21. Genre and style originality of L. Tolstoy's epic novel "War and Peace".

Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828, Yasnaya Polyana-1910, Tambov province) is one of the most widely known Russian writers and thinkers. Member of the defense of Sevastopol. Enlightener, publicist, religious thinker, whose authoritative opinion caused the emergence of a new religious and moral trend - Tolstoyism. Corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences (1873), honorary academician in the category of fine literature (1900).

"War and Peace" (1863 – 1869).

The idea goes back to the novel "The Decembrists".

Time range in the novel: 1805 - 1820s. The evolution of his design: 1856 → 1825 → 1812 → 1805.

Tolstoy speaks of the decisive role of the people in history. process. He set before him goal: to reveal the character of an entire nation in its rise, glory, and fall. Tolstoy puts philosophy. question: about freedom and will, about the flow of life itself. At first, the novel was called "Three Times: 1856, 1825, 1812", then "1805", then "All's Well That Ends Well".

Tolstoy displayed 3 plans: 1) social (war and not war); 2) psychological (war is hostility); 3) philosophical (good and evil).

"V and M" - a book of a complex genre, a cat cannot be defined in one word. Features of the novel and the epic merged here together. The convergence of "V and M" with the epic justifies the comparison with Old Russian. lit., especially with the works of the military story genre, and in particular with the "Lay of Igor's Campaign". There is a synthesizing of the genre . Turgenev and Goncharov noted the epic nature of the novel. Modern researchers call it epic novel.

In terms of the breadth of coverage of life, in terms of the depth and power of revealing human characters, world literature knows nothing equal. "What is "War and Peace"? - Tolstoy wrote about the form of his work. - This is not a novel, even less a poem, even less a historical chronicle. "War and Peace" is what the author wanted and could express in the form in which it was expressed. And in a conversation with Gorky, he said: “Without false modesty, this is like the Iliad.

Features of the epic in "War and Peace": in the center - the historical fate of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of the 12th year, the significance of their heroic role and the image of a "holistic" being.

Features of the novel:"War and Peace" tells about the private life of people, specific personalities are shown in their spiritual development.

VIM features: multi-plot and multi-heroism, the widest production and time (1805-1820s), a free combination of details of everyday life and battle scenes, art. the image and author's digressions of the historical-fsf har-ra, the meaning of the scene or har-ra can be fully understood only in the context (s-n of conjugation), the universality of coverage of Russian. Life, showing all the horrors of war through the perception of an amateur (Pierre) >>> a natural human view of what is happening, the prototypical features of fictional characters >>> the neighborhood of documentaryism and fiction.

Genre epic novel- the creation of Tolstoy. The ideological and artistic meaning of each scene and each character becomes clear only in their links with the comprehensive content of the epic. The epic novel combines detailed pictures of Russian life, battle scenes, artistic author's narration and philosophical digressions. The content of the epic novel is based on events of a large historical scale,"life is common, not private", reflected in the destinies of individual people. Tolstoy achieved an unusually wide coverage of all layers of Russian life - hence the huge number actors. The ideological and artistic core of the work is the history of the people and the path of the best representatives of the nobility to the people. The work was not written to recreate history, it is not a chronicle. The author created a book about the life of the nation, created an artistic, and not historically reliable truth (much of the actual history of that time was not included in the book; in addition, real historical facts are distorted in order to confirm the main idea of ​​the novel - exaggeration of Kutuzov's old age and passivity, a portrait and a number of actions Napoleon).

Historical and philosophical digressions, the author's reflections on the past, present and future are an essential part of the genre structure of "War and Peace". The composition of "War and Peace" is also subject to the requirements of the genre. The plot is based on historical events. Secondly, the significance of the fate of families and individuals is revealed. The interest of Tolstoy as a writer is focused not only on the depiction of individual human characters, but also on their connections with each other in mobile and interconnected worlds. Not all of Tolstoy's contemporaries realized the depth of the discovery he made in War and Peace, and in 1873 Tolstoy made an attempt to lighten the structure of the work, to clear the book of reasoning, which, according to most researchers, caused serious damage to his creation. It is believed that the bulkiness, heaviness of periods (sentences), multifaceted composition, many storylines, the abundance of author's digressions are integral and necessary features of "War and Peace".

The artistic task itself - the epic coverage of the vast layers of historical life - demanded precisely complexity, and not lightness and simplicity of form. The complicated syntactic structure of Tolstoy's prose is an instrument of social and psychological analysis, an essential component of the style of the epic novel.

In part 2 of the epilogue, T sets out hisconcept of the philosophy of history:

1. The ist is made by the masses themselves;

2. people make history one by one, not together;

3. people affairs history unconsciously.

Basis of historicism- Tolstoy's understanding of the inseparable connection of times and generations >>> movement into the depths of time. "ViM" is the history of the people, and "not the thoughts of excellent generals." Here we find the glorification of the feat of the people, the heroism of simple defenders of the motherland.

