Essay on the topic: Patriotism in the novel War and Peace, Tolstoy. Novel "War and Peace"
The theme of patriotism deeply worried Tolstoy. In his work, he tried to reveal this topic to the maximum. False and true patriotism in the novel “War and Peace” are opposed to each other. False patriots pursuing selfish goals, acting for the sake of their own interests and real defenders of the Fatherland, for whom duty, honor and conscience are above all. The war tore off the masks from people's faces, revealing their essence and turning everyone's soul inside out.
True patriotism
True patriotism is real actions, when, first of all, you think about the people and their fate. When, without hesitation, you give your life for the sake of your Motherland. Tolstoy was convinced that the Russian people were deeply patriotic. He is able to stand up like an invincible wall, protecting his own. The war affected everyone who was at that time and in that place. She did not choose who was rich or poor in front of her. Different segments of the population fell under its millstones. Everyone, to the best of their ability, tried to contribute to the overall victory over the enemy.
When the French occupied Smolensk, the peasants burned hay so that it would not go to the enemies. The merchant Ferapontov decided to show patriotism in his own way. He personally burned down his trading post so that it would not fall into the hands of the French. Residents of Moscow also did not stand aside. The people did not want to remain under the yoke of impostors. They left their homes, leaving their hometown.
Tolstoy describes Russian soldiers with love and pride. The battles of Smolensk, Shengraben, Austerlitz, the Battle of Borodino are examples worthy of respect. It was in battle that their best qualities manifested themselves: fortitude, iron character, readiness for self-sacrifice, courage. Everyone realized that the next battle could take the life of any of them, but no one was going to retreat or give up. They did not strive to look like heroes and did not flaunt their victories. They acted sincerely. In every step one could feel the love for the Motherland and Fatherland.
An example of true patriotism was commander Kutuzov. The tsar himself was against his appointment as commander, but Kutuzov managed to justify the trust placed in him. Kutuzov felt and understood the soldiers. He lived by their interests, cared for each one as if he were his own son. For him, everyone was family and loved ones.
The most difficult decision in Kutuzov's life during the war was the order to retreat. Not everyone would risk taking on such responsibility. It was a difficult choice. On the one hand, Moscow, on the other, all of Russia. Retreating from Moscow, he managed to preserve the army, the number of soldiers of which was significantly inferior to Napoleonic's. Another manifestation of Kutuzov's patriotism is his refusal to fight outside Russia. He was convinced that the people had fulfilled their civic duty to the Motherland and there was no need to risk their lives again.
Tolstoy did not ignore the partisans, comparing the partisan detachments with a strong club “rising with all its formidable and majestic strength and, without asking anyone’s tastes and rules... nailing the French... until the entire invasion was destroyed.”
False patriotism
False patriotism is completely saturated with falsehood. The actions of these people are ostentatious, the patriotic words coming from their lips are empty. Everything they do is for their own benefit, for the sake of their own interests. At a time when real patriots fought for their Motherland, false patriots attended social events, went to salons, and spoke the enemy’s language.
It is not only secular society that arouses Tolstoy's wrath. He criticizes the officers who prefer to sit back at headquarters, avoiding battles where blood is shed and people are dying. Careerists who want to rise up at someone else's expense and get another order for free.
The author sought to emphasize that true patriotism and sincere feelings for the Motherland are best demonstrated by ordinary people. In moments of shared grief, people become closer. An unknown force awakens in them, capable of pulverizing any enemy. Tolstoy tried to convey his theory to the people through Pierre Bezukhov, who realized that real happiness lies in unity with his people. Only when we are united are we invincible.
The novel “War and Peace” is a historical epic of the valor and courage of the Russian people - the winner of the War of 1812. As in “Sevastopol Stories,” so in this novel Tolstoy realistically depicts the war in “blood, in suffering, in death.” Tolstoy tells us about the severity of war, its horrors, grief (population leaving Smolensk and Moscow, famine), of death (Andrei Bolkonsky dies after being wounded, Petya Rostov dies). War requires the utmost effort of moral and physical strength from everyone. Russia during the Patriotic War, during the period of robbery, violence and atrocities committed by the invaders, suffered enormous material sacrifices. This is the burning and devastation of cities.
The general mood of soldiers, partisans and other defenders of the Motherland is of great importance during military events. War of 1805-1807 was conducted outside Russia and was alien to the Russian people. When the French invaded the territory of Russia, the entire Russian people, young and old, rose to defend their Fatherland.
