Depicting military events in his novel "War and Peace", Tolstoy not only gives wide canvases that paint such vivid pictures as the Shengraben, Austerlitz and Borodino battles, but also widely shows every person involved in the flow of hostilities. The commanders-in-chief of the armies, generals, headquarters, line officers and the mass of soldiers, partisans - all these various participants in the war are shown by the author with amazing skill in a variety of conditions of their combat and "peaceful" life. At the same time, the writer, himself a former participant in the war in the Caucasus and the defense of Sevastopol, seeks to show a real war, without any embellishment, “in blood, in suffering, in death”, drawing with deep and sober truth the wonderful qualities of the national spirit, which are alien to ostentatious courage , pettiness, vanity.
War and Peace depicts two wars: abroad - in 1805-1807, and in Russia - in 1812.
Depicting the war of 1805-1807, Tolstoy draws various pictures of military operations and various types of its participants. The reader sees the heroic transition of the Bagration detachment, the Shengraben and Austerlitz battles, the talented commander Kutuzov and the mediocre Austrian general Mack, the courage and heroism of Russian soldiers and the bad work of the military "top", honest and courageous commanders and careerists who use war for personal growth. Typical for staff officers Zherkov, who, after his expulsion from the main headquarters, “did not stay in the regiment, saying that he was not a fool to pull the strap in the front when he was at the headquarters, doing nothing, would receive more awards, and managed to settle down as an orderly to Prince Bagration ".
But, along with people like Zherkov, Tolstoy also shows real heroes, beautiful in their simplicity, modesty, resourcefulness in a moment of danger, persistent and firm in execution. With special sympathy, he shows the company commander Timokhin, whose company "one was kept in order." Inspired by the example of her commander, by surprise attacking the French, she pushed them back, making it possible to restore order in the neighboring battalions.
Drawing pictures of battles, Tolstoy shows both moments of heroic attacks and moments of confusion, as, for example, near Austerlitz. "An unpleasant consciousness of the ongoing disorder and stupidity swept through the ranks, and the troops stood there, bored and discouraged." Scenes of wounds, mutilations, death complement the overall picture of the battles, showing the real face of the war.
The two most striking battles in the novel - Shengraben and Austerlitz - were fought outside of Russia. The meaning and purpose of this war were incomprehensible and alien to the people. Tolstoy paints the War of 1812 differently. It depicts a people's war that was waged against enemies who encroached on the independence of the country. Napoleon's half-million army, which had won the glory of being invincible in Europe, fell upon Russia with all its formidable force. But she ran into strong opposition. The army and people unitedly stood up against the enemy, defending their country, their independence.
Tolstoy showed that not only the army, the army, but the whole people rose to the defense of the "sacred Russian land." Before the entry of the French into Moscow, "the entire population, as one person, abandoning their property, flowed out of Moscow, showing by this negative action the full strength of their popular feeling." And such a phenomenon was observed not only in Moscow: "Starting from Smolensk, in all the cities and villages of the Russian land ... the same thing happened that happened in Moscow."
Tolstoy shows the partisan detachments of Denisov and Dolokhov, talks about some deacon who stood at the head of the detachment, about the elder Vasilisa, who beat hundreds of Frenchmen: “the partisans destroyed the great army in parts. They picked up those fallen leaves that fell by themselves from a withered tree - the French army, and then they shook this tree. Small, but strong in spirit detachments gradually destroyed the enemies.
War is over. Aggressive, predatory on the part of the French, and popular, defending the independence of their homeland - on the part of the Russians. Tolstoy ascribes the main role in the victory to the people, to those Karpas and Vlass who “did not carry hay to Moscow for the good money that they were offered, but burned it”, to Tikhon Shcherbaty from the village of Pokrovsky, who in the Denisov partisan detachment was “the most useful and brave man." The army and the people, united in their love for their native country and in their hatred for the enemy-invaders, won a decisive victory over Napoleon's army, which inspired terror throughout Europe. An important role in the outcome of the war was played by commanders, generals, and other leading personalities. Tolstoy pays much attention to them. However, the contribution of ordinary soldiers to the victory is invaluable, and it is safe to say that it was the people who bore all the hardships and sorrows of the war on their shoulders, but found the strength to fight and defeated Napoleon.