Tolstoy's understanding of history is defined as fatalistic. He almost completely ignores the role of the individual in history. History moves in masses, and not by reason, but by swarms. Through various kinds of accidents, fate (predestination) makes its way. Tolstoy denies historical determinism (Chernyshevsky) >>> opposition of Napoleon and Kutuzov, contrary to the historical opposition of Napoleon and Alexander 1.

There is an antithesis in the novel Napoleon and Kutuzov. Tolstoy draws a portrait Napoleon somewhat reduced. Napoleon plays in everything; he is an actor. Kutuzov does not consider himself a demiurge of history. It is simple everywhere. Tolstoy reduces his outward grandeur, but emphasizes his inner activity. Kutuzov- the external embodiment of the thought of the people. Napoleon and Kutuzov are two beginnings of being: the beginning of goodness, faith (Kutuzov) and evil, the Antichrist spirit (Napoleon). Tolstoy puts forward, first of all, moral requirements.

"War and Peace" = "War and People".

Ch. hero "B and M"- not a single person, but a mass of persons, not "I", but "we".

The truth about the war is revealed in different ways:

Through details (confusion of Russian troops near Austerlitz)

Through the psychology of the masses: generalization (the mood of the troops before Borodino), snatching one person from the mass and revealing the essence of his character in a few words.

The originality of the novel: the story turns into a novel, and the novel into a story. Historical persons that exist in reality (Kutuzov, Napoleon, Alexander, Bagration, Dokhturov) coexist and act together with fictional characters (Prince Andrei, Natasha and Petya Rostov, Pierre Bezukhov, Princess Marya). The subtle psychologist Tolstoy knew such an important feature human soul as a tendency to exaggerate the significance of events and betray to others what they want to hear. So one of the most honest heroes of the novel, Nikolai Rostov, telling Berg about his first fight, began with a desire to tell everything as it was, but as the story progressed, “imperceptibly, involuntarily and inevitably for himself, he turned into a lie.” Based on this feature of the human soul, the writer put forward in the novel his own subjective view of the historical events of that time, sometimes radically different from the views of researchers. Many historians reproached Tolstoy for the fact that historical figures novels are far from reality, largely changed and implausible. But in his characters, the writer was primarily interested in their moral character. Portraits of Bagration, Kutuzov, Napoleon are far from reality and are often rather conditional, far from what is known about them from historical documents, books and the words of contemporaries. So Napoleon in the work - artistic image and not a historical figure.

The whole novel is imbued not only with the idea of ​​debunking the personal heroism of historical figures, but also complete denial of the special role of the individual in history. It is no coincidence that the most important feats in the novel were accomplished not by real people, but by fictional characters such as Tushin and Timokhin. Tolstoy says that one person is not able to radically influence the course of historical events, and only by uniting, as the Russian people did in the Patriotic War of 1812, it is possible to become the creator of history.

The complete denial of military art by the author is especially pronounced in the novel. Through the lips of Andrei Bolkonsky, the author’s point of view on the need for war is expressed in the novel: “War is an event that is contrary to human reason and all human nature.” In the description of the battles, the writer ridicules military symbols and traditions (banners are “sticks with pieces of cloth”) and highlights the moral factor of war. Using the example of several battles, Tolstoy shows that victory does not depend on the number of troops, not on the location of the army, and not on the plans of the commanders-in-chief, but on the morale of ordinary soldiers.

But the main thing is how the views of the writer and historians differ- this is a different understanding of what victory in the war depends on. Tolstoy saw the key to success in the moral and psychological state of the troops, the patriotism of the soldiers and their understanding of the meaning and goals of the war.

Features of the poetics of "War and Peace"

epic character The work was formed on the basis of the image of critical historical events in conjunction with the details of the life of one person. "People's Thought" in "War and Peace" was equally expressed in Tolstoy's definition of the role of the people as the driving force of history, the recognition of the importance of his spiritual state for deciding the historical fate and in the image of the whole people as a whole. At the same time, among the secondary and episodic characters of the novel, there are clearly defined characters and types with an easily recognizable individuality.

Creating images of the main characters, Tolstoy does not deviate from the principles of "dialectics of the soul", giving these images in development, endowing them not only with a wealth of feelings, but also with depth of thought. Significantly complementing the images of heroes are memorable portrait characteristics (at the same time, Tolstoy often emphasizes the role of some significant detail, for example, the radiant eyes of Princess Mary), individual demeanor (swift gait and rigidity of communication with those around Prince Bolkonsky; spontaneity and liveliness of Natasha), originality of speech .

The language of the novel in its own way reflects a true picture of the life of that era, contains large inclusions of text written by the author in German and, mainly, in French, which conveys the real atmosphere of the life of a secular society. However, the bulk of the novel is the Russian literary language, magnificent in its accuracy of presentation of thought, enriched with living examples of folk (peasant and soldier) speech.

Comprehension by the heroes of their experiences, feelings, their intense spiritual work is often helped by communication with nature. The view of the sky near Austerlitz and in Bogucharov, met on the way to Otradnoye oak helps Prince Andrei, for example, to better understand the changes taking place in his inner world. The hunt, in which the Rostovs participate, serves as a kind of prototype for the future national unity in the face of danger.