In the novel “War and Peace,” Tolstoy divides people according to moral principles, especially highlighting their attitude to patriotic duty. The writer depicts true patriotism and false patriotism, which cannot even be called patriotism. True patriotism - this is, first of all, patriotism of duty, action in the name of the Fatherland, the ability to rise above the personal at a decisive moment for the Motherland, to be imbued with a sense of responsibility for the fate of the people. According to Tolstoy, The Russian people are deeply patriotic. When the French occupied Smolensk, peasants burned hay so as not to sell it to their enemies. Each in his own way tried to hurt the enemy so that they would feel the hatred of the true owners of the earth. The merchant Ferapontov burned down his own shop so that it would not fall to the French. The residents of Moscow are shown as true patriots, who, leaving their hometown, leave their homes, because they consider it impossible to remain under the rule of impostors.
Russian soldiers are true patriots. The novel is replete with numerous episodes depicting the varied manifestations of patriotism by Russian people. We see the true patriotism and heroism of the people in the depiction of classical scenes under Shengraben, Austerlitz, Smolensk, Borodin. 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. It was in the Battle of Borodino that the extraordinary fortitude and courage of Russian soldiers was particularly demonstrated. 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. “After all, she will not have mercy. She will smack and her guts will be out. “You can’t help but be afraid,” he said laughing.” But the soldier, who was not at all trying to be brave, died soon after this short dialogue, like tens of thousands of others, but did not give up and did not retreat.
Outwardly unremarkable people become heroes and true patriots in Tolstoy. That's the captain Tushin, who found himself in the face of his superiors in a comical position without boots, embarrassed, stumbling and at the same time, at the most critical moment, doing exactly what was needed.
The strength of the people's spirit will give birth to outstanding commanders. Such as Mikhail Kutuzov . Kutuzov in the novel is an exponent of the idea of patriotism, he was appointed commander against the will of the king and the royal court. Andrei explains this to Pierre this way: “While Russia was healthy, Barclay de Tolly was good... When Russia is sick, it needs its own man.” Kutuzov lives only with the feelings, thoughts, interests of soldiers, perfectly understands their mood, takes care of them like a father. He firmly believes that the outcome of the battle is determined by “an elusive force called the spirit of the army” and strives with all his might to support this hidden warmth of patriotism in the army.
The episode in Fili is important. Kutuzov takes upon himself the gravest responsibility and orders a retreat. This order contains the true patriotism of Kutuzov. Retreating from Moscow, Kutuzov retained an army that could not yet compare in numbers with Napoleonic's. Defending Moscow would mean losing the army, and this would lead to the loss of both Moscow and Russia. After Napoleon pushed beyond Russian borders, Kutuzov refuses to fight outside Russia. He believes that the Russian people have fulfilled their mission by expelling the invader, and there is no need to shed more people's blood.
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.
Andrey Bolkonsky. Still from the film “War and Peace” (1965)
Lev Nikolaevich shows that patriotic feelings embrace people of different political views: the progressive intelligentsia (Pierre, Andrey), the confrontational old Prince Bolkonsky, the conservative Nikolai Rostov, the meek Princess Marya. The patriotic impulse also penetrates the hearts of people who seem far from the war - Petya, Natasha Rostov. But it only seemed so. A real person, according to Tolstoy, cannot help but be a patriot of his Fatherland. All these people are united by a feeling that exists in the soul of every Russian person. (The Rostov family, leaving the city, gives all the carts to the wounded, thereby losing their property. After the death of her father, Maria Bolkonskaya leaves the estate, not wanting to live in the territory occupied by enemies. Pierre Bezukhov thinks about killing Napoleon, knowing full well how this could end.)
The writer attaches great importance to partisan movement . This is how Tolstoy describes his spontaneous growth: “ Before the guerrilla war was officially accepted by our government, thousands of people of the enemy army - backward marauders, foragers - were exterminated by the Cossacks and peasants, who beat these people as unconsciously as dogs unconsciously kill a rabid dog.”. Tolstoy characterizes partisan “war not according to the rules” as spontaneous, comparing it with a club, “ rising with all its formidable and majestic power and, without asking anyone’s tastes and rules... nailing the French... until the entire invasion perished.”.
