“War and Peace” is one of the brightest works of world literature, revealing extraordinary wealth human destinies, characters, an unprecedented breadth of coverage of life phenomena, the deepest image major events in the history of the Russian people. The basis of the novel, as L.N. Tolstoy admitted, is “folk thought.” “I tried to write the history of the people,” said Tolstoy. The people in the novel are not only peasants and peasant soldiers in disguise, but also the Rostovs' courtyard people, and the merchant Ferapontov, and the army officers Tushin and Timokhin, and representatives of the privileged class - the Bolkonskys, Pierre Bezukhov, the Rostovs, and Vasily Denisov, and the field marshal Kutuzov, that is, those Russian people for whom the fate of Russia was not indifferent. The people are opposed by a bunch of court aristocrats and a “big-faced” merchant, worried about his goods before the French capture Moscow, that is, those people who are completely indifferent to the fate of the country.
The epic novel has more than five hundred characters, describes two wars, the events unfold in Europe and Russia, but like cement, all the elements of the novel are held together by “popular thought” and “the author’s original moral attitude to the subject.” According to L.N. Tolstoy, an individual person is valuable only when he - integral part the great whole, its people. “His hero is an entire country fighting the invasion of the enemy,” wrote V. G. Korolenko. The novel begins with a description of the 1805 campaign, which did not touch the hearts of the people. Tolstoy does not hide the fact that the soldiers not only did not understand the goals of this war, but even vaguely imagined who Russia’s ally was. Tolstoy is not interested in the foreign policy of Alexander I; his attention is drawn to the love of life, modesty, courage, endurance, and dedication of the Russian people. Tolstoy's main task is to show the decisive role of the masses in historical events, to show the greatness and beauty of the feat of the Russian people in conditions of mortal danger, when psychologically a person reveals himself most fully.
The basis of the plot of the novel is the Patriotic War of 1812. The war brought decisive changes to the life of the entire Russian people. All the usual living conditions had shifted, everything was now assessed in the light of the danger that hung over Russia. Nikolai Rostov returns to the army, Petya volunteers for the war, old prince Bolkonsky forms a militia detachment from his peasants, Andrei Bolkonsky decides to serve not in the headquarters, but directly command the regiment. Pierre Bezukhov gave part of his money to equip the militia. The Smolensk merchant Ferapontov, in whose mind an alarming thought about the “destruction” of Russia arose when he learned that the city was being surrendered, does not seek to save property, but calls on the soldiers to drag everything from the store so that nothing goes to the “devils.”
The War of 1812 is more represented by crowd scenes. The people begin to realize the danger as the enemy approaches Smolensk. The fire and surrender of Smolensk, the death of the old Prince Bolkonsky at the time of the review of the peasant militia, the loss of the harvest, the retreat of the Russian army - all this increases the tragedy of the events. At the same time, Tolstoy shows that in this difficult situation something new was born that was supposed to destroy the French. In the growing mood of determination and bitterness against the enemy, Tolstoy sees the source of the approaching turning point in the course of the war. The outcome of the war was determined long before its end by the “spirit” of the army and the people. This decisive “spirit” was the patriotism of the Russian people, which manifested itself simply and naturally: the people abandoned cities and villages captured by the French; refused to sell food and hay to enemies; partisan detachments were formed behind enemy lines.
The Battle of Borodino is the climax of the novel. Pierre Bezukhov, watching the soldiers, experiences a feeling of horror of death and suffering that war brings, on the other hand, a consciousness of the “solemnity and significance of the upcoming minute” that the people inspire in him. Pierre became convinced of how deeply, with all his heart, the Russian people understand the meaning of what is happening. The soldier, who called him “countryman,” tells him confidentially: “They want to rush in with all the people; one word - Moscow. They want to make one end.” The militias who have just arrived from the depths of Russia, in accordance with custom, put on clean shirts, realizing that they will have to die. Old soldiers refuse to drink vodka - “not such a day, they say.”
In these simple forms associated with folk concepts and customs, the high moral strength of the Russian people was manifested. The high patriotic spirit and moral strength of the people brought victory to Russia in the War of 1812.