The skill of Tolstoy as a battle painter is enriched by a peculiar (ascending, to ancient traditions) use of images of nature: nature, together with people, seems to be participating in battles (fog that covered the Austerlitz field and interfered with the Russian army; smoke and fog, the sun beating in the eyes, interfering with the French at Borodino); nature, Tolstoy entrusts the emotional assessment of the war (a fine rain dripping over the battlefield, as if saying: “Enough, enough, people. Stop it ... Come to your senses. What are you doing?”).

With reference to "War and Peace" one often speaks of the principle of "conjugation", i.e., the mutual conditionality of the alternation and sequence of episodes of the book, predetermining each other. So, Platon Karataev dies on the eve of the night when Pierre has a dream that helps him understand the “truth” of Plato, but without understanding this “truth”, the hero’s further full-fledged life is impossible. Awakening from sleep takes place at the moment of the release of the prisoners by the Denisov detachment, after which Pierre again joins the general stream of life.

Richness of content and features the poetics of the work could not but entail the destruction of the usual framework of the novel. Contemporaries did not immediately accept the original form of Tolstoy's new work. The author himself perfectly understood the genre nature of his work, calling it a "book" and thereby emphasizing the freedom of form and genetic connection with the epic experience of Russian and world literature.

Sections: Literature

Class: 10

Lesson Objectives:

  • Help students determine the main method of constructing an epic novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace".
  • Develop the skill of analyzing an epic work.
  • Cultivate interest in the subject.

Equipment:

  • face silhouette of L.N. Tolstoy, cut out of white paper;
  • put the word “clutch” in the center of the board, just above it (where the topic of the lesson is usually written) attach a question mark;
  • texts of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace".

Leading task for the lesson:

Find the statements of literary critics about the composition of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace".

During the classes

I. Goal setting.

Who can answer the question: what technique (principle) underlies the construction of the novel by L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" at all individual levels (thematic level, the level of individual episodes, scenes, detailed level, figurative, etc.)?

Shut up? Not one hand? Well done! And there is nothing to worry about, because no one will answer - neither you nor me. Let's think and reflect together. Write down the topic... No, though. We will write down the topic at the end of the lesson, formulating it together, based on the analysis of literary material.

So, during the lesson we have to answer the question: what technique underlies the construction of the novel "War and Peace"? In order to somehow help you, I want to give a little hint. The key word of today's lesson should be the word " clutch(Pay attention to the blackboard.)

II. Motivation of students (introduction to the topic of the lesson, mood for serious work).

“Printing a work for which I have assigned four years of unceasing labor under the best conditions of life and best period life, I would like readers to receive at least a small share of the pleasure that I experienced in this work, ”wrote the author of War and Peace.

The wish of the author can be fulfilled by every responsive reader, without setting himself any tasks of study. But "War and Peace", starting from the title, leads the reader into such boundless spaces, involves him in such an unstoppable flow of life that he inevitably becomes a researcher. Mankind has books in its great literatures that rise like the greatest peaks of the Earth. Climbing to these heights, where hundreds of millions have already been, is an unbeaten path for everyone. This test is necessary and desirable, an anxious and - we will believe - a happy test of oneself.

III. Checking homework.

In the novel, Tolstoy traces the fate of individual characters and the fate of entire families. Its heroes are connected by relatives, friends, love relationship. The writer constantly transfers the action from one place to another. The novel develops many storylines.

Let's listen to what famous literary critics say about the composition of the epic novel. Perhaps these statements will help us get closer to the answer to the question (we give only some of the statements).

Already the first readers of the novel "War and Peace" were struck by the perfection of its composition. For example, here is what N.N. Strakhov: “What bulk and what harmony! There is nothing like this in any literature. Thousands of people, various spheres of state and privacy, history, war, all the horrors that are on earth, all passions, all moments human life, from the cry of a newborn child to the last flash of feeling of a dying old man, all the joys and sorrows available to a person, all kinds of mental moods, from the sensations of a thief who stole gold coins from his comrade, to the highest movements of heroism and thoughts of inner enlightenment - everything is in this book. And meanwhile, not a single figure obscures another, not a single scene, not a single impression interferes with other scenes and impressions, everything is in place, everything is clear, everything is divided and everything is in harmony with each other and with the whole. Such a miracle in art, moreover, a miracle achieved by the simplest means, has not yet happened in the world. (N.N. Strakhov. "War and Peace." Composition by Count L.N. Tolstoy. 1869).

“Continuity of plot development, plot flow is the main principle of the composition of War and Peace. The narrative form holds all the episodes together, cements the entire composition. It is the foundation upon which the whole work is built.” (A.A. Saburov. “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy. Problematics and Poetics. 1959).

“The episodes of War and Peace are linked to each other primarily not by the unity of action, in which the same characters participate, as in an ordinary novel; these connections are of a secondary nature and are themselves determined by another, more hidden, internal connection. From the point of view of the poetics of the novel, the action in War and Peace is very unfocused and uncollected. It diverges in different directions, develops in parallel lines; the inner connection, which constitutes the "basis of cohesion," lies in the situation, the basic situation of human life, which Tolstoy reveals in its most diverse manifestations and events. (S. Bocharov. L. Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace". 1978).