Tolstoy contrasts the true patriotism of the bulk of the Russian people with the false patriotism of the highest noble society, which is repulsive in its falseness, selfishness and hypocrisy. These are fake people, whose patriotic words and deeds become a means of achieving base goals. Tolstoy mercilessly tears off the mask of patriotism from German and half-German generals in Russian service, “golden youth” like Anatoly Kuragin, careerists like Boris Drubetsky. Tolstoy angrily denounces that part of the senior staff officers who did not take part in the battles, but tried to get a job at the headquarters and simply receive awards.
People like false patriots there will be a lot until people realize that everyone must defend their country, and that there will be no one else to do this except them. This is exactly what Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy wanted to convey through antithesis, contrasting true and false patriots. But Tolstoy does not fall into the false patriotic tone of the narrative, but looks at events sternly and objectively, like a realist writer. This helps him more accurately convey to us the importance of the problem of false patriotism.
A false patriotic atmosphere reigns in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, Helen Bezukhova and other St. Petersburg salons:“...calm, luxurious, concerned only with ghosts, reflections of life, St. Petersburg life went on as before; and because of the course of this life, it was necessary to make great efforts to recognize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves. There were the same exits, balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of service and intrigue. Only in the highest circles were efforts made to recall the difficulty of the present situation.” Indeed, this circle of people was far from understanding all-Russian problems, from understanding the great misfortune and needs of the people during this war. The world continued to live by its own interests, and even in a moment of national calamity reign here greed, promotion, service.
The Count also displays false patriotism Rastopchin, who posts stupid ones around Moscow "posters", calls on the city residents not to leave the capital, and then, fleeing the people’s anger, deliberately sends the innocent son of the merchant Vereshchagin to death. Meanness and betrayal are combined with conceit and pout: “It not only seemed to him that he controlled the external actions of the inhabitants of Moscow, but it seemed to him that he controlled their mood through his proclamations and posters, written in that ironic language that the people despise among themselves and which they do not understand when they hear it from above ».
Indicative for understanding the author’s attitude to what is happening is the reaction of the scene participants to Berg’s behavior - both direct and not having a direct connection with the hero’s monologues. The direct reaction is contained in the Count’s actions: “The Count wrinkled his face and choked...”; “Oh, you all get out to hell, to hell, to hell and to hell!..” Natasha Rostova’s reaction is even more definite: “... this is such disgusting, such an abomination, such... I don’t know! Are we some kind of Germans?..” Natasha Rostova’s exclamation is somewhat divorced from Berg’s monologues; the plot is connected with Petya’s story about his parents’ quarrel over carts. But it is obvious that Tolstoy puts these words into Natasha’s mouth, among other things, with the aim of giving a final assessment of Berg’s hypocritical shamelessness (the mention of the Germans is no coincidence).
This is finally Drubetskoy, who, like other staff officers, thinks about awards and promotion, wants “to arrange for himself the best position, especially the position of adjutant to an important person, which seemed especially tempting to him in the army”. It is probably no coincidence that on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Pierre notices this greedy excitement on the faces of the officers; he mentally compares it with “another expression of excitement,” “which spoke of not personal, but general issues, issues of life and death.”
Tolstoy convinces us that only those nobles who comprehend the spirit of the people, for whom there can be no happiness outside the peace and prosperity of their country, can be true patriots.
By uniting people on a moral principle, emphasizing the special importance in assessing a person of the truth of his patriotic feeling, Tolstoy brings together people who are very different in their social status. They turn out to be close in spirit, rising to the greatness of national patriotism. And it is not without reason that during a difficult period of his life, Pierre Bezukhov, finding himself on the Borodino field, comes to the conviction that true happiness is merging with the common people. (“Be a soldier, just a soldier. Enter this common life with your whole being.”)
Thus, true patriotism in Tolstoy’s understanding is the highest manifestation of the moral strength and spirit of the people. People's patriotism is an invincible force in the fight against enemies. The winner is the Russian people.
Municipal secondary school N 1
Literature abstract on the topic
True and false patriotism in the novel
"War and Peace"
Completed by a student of grade 10 “B”
Zinovieva Irina
Checked by literature teacher
Chinina Olga Yurievna
Voronezh 2006.