1867 L. M. Tolstoy finished work on the epoch-making novel of his work "". The author noted that in “War and Peace” he “loved the people’s thought,” poetizing the simplicity, kindness and morality of the Russian people. This “folk thought” is revealed by depicting the events of the Patriotic War of 1812. It is no coincidence that L. Tolstoy describes the war of 1812 only on the territory of Russia. The historian and realist artist L. Tolstoy showed that the Patriotic War of 1812 was a just war. In defense, the Russians raised their baton people's war, which punished the French until the invasion was stopped." The war radically changed the life of the entire Russian people.
The author introduces The novel contains many images of men, Soldiers, whose thoughts and considerations together make up the people's worldview. The irresistible power of the Russian people is fully felt in the heroism and patriotism of Moscow residents who were forced to abandon hometown, your treasure, but not conquered in the soul; peasants refuse to sell food and hay to enemies and create partisan detachments. L. Tolstoy showed real heroes, persistent and firm in fulfilling their military duties, in the images of Tushin and Timokhin. The theme of folk elements is revealed more expressively in the image guerrilla warfare. Tolstoy creates bright image partisan Tikhon Shcherbatov, who voluntarily joined Denisov’s detachment and was “the most useful person in the detachment.” - a generalized image of the Russian peasant. In the novel, he appears on those pages where Pierre's stay in captivity is depicted. The meeting with Karataev changes a lot of things in Pierre's attitude towards life. Deep folk wisdom as if concentrated in the image of Plato. This is calm, sensible wisdom, without tricks and cruelty. From her, Pierre changes, begins to experience life in a new way, and is renewed in his soul.
Hatred for the enemy representatives of all layers of Russian society felt equally, and the patriotism and closeness to the people most inherent in Tolstoy’s favorite heroes -,. The simple Russian woman Vasilisa, the merchant Feropontov, and the family of Count Rostov feel unity in their desire to help the country. The spiritual strength that the Russian people showed in Patriotic War 1812, this is the same force that supported the activities of a talented Russian and commander. He was elected commander-in-chief “against the will of the sovereign and in accordance with the will of the people.” This is why, Tolstoy believes, he was able to fulfill his great historical mission, since each person is worth something not on his own, but only when he is part of his people. Thanks to unity, high patriotic enthusiasm and moral strength, the Russian people won the war.
"People's Thought" – main idea novel "War and Peace". Tolstoy knew that simple life people, with their “personal” destinies, vicissitudes, joy, make up the fate and history of the country. “I tried to write the history of the people,” said Tolstoy, of the people in broadly understood this word. Therefore, “people's thought” plays a huge role for the author, affirming the place of the people as a decisive force in history.
Let's consider how the people were portrayed in the novel "War and Peace" by L. N. Tolstoy. The author finished work on his work in 1867. Speaking about him, he admitted that he loved “folk thought” in his novel.
The world of the peasantry in the work
The people in the novel "War and Peace" are widely represented. The peasantry is described in detail by the author. In Tolstoy's depiction, the world of the peasantry is self-sufficient and harmonious. The writer did not believe that his representatives needed intellectual influence. The noble heroes do not even think about the need to “develop” the peasants. On the contrary, it is the latter who are often closer to understanding the meaning of life. Lev Nikolaevich portrays a complex spiritual world representatives of the nobility and the artless spirituality of the Russian peasant as different, but at the same time complementary principles of the existence of our country. The ability to establish contact with the people is an indicator of the moral health of the nobles in the novel.
Fluctuating boundaries between classes
Tolstoy repeatedly emphasizes the fragility of boundaries between classes. Humanity, commonality makes them “transparent”. The people in the novel "War and Peace" often get closer and interact with the higher strata of society. The hunter Danilo, for example, is filled with “contempt for everything” and “independence.” This hunter allows himself to look at the master Nikolai Rostov “with contempt.” However, this was not offensive to Nicholas. He understood that this man still belonged to him. Everyone is equal during the hunt, everyone obeys the order established once. Only in the heat of the hunt can Danilo curse Ilya Andreevich, who missed the wolf, and even swing his arapnik at him. Such behavior of a serf under normal conditions is impossible in relation to the master.
Let us give another example of how the nobility and the people interact in the novel War and Peace. An important stage The spiritual life of one of the main characters, Pierre Bezukhov, was a meeting in a barracks for prisoners with Platon Karataev. It was this peasant soldier who restored his lost faith in life. The main moral criterion in the epilogue of the novel becomes for Pierre Karataev’s possible attitude towards his activities. And he concludes that he is probably his social activities I wouldn’t understand, but I would definitely approve because I loved “pretty” in everything.