“Of course, this is not a fresco, and if we stick to comparisons from the same row, “War and Peace” is rather a mosaic in which each pebble sparkles on its own and is included in the brilliance of a holistic composition.” (P. Weil, A. Genis. Native speech. 1995).

As you can see, in all studies devoted to "War and Peace" attention is drawn to the complexity and at the same time the harmony of the composition. And in one of the excerpts from the critical works read by the guys, our word flashed - the hint "coupling". Let's try to reveal at least a little and enter the secrets of Tolstoy's style.

IV. Analysis of literary material.

First learning situation.

In the first chapters, Tolstoy, it would seem, calmly and leisurely describes a secular evening that has no direct relation to everything that will happen next. But here - imperceptibly for us - all the "threads", storylines (SL) are tied.

Define these lines, themes - there are about a dozen of them here. Reflecting on them, we can see one of the already named compositional foundations of the novel - what Tolstoy called "cohesion". (Students write their answers schematically in notebooks, leaving space for writing down the topic and designing the “linking” scheme).

Here are some student responses.

Pierre for the first time "with almost frightened, enthusiastic eyes" looks at the beautiful Helene, "when she passed him."

SL: Pierre - Helene

Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya comes here to place her son in a warm place in the guard. “The elderly lady bore the name of Princess Drubetskaya, one of the best families in Russia, but she was poor, long gone from the world and lost her former connections. She has come now to secure a position in the guards for her only son.

SL: Boris Drubetskoy, careerism in the army, "true" and "false" warriors

Here Pierre does one impoliteness after another and, leaving, he is going to put on, instead of his hat, a cocked hat of a general. “... he (Pierre), as they say, did not know how to enter the salon and even less how to get out of it, that is, before leaving, to say something especially pleasant. Besides, he was scattered. Rising, instead of his hat, he grabbed a triangular hat with a general's plume and held it, pulling the sultan ...

- Well, what, you finally decided on something? Will you be a cavalry guard or a diplomat? asked Prince Andrei after a moment's silence.

Pierre sat down on the sofa, tucking his legs under him.

You can imagine, I still don't know. I don't like either one."

SL: Pierre and the search for a place in life

Here it becomes clear that Prince Andrei does not love his wife and did not yet know true love- she can come to him at her own time, much later, when he meets and appreciates Natasha. Apparently, everyone who was in the living room was not only familiar, but he was already tired of him so much that it was very boring for him to look at them and listen to them. Of all the faces that bored him, the face of his pretty wife seemed to bore him the most. With a grimace that spoiled his handsome face, he turned away from her.

SL: Prince Andrei and finding the meaning of life

Here they decide to marry Anatole to Princess Mary. "Have you ever thought about marrying your prodigal son Anatole... I have onepetitapersonne, who is very unhappy with her father, a girl ... our relative, Princess Bolkonskaya. “Prince Vasily did not answer, although with the quickness of thought and memory characteristic of secular people, he showed with a movement of his head that he took this information into consideration.”

SL: Bolkonsky and Kuraginy

“... Austria has never wanted and does not want war. She betrays us. Russia alone must be the savior of Europe.”

“The main theme of the novel is “people’s thought”, Russia is a liberator.

"... I often think how the happiness of life is sometimes unfairly distributed." (Anna Pavlovna Sherer).

The theme of happiness in human life.

“You know, my husband is leaving me... Going to his death. Tell me why this nasty war.

The theme of war as an anti-human phenomenon, the continuation and development of the theme stated in the Sevastopol Tales, etc.

And now read the final phrase of Chapter IV of Part I of Volume I. (“... when and where will anyone see ...”).

See how it relates to our keyword. Themes, ideas, storylines, announced literally in the first lines of the novel, will develop, intersect, and be revealed in the future. This means that we can conclude that the linkage occurs, as the examples you have given show, at several levels. What? (thematic level, hero level). Let's fill in our diagram (the teacher is on the board, the children are in notebooks).

But there are other levels as well. Is it possible to find "links" there? Let's search for the answer together.

Second learning situation.

The class is divided into three groups and performs one of the following tasks.

  1. Episode "Salon A.P. Scherer" is "linked" (using the word of Tolstoy himself, denoting the internal connection of individual paintings) with a description (Chapter VI) of the entertainment of St. Petersburg's "golden" youth. What is the purpose of describing youth? ( This is "salon stiffness" inside out. This description complements the characterization of a secular society.).
  2. Episode "Salon A.P. Scherer" is linked in contrast (characteristic compositional technique) with the episode "Name Day at the Rostovs" (ch. XIV-XVII, part I, vol. I). What is the opposite of the atmosphere in the Rostovs' house to the atmosphere of A.P. Scherer? In what way are the young Rostovs opposed to the “golden youth” of St. Petersburg?
  3. Episode "Salon A.P. Scherer" and the episode "Name Day at the Rostovs" are, in turn, linked to the last chapters of the first part, which depict family nest Bolkonsky (Ch. XXII-XXV). Try to establish the internal connection of these episodes. How are the atmosphere and relationships of people in the Bald Mountains opposed to their image in the salon of A.P. Sherer, and in what - in the Rostovs' house?