Introduction
Heroically patriotic and anti-war themes are the defining, leading themes of Tolstoy's epic novel. This work has forever captured the feat of the Russian people, who defended their national independence with arms in their hands. “War and Peace” will continue to retain this meaning in the future, inspiring peoples to fight against foreign invaders.
The author of War and Peace was a committed and passionate advocate of peace. He knew well what war was, he saw it closely with his own eyes. For five years, young Tolstoy wore a military uniform, serving as an artillery officer in the field army, first in the Caucasus, then on the Danube and, finally, in the Crimea, where he participated in the heroic defense of Sevastopol.
The great work was preceded by a work on a novel about the Decembrist. In 1856, a manifesto was announced on amnesty for the people of December 14, and their return to their homeland caused an aggravation of Russian society. L.N. Tolstoy also showed attention to this event. He recalled: “In 1856, I began to write a story with a well-known direction, the hero of which was supposed to be a Decembrist returning with his family to Russia...” The writer did not intend to give the reader the apotheosis of the Decembrist movement: his plans included revising this page of Russian history in the light defeat of Decembrism and offer their understanding of the fight against it, carried out by peaceful means and through non-violence. Therefore, the hero of the story was supposed to, upon returning from exile, condemn his revolutionary past and become a supporter of another solution to the problem - moral improvement as a recipe for the improvement of the entire society. However, Tolstoy's plan underwent significant changes. Let's listen to the writer himself: “Involuntarily, from the present (that is, 1856), I moved to 1825, the era of my hero’s delusions and misfortunes, and left what I started. But in 1825 my hero was already a mature, family man. To understand him, I needed to travel back to his youth, and his youth coincided with the glory for Russia of the era of 1812. Another time I abandoned what I had started and began to write from the time of 1812, the smell and sound of which are still audible and dear to us.” So the main theme of the new novel was the heroic epic of the struggle against the Napoleonic invasion. L. Tolstoy, however, continues: “The third time I returned back due to a feeling that may seem strange. I was ashamed to write about our triumph in the fight against Bonaparte’s France without describing our failures and our shame. If the reason for our triumph was not accidental, but lay in the essence of the character of the Russian people and troops, then this character should have been expressed even more clearly in the era of failures and defeats. So, having returned from 1825 to 1805, from now on I intend to take not one, but many of my heroines and heroes through the historical events of 1805, 1807, 1812, 1825 and 1856.” This important author’s testimony conveys the grandiose scale of what is captured in the novel, and the development of the latter into an epic, and the multi-heroic nature of the work, and the significance of understanding the national character in it, and its deep historicism. Tolstoy’s important previous work was “Sevastopol Stories,” and the impetus for covering historical events was the Crimean War with its failures that needed comprehension.
The work on “War and Peace” was accompanied by a huge creative surge of the writer. Never before had he felt his mental and moral powers so free and intended for creative work.
L.N. Tolstoy begins a thorough study of historical sources, documentary literature, and memories of participants in ancient events. He studies the works of A. I. Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky about the wars of 1805-1814, “Essays on the Battle of Borodino” by F. N. Glinka, “Diary of Partisan Actions of 1812” by D. V. Davydov, the book “Russia and the Russians” by N. I. Turgenev, “Notes about 1812” by S. N. Glinka, memoirs of A. P. Ermolov, memoirs of A. D. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, “Camping notes of an artilleryman” by I. T. Radozhitsky and many other works of this type. The Yasnaya Polyana library preserves 46 books and magazines that Tolstoy used throughout the time he was working on the novel War and Peace. In total, the writer used works, the list of which includes 74 titles.
The trip in September 1867 to the Borodino field, where a great battle once took place, became important. The writer walked around the famous field on foot, studying the location of Russian and French troops, the location of the Shevardinsky redoubt, Bagration's flushes, and Raevsky's battery. No less significant were the inquiries of the surviving contemporaries of the great battles and the study of the life of a distant era.