The idea for the novel "War and Peace" originated with Tolstoy as early as 1856. The work was created from 1863 to 1869.
The opposition to Napoleon in 1812 is the main event in the history of the early 19th century. The role was very important. The philosophical thought of Leo Tolstoy was embodied largely due to its image. In the composition of the novel, war occupies a central place. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich connects the fate of most of his heroes with her. The war became a decisive stage in their biography, the highest point in their spiritual development. But this is the climax of not only all the plot lines of the work, but also the historical plot, which reveals the fate of all the people of our country. The role will be discussed in this article.
War is a test carried out against the rules
It became a test for Russian society. Lev Nikolayevich considers the Patriotic War as an experience of living unification of people beyond the class. It took place on the scale of the nation on the basis of the interests of the state. In the interpretation of the writer, the war of 1812 is a people's war. It began from the time of the fire in the city of Smolensk and did not fit into any legends of previous wars, as Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy noted. The burning of villages and cities, the retreat after numerous battles, the fire of Moscow, the blow of Borodin, the catching of marauders, the repossession of transport - all this was a clear deviation from the rules. From the political game that Napoleon and Alexander I played in Europe, the war between Russia and France turned into a popular one, the outcome of which depended on the fate of the country. At the same time, the higher military authorities turned out to be unable to control the state of the units: their dispositions and orders did not correlate with the actual state of affairs and were not executed.
The paradox of war and historical regularity
Lev Nikolaevich saw the main paradox of the war in the fact that Napoleon's army, having won almost all the battles, eventually lost the campaign, collapsed without noticeable activity from the Russian army. The content of the novel "War and Peace" shows that the defeat of the French is a manifestation of the laws of history. Although at first glance it may suggest the idea that what happened is irrational.
The role of the battle of Borodino
Many episodes of the novel "War and Peace" describe military operations in detail. At the same time, Tolstoy tries to recreate a historically true picture. One of the main episodes of the Patriotic War is, of course, It did not make sense either for the Russians or for the French from the point of view of strategy. Tolstoy, arguing his own position, writes that the immediate result should have been and was for the population of our country is that Russia dangerously approached the death of Moscow. The French almost destroyed their entire army. Lev Nikolaevich emphasizes that Napoleon and Kutuzov, accepting and giving the Battle of Borodino, acted senselessly and involuntarily, while submitting to historical necessity. The result of this battle was the unreasonable flight of the conquerors from Moscow, the return along the Smolensk road, the death of Napoleonic France and the five hundred thousandth invasion, on which the hand of an enemy strong in spirit was laid for the first time near Borodino. This battle, therefore, although it made no sense from the position, was a manifestation of the inexorable law of history. It was inevitable.
Leaving Moscow
Abandonment by the inhabitants of Moscow is a manifestation of the patriotism of our compatriots. This event, according to Lev Nikolaevich, is more important than the retreat of Russian troops from Moscow. This is an act of civic consciousness manifested by the population. Residents, not wanting to be under the rule of the conqueror, are ready to make any sacrifices. In all cities of Russia, and not only in Moscow, people left their homes, burned cities, destroyed their own property. The Napoleonic army encountered this phenomenon only in our country. The inhabitants of other conquered cities in all other countries simply remained under the rule of Napoleon, while even providing a solemn reception to the conquerors.
Why did the inhabitants decide to leave Moscow?