(In order to save time in the lesson, these tasks can be given ahead of time. Regardless of when the task is offered - a lesson, homework- it is useful to recommend to the children the following plan for analyzing episodes, while recalling that L.N. Tolstoy is a psychologist writer, a master of artistic detail, for whom the slightest gesture, tilt or turn of the head, shining eyes, etc. are important:

a) portrait characteristic, heroes of the episode (details of appearance, clothes);
b) the relationship of the characters with each other in the analyzed episode;
c) behavior, gestures, feelings, facial expressions, mood of the characters, variability, static.

In general, the answers of students in answering questions 2 and 3 were as follows: these episodes are "linked" according to the principle of contrast. The Bolkonsky and Rostov families are real, natural heroes, guests of A.P. Scherer and she herself are masks, puppets, everything with these “people” is artificial.

The "real life" of the Rostov family is inextricably linked with the House, the estate. It is no coincidence that the everyday life of the Rostovs in the Moscow house is described in such detail, and the Bolkonskys in the Bald Mountains estate. The artificial life of the “cream of society” takes place in St. Petersburg salons. Visitors to these salons do not have family life, there is only its imitation.

The Rostov family is an ideal harmonious whole. Love binds all family members (cold Faith is the dissonance). It manifests itself not in sentimental exaltation of feelings, but in sensitivity, attention, cordial closeness (“Only the heart is vigilant.” Exupery). With the Rostovs, everything is sincere, comes from the heart. Name day scene in the Moscow house of the Rostovs. At this moment, one feels the spiritual harmony reigning in the house of heroes. Love breeds trust. Parents raise their children by giving them all their love. They can understand, forgive and help. And children respond to their parents in the same way. Rostovs are simple. The life of the heart, wise intuition, lack of philosophizing, honesty and decency determine their relationship and behavior.

In contrast to them, the Bolkonskys are proud. These are the aristocrats best sense. The Bolkonsky family is described with undeniable sympathy. From generation to generation, all the best spiritual qualities and character traits are transmitted in this family: patriotism, closeness to the people, a sense of duty, nobility of soul. The Bolkonskys are extremely active people. Each of the family members is constantly busy with something, they do not have a drop of laziness and idleness, which are typical for families of high society. Old Prince Nikolai Andreevich, who believes that in the world “there are only two virtues - activity and intelligence”, tirelessly tries to follow his conviction. He himself, an honest and educated man, wants to "develop both virtues in his daughter", giving her lessons in algebra and geometry and distributing her life in continuous studies. Princess Mary is afraid of her father. However, internally these people are very close to each other. Distinctive feature Bolkonsky - high spirituality, "pride and direct honor." The life of the old prince is a continuous activity (writing memoirs, working on the machine, managing the estate, raising children). We also see this trait in Prince Andrei, inherited from his father. Prince Andrei respects and highly honors his father, who was able to educate him high concept about honor(The guys confirm their thoughts, reasoning with examples from the text).

We have considered only some of the "linkages" of episodes that can be found in Part I of the novel. In the novel as a whole, these stage episodes are included in the "endless labyrinth of links, which is the essence of art," according to Leo Tolstoy. Let's try to verify this by reading two scenes: "The Hunting Scene" (Ch. III-VII, Part IV, Vol. II) and "The Scene of the Attack of the Squadron of Nikolai Rostov" (Ch. XV, Part I, Vol. III).

Reading chapters. Discussion.

What unites, “links” these two scenes?

(It would seem that the hunting scene has nothing to do with the main theme of War and Peace. However, it is here that the psychology of a person in war is revealed, when he pursues the enemy (in the episode of the attack of the squadron of Nikolai Rostov, Tolstoy will not talk about Nikolai's experiences, noting as if in passing: "it was the same as on a hunt"), and at the same time the psychology of a wounded beast, with which the behavior of the Napoleonic army after Borodin is then directly compared).

– So, at what level does “cohesion” take place? What is the meaning of such "links"?

(“Linking” occurs at the level of episodes. This “linking” allows you to give complete description one episode through linkage with another; expand the idea of ​​some heroes in comparison with others; refer readers to past events and draw an analogy).

We continue to fill in the diagram.

The third learning situation.

So, it remains for us to consider the last level at which coupling is carried out - this is the level of detail. Find and read the description of the appearance of Andrei Bolkonsky, Napoleon and Speransky.

Prince Andrew: "What did you do withMademoiselle Scherer? She will now be completely ill, ”said Prince Andrei, entering the office and rubbing his little white hands.(Chapter V, vol. I).

Napoleon: “Napoleon, rapping out every syllable with outrageous calmness and confidence for Rostov, looked around the ranks of Russian soldiers stretched out in front of him ... Meanwhile, Bonaparte began to remove the glove from his white little hand ...”(Chapter XXI, part II, vol. II).