As we work on the novel, its folk origins become stronger and enriched. “I tried to write the history of the people,” Tolstoy left such a confession in the draft of the fourth volume. Gradually, “people's thought” became decisive in “War and Peace”; the favorite theme of the epic was the depiction of the feat of the people during the events of Russian history. The novel included 569 characters, among whom were 200 historical figures. But among them the main characters of the work are by no means lost, whose fates the writer traces carefully, with all the necessary psychological persuasiveness. At the same time, the author connects them with a variety of ties of kinship, love, friendship, marriage, business relationships, and common participation in grandiose historical events. There are quite a few people in the novel whose individual traits of life and character reflect the properties of L. N. Tolstoy’s ancestors and closest relatives. Thus, in Count Rostov one can discern the features of Count Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy, the writer’s grandfather, and in the old Prince Bolkonsky - the features of another grandfather; Countess Rostova resembles Tolstoy’s grandmother, Pelageya Nikolaevna Tolstoy, Princess Marya absorbed the traits of the Writer’s mother, Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya, and Nikolai Rostov - the traits of his father, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy. Prince Andrei absorbed the characteristics of Sergei Nikolaevich, the writer’s brother, and Natasha Rostova imprinted the image of Tatyana Andreevna Bers, the writer’s sister-in-law. All this testifies to the significant autobiographical nature of the novel and the deep vitality of its characters. But “War and Peace” is by no means reduced to autobiography: it is a broad canvas that reflects Russian history. Its heroes and the diverse folk world.
Working on the great book required titanic work. The total number of surviving manuscripts of the novel is over ten thousand draft texts. Some of the parts of the epic were rewritten many times, individual scenes were redone, according to Tolstoy, “ad infinitum.” But as a result of the author’s tireless and intense work, a novel emerged that constituted an entire era in the history of Russian culture.
True and false patriotism in the novel “War and Peace”
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, there are real historical figures (Kutuzov, Napoleon, Alexander I, Speransky, Rostopchin, Bagration and many others), all social strata of Russia at that time: high society, noble aristocracy, provincial nobility, army, peasantry, even the merchants.
In the novel “War and Peace,” Tolstoy created a voluminous and multifaceted picture of the war. But in this work the reader sees not galloping warriors with unfurled banners, not a parade and the splendor of victories, but ordinary military everyday life. On the pages of the novel we meet ordinary soldiers, we see their difficult, hard work.
The writer introduces us to the inner world of an ordinary person at first glance. But he shows us that even such inconspicuous people can be interesting and attractive with their spiritual beauty. The author reveals to us, the readers, the poetry of the hero’s spiritual life. It is often difficult to discern a person's true face under the layers of the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The writer shows that one must be able to see human dignity in everyone, that divine spark that will not allow a person to commit a truly vile act. In extreme situations, in moments of great upheaval and global change, a person will definitely prove himself, show his inner essence, certain qualities of his nature. In Tolstoy's novel, someone utters loud words, engages in noisy activities or useless vanity - someone experiences a simple and natural feeling of “the need for sacrifice and suffering in the consciousness of general misfortune.” The former only consider themselves patriots and loudly shout about love for the Fatherland, while the latter are them and give their lives in the name of common victory or leave their own property to be plundered so that it does not fall to the enemy. In the first case, we are dealing with false patriotism, repulsive with its falseness, selfishness and hypocrisy. This is how secular nobles behave at a dinner in honor of Bagration: when reading poems about the war, “everyone stood up, feeling that the dinner was more important than the poetry.” A false patriotic atmosphere reigns in the salons of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, Helen Bezukhova and other St. Petersburg salons: “... calm, luxurious, concerned only with ghosts, reflections of life, St. Petersburg life went on as before; and because of the course of this life, it was necessary to make great efforts to recognize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves. There were the same exits, balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of service and intrigue. Only in the highest circles were efforts made to recall the difficulty of the present situation.” Indeed, this circle of people was far from understanding all-Russian problems, from understanding the great misfortune and needs of the people during this war. The world continued to live by its own interests, and even in a moment of national disaster, greed and promotion reign here.
Count Rastopchin also displays false patriotism, posting stupid “posters” around Moscow, calling on city residents not to leave the capital, and then, fleeing the people’s anger, deliberately sending the innocent son of the merchant Vereshchagin to death. Meanness and betrayal are combined with conceit and pout: “It not only seemed to him that he controlled the external actions of the inhabitants of Moscow, but it seemed to him that he controlled their mood through his proclamations and posters, written in that ironic language that in its midst despises the people and which he does not understand when he hears it from above.”
Just like Rostopchin, the novel shows Berg, who, in a moment of general confusion, is looking for profit and is preoccupied with buying a wardrobe and a toilet “with an English secret.” It doesn’t even occur to him that now it’s embarrassing to think about purchases that are not necessary. This is, finally, Drubetskoy, who, like other staff officers, thinks about awards and promotion, wants to “arrange for himself the best position, especially the position of adjutant to an important person, which seemed especially tempting to him in the army.” It is probably no coincidence that on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Pierre notices this greedy excitement on the faces of the officers; he mentally compares it with “another expression of excitement,” “which spoke of not personal, but general issues, issues of life and death.”