Depiction of a peasant revolt
The theme of the people in the novel "War and Peace" is diverse. Tolstoy, depicting the rebellion of Bogucharov’s peasants, expressed his own attitude towards the conservative layers of the patriarchal-communal world, accustomed to resisting any changes. There is spontaneity in Bogucharovo folk life much more noticeable than in other areas, since there were very few landowners, literate and domestic servants. Peasants live here in a small closed community. They are virtually isolated from the rest of the world. The peasants, for no apparent reason, suddenly begin to move in a certain direction, obeying the incomprehensible laws of existence. Tolstoy emphasizes that in the life of the peasants from Bogucharovo, the mysterious currents of life of the Russian people were stronger and more noticeable than in other areas, the meaning and reasons of which are inexplicable to contemporaries. Through the depiction of rebellion, the theme of the people in the novel "War and Peace" is revealed from a new side.
The reason for the peasant revolt
The general mood, the element of rebellion, completely subjugates every peasant. Even the elder Dron was caught up in the general impulse. Princess Marya's attempt to distribute the master's bread to the peasants ended in failure. Only Rostov’s “unreasonable animal anger,” his “unreasonable act” could sober up this indignant crowd. The men submitted to brute force unquestioningly, admitting that they had rebelled “out of stupidity.” Lev Nikolaevich in his work showed not only the external causes of the rebellion (“relations with the French” and rumors about the “freedom” that the gentlemen took away). The hidden, deep socio-historical reason for this event lay in the internal “force” that accumulated gradually and, like lava, burst out of a boiling volcano. This is why the common people rebelled in the novel War and Peace.
Image of Tikhon Shcherbaty
The image is important detail frescoes about the people's war, which Tolstoy created. Tikhon was the only one from his entire village who attacked the French. He joined Denisov’s “party” on his own initiative and soon became one of the most necessary people in it, showing great ability and desire to. Through his image, the common people are also analyzed in the novel “War and Peace.”
Tikhon occupied a special place in the partisan detachment. He did all the menial work and was the bravest and most useful person. Tikhon, in addition, played the role of a jester and willingly succumbed to this rank. In his behavior and appearance the writer sharpened the features of the holy fool. Yellowfang had a face pitted with wrinkles and pockmarks, with narrow, small eyes.
Tikhon's attitude to the murder of the French
Tikhon is a cold-blooded, merciless warrior. When killing the French, he obeys only the instinct of exterminating the enemy, and treats them practically as inanimate objects. Tikhon resembles a predator with his cruelty. It is no coincidence that the author compares him to a wolf: Jagged-Tooth wielded an ax the way a wolf wielded his teeth.
Image of Platon Karataev
One of the key images of the work is He is especially important when revealing the theme: “The people in the novel “War and Peace”. It is impossible to write an essay on this topic without mentioning this character. who was cut off from the usual way of life and placed in new conditions (French captivity , army), in which his spirituality manifested itself especially clearly. The hero lives in harmony with the whole world. He treats all people with love. Plato deeply feels life, directly and vividly perceives people. In Tolstoy’s portrayal, Karataev is an example of a “natural” person. who came from the people, the embodiment of folk morality, largely instinctive.
This hero, personifying the Russian people in the novel “War and Peace,” is shown in the work mainly through Bezukhov’s perception of him. Pierre notes that the very presence of this man in the barracks created a feeling of comfort for the prisoners. Bezukhov was interested in how Plato took off his shoes and settled in his corner, since something “round,” “calming,” and “pleasant” was felt even in this.
Karataev looked very youthful, although he was over 50 years old. He seemed to be a healthy and physically strong person. Particularly striking was Plato’s “youth,” which had the appearance of “youth” and “innocence.” Karataev was always doing something that probably became a habit for this hero. Having been captured, he did not seem to feel what illness and fatigue were, he felt in the barracks just like at home.
Return of Karataev to peasant life in unusual conditions
Outside the usual conditions, outside everything that pressed on him, Karataev naturally and imperceptibly returned to the serf way of life. He threw away everything alien that was forcefully imposed on him from the outside. For Plato, who represents the people in Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, peasant life is especially attractive: dear memories, as well as ideas about decency, are associated with it. Therefore, he spoke mainly about the events of “Christian” life, as he called it.