Speransky: “Prince Andrei watched all the movements of Speransky, this man, recently an insignificant seminarian, and now in his hands - these white, plump hands - who had the fate of Russia, as Bolkonsky thought”(Chapter V, Part III, Vol. II). “Everything was like that, everything was fine, but one thing embarrassed Prince Andrei: it was Speransky’s cold, mirror-like look that did not let himself into his soul, and his white, tender hand, which Prince Andrei involuntarily looked at ...”(Chapter VI, part III, vol. II).

What do the descriptions of these three seemingly different characters have in common? ( They are united by one detail - "a small, white hand").

What does this seemingly insignificant detail mean? ( With the help of this detail, Tolstoy internally brings these three heroes together: they are ambitious, strive for power, feel contempt for people, etc.)

Thus, our scheme of "clutches" is as follows.

V. Summing up.

No research is complete without conclusions, and we will summarize some of the results. So, how do you understand what a clutch is? ( Clutch is the internal connection of individual episodes, characters, themes, details).

Look at the diagram and notes made during the lesson and try to answer the question: what are the functions of "linkage"? (“War and peace” are endless chains. “Link” is the main compositional device for building an epic novel. Analyzing the form, we are approaching the content. “Links” complement the characteristics of heroes, events ...).

Thus, the ideological and artistic meaning of each scene and each character of "War and Peace" becomes quite clear only in their compositional linkages with the comprehensive content of the epic. (We recommend writing down the conclusions of students and teachers).

Title auction.

We have one task left to complete. Look at the hanging question. Each lesson should have a title, but we don't have one. Let's have an auction of lesson titles. So, your lots are names.

The following options have been proposed:

"Clutch", "Clutch as the main method of constructing the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace", "The Infinite Labyrinth of Clutches", etc.

In the end, they decided to call the lesson the words of the author of the epic novel L.N. Tolstoy: "The endless labyrinth of links".

VI. Homework.

Give examples of clutches at any level:

Level 1 - score "4": give examples of "links" of the image of the sky, explain their meaning.

Level 2 - score "5": independently find examples of "links" and explain their functions.

This lesson can be held as an introductory lesson before studying the novel (then it is necessary to give advanced assignments) or as a generalizing lesson after studying the novel, then homework can be counted as credit.

Genre

Tolstoy's work connects own traits novel and epics.

As you know, the basis of the novel is fate before the whole individual, and the epic is a work in which fate is comprehended whole nation. Tolstoy combined both principles in his work - both epic and romantic.

The main thing in the work of Tolstoy is heroic theme people. It is she who defines the meaning of "War and Peace" as epics. Recreation of grandiose historical events, pictures of great battles, primarily the Battle of Borodino, majestic landscape, extensive historical and philosophical digressions of the author reveal the features of "War and Peace" as epics.

"War and Peace" contains traditions works ancient Russian literature, in particular military story. The motive of the nationwide feat in the name of the salvation of the Russian land brings together the work of Tolstoy with "The Tale of Igor's Campaign".

Moscow Theme also appears in "War and Peace" as epic theme. Tolstoy gets close to popular consciousness in relation to Moscow as to the heart of Russia.

At the same time, it is important for Tolstoy the novelist to comprehend the formation and development of the personalities of individual heroes in their independent existence.

originality"War and Peace" as a novel is that it has not one or two main characters, but many heroes linked by personal destinies.

"War and Peace" has features of the historical novel. It tells about real historical events and persons.

The originality of "War and Peace" lies here in the fact that the paintings of the era of the Napoleonic wars are not the background of the narrative, but independent element of the composition. Let us recall the significance of the images of Kutuzov, Bagration, Napoleon, Alexander I in Tolstoy's work.

"War and Peace" also has family romance features. Here are told family history Rostovs, Bolkonskys, Kuragins.

This is a novel philosophical, in which Tolstoy comprehends the most general issues(life and death, the meaning of human existence, the philosophy of history).

This and psychological a novel marked by the writer's close attention to the inner world of the characters.

"War and Peace" as a novel and "War and Peace" as an epic are closely related. The general course of the narrative in Tolstoy's work is determined by the development of historical events. According to the exact observation of A.A. Saburov, climax of historical narrative- the story of the heroic feat of the people in the war of 1812 - is at the same time the decisive moment of the interweaving of the destinies of individual heroes in their highest development.



Composition

Narration – the most important element of the composition"War and Peace". It has in the novel, in accordance with the classification proposed by A.A. Saburov, many varieties; this, in particular, is a historical documentary narrative, a narrative based on fiction, a narrative that recreates the processes of the mental life of the characters; Of particular note here are such forms of narration as epistolary(for example, Marya Bolkonskaya's correspondence with Julie Karagina) and diary(diary of Pierre Bezukhov, diary of Countess Marya Rostova) varieties of narration.

In addition to the narrative, the most important elements of the composition of "War and Peace" are the author's descriptions and reasoning.

stage episode – the main element of the composition of "War and Peace". It consists of stage dialogue and copyright remarks. Stage episodes in their sequence form narrative flow. Between the stage episodes there are other compositional elements - the author's narration, as well as descriptions and reasoning.