What “other” persons are we talking about? Of course, these are the faces of ordinary Russian men, dressed in soldiers' greatcoats, for whom the feeling of the Motherland is sacred and inalienable. True patriots in the Tushin battery fight without cover. And Tushin himself “did not experience the slightest unpleasant feeling of fear, and the thought that he could be killed or painfully wounded did not occur to him.” The blood feeling of the Motherland forces soldiers to resist the enemy with incredible fortitude. From the description of the janitor Ferapontov, we see that this man, who gives up his property for plunder when leaving Smolensk, beats his wife because she asks him to leave, he pettyly bargains with the cab driver, but, having understood the essence of what is happening, he burns down his own house and leaves . He is also, of course, a patriot. For him, there is no point in acquired wealth when the fate of his homeland is being decided. “Get everything, guys, don’t leave it to the French!” - he shouts to the Russian soldiers.
What is Pierre doing? He gives his money, sells his estate to equip the regiment. And what makes him, a rich aristocrat, go into the thick of the Battle of Borodino? The same feeling of concern for the fate of one’s country, the desire to help the Russian people.
Let us finally remember those who left Moscow, not wanting to submit to Napoleon. They were convinced: “It was impossible to be under the control of the French.” That is why they “simply and truly” did “that great deed that saved Russia.”
True patriots in Tolstoy's novel do not think about themselves, they feel the need for their own contribution and even sacrifice, but do not expect rewards for this, because they carry in their souls a genuine holy feeling of the Motherland.
There is a war going on in Austria. General Mack is defeated at 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 the commander-in-chief arrived. His squad needed to accomplish a great feat in order to save the Russian army. This is how the author leads the reader to the depiction of the first great battle.
In this battle, as always, Dolokhov is bold and fearless. His bravery is demonstrated in battle, where “he killed one Frenchman at point-blank range and was the first to take a 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 and always Dolokhov worries 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 the shooting was heard, but began to “look” for the general away from the battle. Because the order was not transmitted, the French cut off the Russian hussars, many died and were wounded. There are many such officers. They are not cowardly, but they do not know how to forget themselves, their careers and personal interests for the sake of the common cause. However, the Russian army consisted not only of such officers.
Heroism in the novel looks everyday and natural. In the chapters depicting the Battle of Shengraben, we meet the true heroes. In describing this battle, the author shows how confusion gripped the infantry regiments at the news of the encirclement. “The moral hesitation that decided the fate of the battles was apparently resolved in favor of fear.” Here he sits, the hero of this battle, the hero of this “deed,” small, thin and dirty, sitting barefoot, taking 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: “The soldiers say that you are more agile when you take off your shoes,” and he is embarrassed, feeling that the joke was not a success. Tolstoy does everything to make Captain Tushin appear before us in the most unheroic form, even funny. But it was this funny man who 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. The battle seemed lost. But at that moment the advancing French suddenly ran back... and Russian riflemen appeared in the forest. This was Timokhin's company. He appears at the very moment when the soldiers panicked and ran. His actions occur at the behest of his heart. It is not numerical superiority, not the complex plans of the commanders, but the inspiration of the company commander who led the soldiers that decides the outcome of the battle; it was his determination and belligerence that forced the enemy to retreat. “...With such insane and drunken determination, with one skewer...” Only thanks to Timokhin, the defenders had the opportunity to return and gather battalions. The Russians won “a moral victory, one that convinces the enemy of the moral superiority of his enemy and of his own powerlessness.”
Courage is diverse. There are many people who are uncontrollably brave in battle, but get lost in everyday life. Through the images of Tushin and Timokhin, Tolstoy teaches the reader to see truly brave people, their discreet heroism, their enormous will, which helps to overcome fear and win battles.