Lev Nikolaevich emphasized that the population of the capital left Moscow spontaneously. The feeling of national pride moved the inhabitants, and not Rostopchin and his patriotic "chips". The very first to leave the capital were educated, wealthy people who knew very well that Berlin and Vienna remained intact and that during the occupation of these cities by Napoleon, the inhabitants had fun with the French, who were loved at that time by Russian men and, of course, women. They could not do otherwise, since there was no question for our compatriots about whether it would be bad or good in Moscow under French rule. It was impossible to be in the power of Napoleon. It was simply unacceptable.
Features of the partisan movement
An important feature was the large-scale Leo Tolstoy calls it "the cudgel of the people's war." The people beat the enemy unconsciously, just as dogs bite a rabid runaway dog (comparison of Lev Nikolaevich). People destroyed piece by piece a great army. Lev Nikolayevich writes about the existence of various "parties" (partisan detachments), the sole purpose of which is the expulsion of the French from Russian soil.
Without thinking about the "course of affairs", intuitively the participants in the people's war acted as historical necessity prompted. The true goal pursued by the partisan detachments was not to completely destroy the enemy army or catch Napoleon. Only as a fiction of historians who study the events of that time from the letters of generals and sovereigns, from reports, reports, according to Tolstoy, such a war existed. The purpose of the "club" was a task understandable to every patriot - to clear their land from the invasion.
The attitude of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy to the war
Tolstoy, justifying the people's liberation war of 1812, condemns the war as such. He evaluates it as contrary to the whole nature of man, his mind. Any war is a crime against all mankind. On the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Andrei Bolkonsky was ready to die for his fatherland, but at the same time he condemned the war, believing that it was "the most disgusting thing." This is a pointless massacre. The role of war in War and Peace is to prove this.
Horrors of war
In the image of Tolstoy, 1812 is a historical test that the Russian people withstood with honor. However, this is at the same time suffering and grief, the horrors of the extermination of people. Moral and physical torment is experienced by everyone - both "guilty", and "right", and the civilian population, and soldiers. By the end of the war, it is no coincidence that the feeling of revenge and insult is replaced in the Russian soul by pity and contempt for the defeated enemy. And the destinies of the heroes were reflected in the inhumane nature of the events of that time. Petya and Prince Andrei died. The death of her youngest son finally broke Countess Rostov, and also hastened the death of Count Ilya Andreevich.
Such is the role of war in War and Peace. Lev Nikolaevich, as a great humanist, of course, could not confine himself to patriotic pathos in her portrayal. He condemns the war, which is natural if you look at his other works. The main features of the novel "War and Peace" are characteristic of the work of this author.
“I don’t know anyone who would write about the war better than Tolstoy”
Ernest Hemingway
Many writers use real historical events for the plots of their works. One of the most frequently described events is war - civil, domestic, world. The Patriotic War of 1812 deserves special attention: the Battle of Borodino, the burning of Moscow, the exile of the French Emperor Napoleon. In Russian literature, a detailed depiction of the war is presented in the novel "War and Peace" by L.N. Tolstoy. The writer describes specific military battles, allows the reader to see real historical figures, gives his own assessment of the events that took place.
Causes of war in the novel "War and Peace"
L.N. Tolstoy in the epilogue tells us about “this man”, “without convictions, without habits, without traditions, without a name, not even a Frenchman ...”, who is Napoleon Bonaparte, who wanted to conquer the whole world. The main enemy on his way was Russia - huge, strong. By various deceitful ways, cruel battles, seizures of territories, Napoleon moved slowly from his goal. Neither the Peace of Tilsit, nor Russia's allies, nor Kutuzov could stop him. Although Tolstoy says that “the more we try to reasonably explain these phenomena in nature, the more unreasonable, incomprehensible they become for us,” nevertheless, in the novel War and Peace, the cause of the war is Napoleon. Standing in power in France, subjugating part of Europe, he lacked the great Russia. But Napoleon was mistaken, he did not calculate the strength and lost this war.