In "War and Peace" many storylines.

Two main storylines given in the very title of the novel. The first part of the first volume refers mainly to the theme of the world. It serves as an exposition of the main storylines of the work. Here, pictures are drawn of the life of the social circles to which the most important heroes belong. Tolstoy depicts the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, introduces the reader to Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov, shows the life of Moscow, the Rostov family, the dying Count Bezukhov, then takes the reader to Lysy Gory. The first transition from peace to war is marked by the line between the first and second parts of the first volume of the novel. In the second part of the first volume, the heroic theme of the people is outlined, which will be developed in the third and fourth volumes.



The second volume is almost entirely devoted to peace, the third volume to war. Starting from the third volume, the themes of war and peace are constantly intertwined. The personal life of the heroes is included in the flow of events in 1812. In the fourth volume, the theme of war is on the wane, the theme of peace again begins to dominate.

Within the two main lines, the line of war and the line of peace, the novel highlights private story lines. Let's call some of them. This is the theme Petersburg nobility, the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, the circle of Prince Vasily Kuragin and Helen, the circle of Anatole Kuragin and Dolokhov. These are storylines connected with destinies Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov. it Rostov family line.

Separate story lines reflect the fate Natasha Rostova and Nicholas Rostov. Let's also call the storyline associated with life in the Bald Mountains, with the history of the old Prince Bolkonsky, with the fate of Princess Marya. In addition, we note lines of Kutuzov and Bagration, Napoleon and the French, as well as freemasonry theme.

Transition from one storyline to another is carried out, as a rule, according to principle of antithesis. Antithesis – the most important compositional technique in War and Peace.

important in Tolstoy's novel acquires landscape. Landscape in Tolstoy is always an element of a large and integral picture of life.

An important place in the composition of "War and Peace" is occupied by author's digressions - historical, journalistic, philosophical. So, at the beginning of the third volume, Tolstoy considers the question of the role of the individual in history. An important role is played by the author's reflections before describing the Battle of Borodino. At the beginning of the third part of the fourth volume, a digression about the originality of guerrilla warfare is of particular interest. A significant part of the epilogue is occupied by the philosophical digressions of the author. Copyright digressions enhance the epic beginning"War and Peace".

"Dialectics of the soul" (principles and means of psychological analysis)

The term "dialectics of the soul" was introduced into Russian criticism by N.G. Chernyshevsky. In a review of Tolstoy's early works, Chernyshevsky noted that the writer was most concerned with "the mental process itself, its forms, its laws, dialectics of the soul to be expressed in a definitive term.

"Dialectics of the soul", according to Chernyshevsky, is direct depiction of the "mental process".

In addition, there is also a broader understanding of the "dialectics of the soul"."Dialectics of the Soul" general principles and specific means of psychological analysis in the works of Tolstoy.

Consider some general principles"dialectics of the soul" in "War and Peace".

Tolstoy portrays the inner world of man is in constant motion, in contradictory development.“People are rivers, man is a fluid substance,” wrote Tolstoy. This thesis can be illustrated by the example of the spiritual quests of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov. Heroes are constantly looking for the meaning of life, their inner world is constantly changing. The depiction of the state of mind of Andrei and Pierre is an important aspect of the “dialectics of the soul”.

We also note Tolstoy's interest in turning points, crisis moments in a person's spiritual life. The inner world of Tolstoy's heroes is often revealed precisely at such moments (Pierre in Torzhok, Andrei Bolkonsky under the sky of Austerlitz).

The most important feature of Tolstoy's psychologism is close connection of external events with the internal life of the characters. Let us note, for example, the significance of such events as the birth of a child and the death of his wife for Andrei Bolkonsky. Let us recall the role of the war of 1812 in the spiritual life of the heroes.

We also note some specific means and methods psychological analysis in Tolstoy.

The main means of psychological analysis in Tolstoy's novel is internal monologue. Let's give examples.

After a break with his wife and a duel with Dolokhov, being in a difficult state of mind, Pierre leaves Moscow and goes to St. Petersburg. Stopping at the post station in Torzhok, the hero sadly reflects on his life: “What's wrong? What well? What should you love, what should you hate? Why live, and what am I? What is life, what is death? What power governs everything?

Carried away by Anatole Kuragin, Natasha is in a state of mental confusion. "My God! I died! she said to herself. How could I let this happen?

Being seriously wounded, Andrei Bolkonsky reflects on his new view of the world. “Yes, a new happiness has opened up to me, inalienable from a person,” he thought, lying in a half-dark quiet hut and looking ahead with feverishly open, stopped eyes. “Happiness, which is outside the material forces, outside the material external influences on a person, the happiness of one soul, the happiness of love!”

Sometimes the character's internal monologue turns into "mindflow", that is a chain of memories, impressions, logically unrelated to each other. For example, Tolstoy conveys the inner state of Nikolai Rostov during his first battle on the Enns River: “There is so much happiness in me alone and in this sun, and here ... groans, suffering, fear and this ambiguity, this haste ... Here again shouting something, and again everyone ran somewhere back, and I run with them, and here it is, here it is, death, above me, around me ... A moment - and I will never see this sun, this water , this gorge.<...>“And the fear of death and a stretcher, and the love of the sun and life - everything merged into one painfully disturbing impression.”