The author leads us to the idea that not only the outcome of a military battle, but the direction of the development of history is determined precisely by the activities of the human masses, bound by the unity of feelings and aspirations. Everything depends on the spirit of the soldiers, which can turn into panic fear - and then the battle is lost, or rise to heroism - and then the battle will be won. Generals become strong only if they control not only the actions of the soldiers, but also the spirit of their troops. And to accomplish this task, the commander must be not only the military commander-in-chief, but also its spiritual leader. This is how Kutuzov appears before us. During the Battle of Borodino, he concentrated in himself all the patriotism of the Russian army. The Battle of Borodino is a “people's battle”. The “hidden warmth of patriotism” that flared up in the soul of every soldier and the general “spirit of the army” predetermined victory. In this battle, the true beauty of the Russian man is revealed. The Russians won “a moral victory, one that convinces the enemy of the moral superiority of his enemy and of his powerlessness. In this battle, the Napoleonic army “was laid down by the hand of the strongest enemy in spirit.”
In the war of 1812, when every soldier fought for his home, for his family and friends, for his homeland, the consciousness of danger increased tenfold. The deeper Napoleon advanced 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 makes the army invincible. This conclusion follows from L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace.”
Bibliography
1. L.N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”.
2. Yu. V. Lebedev “Russian literature of the 19th century.”
3. K. N. Lomunova “The Great Book of Life.”
On the pages of the novel “War and Peace,” L. N. Tolstoy shows the patriotism of the masses, contrasting it with the complete indifference to the fate of their country and people of representatives of high society. The war did not change the luxurious and calm life of the capital’s nobility, which went on as before, was filled with a complex struggle of various parties, drowned out, “as always, by the trumpeting of court drones.” “...And because of the course of this life, it was necessary to make great efforts to recognize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves.”
Tolstoy exposes the noisy patriotism of “Rastopchin’s posters” written in pseudo-folk language, the false patriotism of St. Petersburg salons, whose visitors, brought up on French culture and having lost their national image, in connection with the war, urgently decided not to go to the French theater, abandon French cuisine and switch to Russian cabbage soup
Secular society was far from comprehending the threat hanging over Russia; it continued to live by its own petty interests: the same struggle for power and money, the same intrigues and easy flirting.
The writer creates a vivid picture of a meeting in the Sloboda Palace, where “blind-sighted, toothless, bald” old noblemen, far from political life, divorced from the people, truly unaware of the state of affairs, were called upon to save the fatherland. The speakers from the young nobles reveled in their own eloquence. All this is very unlike a genuine political impulse.
But there were also real patriots among the nobles, such as old Bolkonsky, who was energetically gathering militia to fight the French. He is overcome by paralysis. Dying, he sobs, mourning the death of Russia.
Tolstoy's main idea is that closeness to the people enriches and fills spiritual life with content. While the distance of the noble class from the masses indicates the poverty of the soul of its representatives, the absence of moral principles. Most often, these are deceitful and completely false courtiers like Prince Vasily or careerists like Boris Drubetsky, who wants to “arrange for himself the best position, especially the position of adjutant to an important person, which seemed especially tempting to him in the army,” or especially unpleasant persons of the Livonian Germans like Berg, who in a moment of general grief, he does not miss the opportunity to profit and is busy buying a wardrobe and a toilet “with an English secret.”
We see true patriots close to the people in the persons of Pierre, Prince Andrei, and Natasha. The “People's War” of 1812 carried within itself a tremendous force that contributed to the purification and moral rebirth of Tolstoy’s favorite heroes, thanks to which they parted with class prejudices and became more humane and nobler. Prince Andrei, abandoning his pride, became close to ordinary soldiers and realized that the main purpose of a person is to serve the homeland and the people. Death interrupts his spiritual quest, but his son Nikolenka continues the good work of his father. Pierre's moral renewal also occurs through rapprochement with the soldiers. Showing the evolution of this hero, Tolstoy described his passion for European politics, Freemasonry, charity, and philosophy. But nothing gave him such moral satisfaction as the truth acquired through communication with ordinary people that the purpose of life is in life itself: “As long as there is life, there is happiness.”
The war brought many of the novel’s heroes closer to the foundations of national unity, introduced them to thoughts and feelings on a national scale, thanks to which they discovered a new world in their souls and gained fresh, ennobling strength.
Notable in this regard is the scene of the Rostovs’ departure from Moscow; beautiful is Natasha, who in a patriotic impulse decided to take out the wounded on family carts, leaving household property for the enemy to desecrate.
