is invincible. And in every Russian person there is “simplicity, goodness and truth.” True patriotism does not measure everyone by rank, does not build a career, does not seek fame. At the beginning of the third volume, Tolstoy writes: “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.” Laws of honor, conscience, general culture, general history.

This essay on the topic “People's Thought” in the novel “War and Peace” reveals only a small part of what the author wanted to tell us. The people live in the novel in every chapter, in every line.

Work test

“His hero is an entire country struggling with the onslaught of mash.”
V.G. Korolenko

Tolstoy believed that the decisive role in the outcome of the war is played not by military leaders, but by soldiers, partisans, and Russian people. That is why the author tried to portray not individual heroes, but characters who are in close connection with the whole people.

The novel covers a broad time period, but the years 1805 and 1812 are decisive. This is absolutely two years different wars. In the War of 1812, the people knew what they were fighting for, why these bloodshed and deaths were needed. But in the war of 1805, people did not understand why their loved ones, friends and themselves were giving their lives. Therefore, at the beginning of the novel, Tolstoy asks the question:

“What force moves nations? Who is the creator of history - an individual or a people?

Looking for answers to them, we notice: with what accuracy the author depicts individual characters and portraits the masses, battle paintings, scenes of folk heroism and we understand that the people - main character epics.

We see that the soldiers have different views on life, communication with people, but they all have one thing in common - a great love for the Fatherland and a willingness to do anything just to protect the Motherland from invaders. This is manifested in the images of two ordinary soldiers: Platon Karataev and Tikhon Shcherbaty.

Tikhon Shcherbaty hates invaders with all his heart, while being "the most useful and a brave man» in Denisov's detachment. He is a brave and determined volunteer partisan, "Rebel" ready to sacrifice himself for the cause. It embodies the spirit of the people: vindictiveness, courage, resourcefulness of the Russian peasant. He doesn't care about any difficulties.

“When it was necessary to do something especially difficult - to turn a cart out of the mud with your shoulder, to pull a horse out of a swamp by the tail, to drive into the very middle of the French, to walk 50 miles a day, everyone pointed, laughing, at Tikhon:

What the hell will happen to him!

Platon Karataev is the complete opposite of this energetic man who does not like enemies. He is the embodiment of everything round, good and eternal. He loves everyone around him, even the French, and is imbued with a feeling of universal loving unity of people. But he has one not very good trait - he is ready to suffer for nothing, he lives according to the principle “Everything that is done is for the better.” If it were his will, he would not interfere anywhere, but would simply be a passive contemplator.

In Tolstoy's novel, readers get to see how soldiers treat their opponents.

During the battle - mercilessly to achieve victory. Shcherbaty's behavior.

During the halt, the attitude towards the prisoners changes to generosity, which makes the soldiers similar to Karataev.

The soldiers understand the difference between two situations: in the first, the one who forgets about humanity and compassion will win and survive; in the second, discarding stereotypes, they forget that they are soldiers of warring armies, understanding only that prisoners are also people and they also need warmth and food. This shows the purity of the soul and heart of the soldiers.

In every Russian person in 1812 there appears "the hidden warmth of patriotism", including the Rostov family, who gave carts and a house for the wounded. The merchant Ferapontov, who was incredibly greedy before the war, now gives everything when fleeing Smolensk. All the people of Russia during that difficult period were united, united in order to protect their homeland from foreign invaders. Napoleon does not achieve his goal, because the bravery of the Russian regiments inspires superstitious horror in the French.

The main conflict of the novel is not determined by a private conflict historical figures or fictional characters. The conflict of the novel lies in the struggle of the Russian people, an entire nation, with the aggressor, the outcome of which determines the fate of the entire people. Tolstoy created poetry greatest feats ordinary people, showing how great things are born in small things.