War in the novel "War and Peace"
Tolstoy himself presents this concept as follows: “Millions of people committed against each other such an innumerable number of atrocities ... that for whole centuries the annals of all the courts of the world will not collect and which, during this period of time, the people who committed them did not look like crimes” . Through the description of the war in the novel War and Peace, Tolstoy makes us understand that he himself hates war for its cruelty, murder, betrayal, and senselessness. He puts judgments about war into the mouths of his heroes. So Andrei Bolkonsky says to Bezukhov: "War is not a courtesy, but the most disgusting thing in life, and you need to understand this and not play war." We see that there is no pleasure, pleasure, satisfaction of one's desires from bloody actions against another people. In the novel, it is definitely clear that the war in Tolstoy's image is "an event that is contrary to the human mind and all human nature."
Major battle of the War of 1812
Even in the I and II volumes of the novel, Tolstoy tells about the military campaigns of 1805-1807. Shengraben, Austerlitz battles pass through the prism of the writer's reflections and conclusions. But in the war of 1812, the writer puts the Battle of Borodino at the forefront. Although he immediately asks himself and his readers the question: “Why was the Battle of Borodino given?
Neither for the French nor for the Russians it made the slightest sense. But it was the battle of Borodino that became the starting point until the victory of the Russian army. LN Tolstoy gives a detailed idea of the course of the war in War and Peace. He describes every action of the Russian army, the physical and mental state of the soldiers. According to the writer's own assessment, neither Napoleon, nor Kutuzov, and even more so Alexander I, did not expect such an outcome of this war. For everyone, the Battle of Borodino was unplanned and unforeseen. What is the concept of the war of 1812, the heroes of the novel do not understand, just as Tolstoy does not understand, just as the reader does not understand.
Heroes of the novel "War and Peace"
Tolstoy gives the reader the opportunity to look at his characters from the outside, to see them in action in certain circumstances. Shows us Napoleon before leaving for Moscow, who was aware of all the disastrous situation of the army, but went forward to his goal. He comments on his ideas, thoughts, actions.
We can observe Kutuzov, the main executor of the people's will, who preferred "patience and time" to the offensive.
Before us is Bolkonsky, reborn, morally grown and loving his people. Pierre Bezukhov in a new understanding of all the "causes of human troubles", who arrived in Moscow with the aim of killing Napoleon.
Militia men "with crosses on their hats and in white shirts, who, with a loud voice and laughter, are lively and sweaty," ready at any moment to die for their homeland.
Before us is Emperor Alexander I, who finally gave the "reins of control of the war" into the hands of the "all-knowing" Kutuzov, but still does not fully understand the true position of Russia in this war.
Natasha Rostova, who abandoned all family property and gave wagons to the wounded soldiers so that they could leave the destroyed city. She takes care of the wounded Bolkonsky, giving him all her time and affection.
Petya Rostov, who died so absurdly without a real participation in the war, without a feat, without a battle, who secretly "signed up for the hussars" from everyone. And many more heroes who we meet in several episodes, but deserve respect and recognition in true patriotism.
Reasons for winning the War of 1812
In the novel, L.N. Tolstoy expresses thoughts about the reasons for Russia’s victory in the Patriotic War: “No one will argue that the reason for the death of Napoleon’s French troops was, on the one hand, their entry at a later time without preparing for a winter campaign deep into Russia, and on the other hand, on the other hand, the character that the war assumed from the burning of Russian cities and the incitement of hatred for the enemy in the Russian people. For the Russian people, the victory in the Patriotic War was the victory of the Russian spirit, Russian strength, Russian faith in any circumstances. The consequences of the war of 1812 for the French side, namely for Napoleon, were heavy. It was the collapse of his empire, the collapse of his hopes, the collapse of his greatness. Napoleon not only did not take possession of the whole world, he could not stay in Moscow, but fled ahead of his army, retreating in disgrace and the failure of the entire military campaign.
My essay on the topic “The depiction of war in the novel War and Peace” tells very briefly about the war in Tolstoy’s novel. Only after a careful reading of the entire novel, you can appreciate all the skill of the writer and discover interesting pages of the military history of Russia.
Artwork test