Plato died naturally, experiencing tenderness and “quiet delight” before the mystery of death. He did not perceive it as torment or punishment, therefore there was no suffering on his face: it was illuminated by the expression of “quiet solemnity.”
The image of Platon Karataev is the image of a righteous peasant who not only lived in harmony with people and the whole world, admiring the manifestations of life, but was also able to resurrect Pierre Bezukhov, who had reached a spiritual impasse. For Pierre, he forever remained the personification of “simplicity and truth.”
"People's Thought" in the novel
“People's thought” is the main idea of the work “War and Peace”. Lev Nikolaevich knew that the simple life of the Russian people, with its “private” interests, destinies, joys, proceeds regardless of Napoleon’s meetings with Alexander, Speransky’s state plans or the diplomatic game. Only those events of history that set the masses in motion, concern national destinies, are capable of changing, always beneficially, albeit dramatically, individual. It was the patriotism of the people (in the novel "War and Peace" Tolstoy also describes their patriotic feelings) that led to the victory of the Russians over the French.
1867 L. M. Tolstoy completed work on the epoch-making novel of his work, “War and Peace.” The author noted that in “War and Peace” he “loved the people’s thought,” poetizing the simplicity, kindness and morality of the Russian people. L. Tolstoy reveals this “folk thought” by depicting the events of the Patriotic War of 1812. It is no coincidence that L. Tolstoy describes the war of 1812 only on the territory of Russia. The historian and realist artist L. Tolstoy showed that the Patriotic War of 1812 was a just war. In defense, the Russians raised “the club of people’s war, which would punish the French until the invasion was stopped.” The war radically changed the life of the entire Russian people.
The author introduces into the novel many images of men, Soldiers, whose thoughts and considerations together make up the people's worldview. The irresistible power of the Russian people is fully felt in the heroism and patriotism of the residents of Moscow, forced to abandon their hometown, their treasure, but not conquered in their souls; peasants refuse to sell food and hay to enemies and create partisan detachments. L. Tolstoy showed real heroes, persistent and firm in fulfilling their military duties, in the images of Tushin and Timokhin. The theme of the people's element is revealed more expressively in the depiction of guerrilla warfare. Tolstoy creates a vivid image of the partisan Tikhon Shcherbatov, who voluntarily joined Denisov’s detachment and was “the most useful person in the detachment.” Platon Karataev is a generalized image of a Russian peasant. In the novel, he appears on those pages where Pierre's stay in captivity is depicted. The meeting with Karataev changes a lot of things in relation to
Pierre to life. Deep folk wisdom seems to be concentrated in the image of Plato. This is calm, sensible wisdom, without tricks and cruelty. From her, Pierre changes, begins to experience life in a new way, and is renewed in his soul.
Hatred of the enemy was felt equally by representatives of all layers of Russian society, and patriotism and closeness to the people were most inherent in Tolstoy’s favorite heroes - Pierre Bezukhov, Andrei Bolkonsky, Natasha Rostova. The simple Russian woman Vasilisa, the merchant Feropontov, and the family of Count Rostov feel unity in their desire to help the country. The spiritual strength that the Russian people showed in the Patriotic War of 1812 is the same strength that supported Kutuzov’s activities as a talented Russian and commander. He was elected commander-in-chief “against the will of the sovereign and in accordance with it. with the will of the people." That is why, Tolstoy believes, Kutuzov was able to fulfill his great historical mission, since each person is worth something not on his own, but only when he is part of his people. Thanks to unity, high patriotic enthusiasm and moral strength, the Russian people won the war.
“People's thought” is the main idea of the novel “War and Peace”. Tolstoy knew that the simple life of people, with its “personal” destinies, vicissitudes, joy, constitutes the fate and history of the country. “I tried to write the history of the people,” said Tolstoy, of the people in the broad sense of the word. Therefore, “people's thought” plays a huge role for the author, affirming the place of the people as a decisive force in history.