Speaking about true and false patriotism, one cannot help but note the writer’s exposure of the “Russian patriotism” of the Germans. This, as has already been said, is Berg’s low behavior, and Natasha’s contemptuous words, uttered in response to her mother’s order not to unload the cart for the wounded: “... In my opinion, this is such disgusting, such an abomination, such ... I don’t I know. Are we some kind of Germans?..” And in other episodes there is an exposure of the stupid soldiery of the Germans in Russian service, their contemptuous and arrogant attitude towards the people and the country in which they live is noted. And this is not only a reflection of Tolstoy’s ardent patriotic feelings, but also a passionate struggle for the foundations of Russian national culture, its traditions, worries about the influence of foreign trends on it, weakening the consciousness of certain sections of society, which carry a destructive force. After all, only knowledge of one’s origins, the cultural history of the country and its people makes a person a true patriot of his homeland.
which heroes Tolstoy calls true patriots in the novel War and Peace, which false ones and received the best answer
Answer from GALINA[guru]
In the novel “War and Peace,” Tolstoy divides people according to moral principles, especially highlighting their attitude to patriotic duty.
According to Tolstoy, the Russian people are deeply patriotic. When the French occupied Smolensk, peasants burned hay so as not to sell it to their enemies. Each in his own way tried to hurt the enemy so that they would feel the hatred of the true owners of the earth. The merchant Ferapontov burned down his own shop so that it would not fall to the French.
The residents of Moscow are shown as true patriots, who, leaving their hometown, leave their homes, because they consider it impossible to remain under the rule of impostors.
Russian soldiers are true patriots. Their patriotism and heroism is shown in scenes near Shengraben, Austerlitz, Smolensk, Borodin.
Outwardly unremarkable people become heroes and true patriots in Tolstoy. Such is Captain Tushin and the soldiers of his battery.
The heroes of this war are representatives of different classes, having little in common, but united by the common goal of defending their homeland. This is the sexton, “who took several hundred prisoners a month,” the hussar Denis Davydov, “who took the first step” in legitimizing the partisan war, the elder Vasilisa, “who beat hundreds of Frenchmen,” and, of course, Tikhon Shcherbaty.
Kutuzov in the novel is an exponent of the idea of patriotism.
Tolstoy shows that patriotic feelings embrace people of different political views: the progressive intelligentsia (Pierre, Andrei), the confrontational old Prince Bolkonsky, the conservative Nikolai Rostov, the meek Princess Marya. A patriotic impulse also penetrates the hearts of people who seem far from the war - Petya, Natasha Rostov.
Tolstoy contrasts the true patriotism of the bulk of the Russian people with the false patriotism of the highest noble society, which is repulsive in its falseness, selfishness and hypocrisy. These are fake people, whose patriotic words and deeds become a means of achieving base goals. Tolstoy mercilessly tears off the mask of patriotism from German and half-German generals in Russian service, “golden youth” like Anatoly Kuragin, careerists like Boris Drubetsky.
Tolstoy angrily denounces that part of the senior staff officers who did not take part in the battles, but tried to get a job at headquarters and receive awards for nothing.
A false patriotic atmosphere reigns in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, Helen Bezukhova and in other St. Petersburg salons: “... calm, luxurious, concerned only with ghosts, reflections of life, St. Petersburg life went on as before; and because of the course of this life, it was necessary to make great efforts to recognize the danger and the difficult situation in which the Russian people found themselves. There were the same exits, balls, the same French theater, the same interests of the courts, the same interests of service and intrigue. Only in the highest circles were efforts made to recall the difficulty of the present situation.” Indeed, this circle of people was far from understanding all-Russian problems, from understanding the great misfortune and needs of the people during this war. The world continued to live by its own interests, and even in a moment of national disaster, greed, promotion, and serviceism reign here.
Count Rastopchin also displays false patriotism, posting stupid “posters” around Moscow, calling on city residents not to leave the capital, and then, fleeing the people’s anger, deliberately sending the innocent son of the merchant Vereshchagin to death.
Berg is such a false patriot. Already the opening phrase of the story,
eloquently characterizes the value system of this hero: “Berg... was already a colonel with Vladimir and Anna around his neck and occupied the same calm and pleasant place of assistant chief of staff...”
This representation of the character is built in strict accordance with the hierarchy of the hero’s values (rank, awards, place).
This is, finally, Drubetskoy, who, thinking about awards and promotion, wants to “arrange for himself the best position as an adjutant with an important person.