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The people in the novel "War and Peace"
It is believed that wars are won and lost by generals and emperors, but in any war, a commander without an army is like a needle without a thread. After all, it is the soldiers, officers, generals - people serving in the army and taking part in battles and battles - who become the very thread with which history is embroidered. If you try to sew with only one needle, the fabric will be pierced, perhaps even marks will remain, but there will be no result of the work. Likewise, a commander without his regiments is just a lonely needle, which is easily lost in the haystacks formed by time, if there is no string of his troops behind him. It is not sovereigns who fight, it is the people who fight. Sovereigns and generals are just needles. Tolstoy shows that the theme of the people in the novel “War and Peace” is main topic the entire work. The people of Russia are people different classes, And high society and those who make up middle class, and ordinary people. They all love their homeland and are ready to give their lives for it.
The image of the people in the novel
Two main storylines The novel reveals to readers how the characters are formed and the destinies of two families - the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys. Using these examples, Tolstoy shows how the intelligentsia developed in Russia; some of its representatives came to the events of December 1825, when the Decembrist uprising occurred.
The Russian people in War and Peace are represented by different characters. Tolstoy seemed to have collected the features inherent in ordinary people, and created several collective images, embodying them in specific characters.
In Platon Karataev, met by Pierre in captivity, they embodied characteristic features serf peasants. Kind, calm, hard-working Plato, talking about life, but not thinking about it: “He, apparently, never thought about what he said and what he would say...”. In the novel, Plato is the embodiment of a part of the Russian people of that time, wise, submissive to fate and the tsar, loving their Motherland, but going to fight for it only because they were caught and “given as soldiers.” His natural kindness and wisdom revive the “master” Pierre, who is constantly looking for the meaning of life and cannot find and comprehend it.
But at the same time, “When Pierre, sometimes amazed by the meaning of his speech, asked to repeat what was said, Plato could not remember what he said a minute ago.” All these searches and tossing are alien and incomprehensible to Karataev, he knows how to accept life as it is at this very moment, and he accepts death humbly and without grumbling.
The merchant Ferapontov, an acquaintance of Alpatych, is a typical representative of the merchant class, on the one hand stingy and cunning, but at the same time burning his property so that it does not fall to the enemy. And he doesn’t want to believe that Smolensk will be surrendered, and he even beats his wife for her requests to leave the city.
And the fact that Ferapontov and other merchants themselves set fire to their shops and houses is a manifestation of patriotism and love for Russia, and it already becomes clear that Napoleon will not be able to defeat the people who are ready to do anything to save their Motherland.
The collective image of the people in the novel “War and Peace” is created by many characters. These are partisans like Tikhon Shcherbaty, who fought the French in their own way, and, as if playfully, destroyed small detachments. These are wanderers, humble and religious, such as Pelageyushka, who walked to holy places. The militia men, dressed in simple white shirts, “to prepare for death,” “with loud talking and laughter,” were digging trenches on the Borodino field before the battle.
In difficult times, when the danger of being conquered by Napoleon loomed over the country, one main goal came to the fore for all these people - the salvation of Russia. Before her, all other matters turned out to be petty and unimportant. At such moments, people show their true colors with stunning clarity, and in War and Peace Tolstoy shows the difference between ordinary people who are ready to die for their country and other people, careerists and opportunists.
This is especially evident in the description of the preparations for the battle on the Borodino field. A simple soldier with the words: “They want to attack all the people...”, some officers, for whom the main thing is that “for tomorrow, great rewards were to be given out and new people were brought forward,” soldiers praying in front of the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, Dolokhov, asking for forgiveness from Pierre - all these are brush strokes big picture, who stood in front of Pierre after a conversation with Bolkonsky. “He understood that hidden... warmth of patriotism that was in all those people whom he saw, and which explained to him why all these people were calmly and seemingly frivolously preparing for death” - this is how Tolstoy describes the general state of people before the Battle of Borodino.
But the author does not at all idealize the Russian people; in the episode where the Bogucharov men, trying to preserve their acquired wealth, do not let Princess Marya out of Bogucharov, he clearly shows the meanness and baseness of these people. In describing this scene, Tolstoy shows the behavior of the peasants as alien to Russian patriotism.
Conclusion
In an essay on the topic “The Russian people in the novel “War and Peace”” I wanted to show Lev Nikolaevich Tolstov’s attitude towards the Russian people as a “whole and unified” organism. And I want to end the essay with a quote from Tolstov: “... the reason for our triumph was not accidental, but lay in the essence of the character of the Russian people and troops, ... this character should have been expressed even more clearly in an era of failures and defeats...”
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