An important means of psychological analysis in Tolstoy is monologues and dialogues heroes. Communicating with each other, Tolstoy's heroes often share their innermost thoughts. For example, the words of Andrei Bolkonsky addressed to Pierre sometimes take on the character of a confession. At the beginning of the first volume, Andrei Bolkonsky explains to his friend why he goes to war: “For what? I dont know. So it is necessary. Besides, I'm going... I'm going because this life I'm leading here, this life, is not for me!”

Let's take another example. In a conversation with Andrei on the ferry, Pierre expresses his opinion about the meaning of life: “This is what I know, and I know for sure, that the pleasure of doing good is the only true happiness of life.”

An important means of psychological analysis are also letters heroes. Let us cite as an example the correspondence between Princess Marya Bolkonskaya and Julie Karagina. Princess Marya's letter reveals spiritual world Christian girls, her sincere faith in God and selfless love for her neighbor. On the other hand, the discussions about the newfangled mystical teachings that we find in Julie's letter seem empty and full of secular mannerisms.

An essential means of disclosure inner peace the hero can also be called a diary. A vivid example is the diary that Pierre kept during the period of passion for Freemasonry. By the way, there is an autobiographical moment here: from 1847 until the end of his days, Tolstoy himself kept a diary, which became the writer's creative laboratory. In Pierre's diary we find the hero's innermost thoughts about life and death. It reflects his emotional experiences, dreams, memories. We also note a diary Countess Marya Rostova, fragments of which are given at the end of the work.

Dream- a special means of psychological analysis in the novel "War and Peace". Of particular note Pierre's two dreams. One of them he saw in Mozhaisk after the Battle of Borodino, the other - in captivity. These dreams have symbolic meaning.

The dream that Pierre saw in Mozhaisk conveys a sense of belonging to the "common life", the consciousness of the need to subordinate one's freedom to the Divine will. Pierre is seized by the idea of ​​conjugation of everything that exists in the moral being of man.

An important point in the spiritual life of Pierre, another dream becomes - a dream about a globe, seen by the hero in captivity. In this dream, Pierre comes to the feeling that life is God. The meaning of human existence is to love life, to love God. But it is more difficult and blissful to love this life in one's own suffering. The image of the globe, which appeared in a dream to Pierre, symbolizes the unity of the individual with the world and with God.

We also note dream of Nikolenka Bolkonsky at the end of the novel.

An important means of psychological analysis in the novel "War and Peace" is the image discrepancies between the internal state of the hero and the external manifestation of this state.

For example, Nikolai Rostov, having lost a huge amount of money in cards to Dolokhov, cheekily informs his father about this, although in his heart he feels like the last scoundrel.

Let's take another example. After the break with Natasha, Andrei Bolkonsky talks with Pierre about politics, but in his heart he continues to experience this gap. At the same time, Pierre feels that his friend's thoughts are not at all about politics.

Tolstoy in his work, as a rule, does not give detailed psychological portraits of the characters. Hence the special meaning psychological detail. Usually, it's a recurring detail.

Let's give examples. The radiant eyes of Princess Marya Bolkonskaya reflect the depth of her faith in God and selfless love for her neighbor. The cold look of Dolokhov testifies to the selfishness and cruelty of the hero. The bare shoulders of Helen Kuragina are a detail that emphasizes the lack of spirituality of the heroine with her outward beauty.

Often the internal state of the hero is transmitted through description of nature.

For example, the sky of Austerlitz is a symbol of eternity, against which the vanity of his dreams of glory becomes clear to Andrei Bolkonsky.

Two encounters with an old oak convey Andrei's state of mind before and after his first meeting with Natasha Rostova. Andrei Bolkonsky, looking at the old and gnarled oak, sadly thinks about the bygone youth, about the meaninglessness of the present.

In Otradnoye, the hero involuntarily overheard Natasha's nightly conversation with Sonya, imbued with the joy of life, the optimism emanating from Natasha. On the way home, Prince Andrei is overwhelmed by a feeling of joy at the sight of a green old oak tree. In the soul of the hero, faith in the possibility of earthly happiness is revived again.

Let's draw conclusions. Tolstoy appears in the novel "War and Peace" as a writer-psychologist. The image of the inner world of a person in constant motion, contradictory development, interest in turning points, crises in the spiritual life of a person, the close connection of external events with the inner life of the characters are the most important principles of the “dialectics of the soul”.

Tolstoy uses in his work such means of psychological analysis as internal monologue, monologue-confession, dialogue, letters, dreams, diary entries. The writer depicts the discrepancy between the internal state of the hero and the external manifestation of this state, conveys the movements of the hero's soul through descriptions of nature. An important role in the psychological characteristics of the characters is played by a recurring detail.

Questions and tasks

1. Where and when was Leo Tolstoy born? What class did he belong to? Tell us about the writer's childhood, his upbringing and education. The writings of which philosopher were of particular interest to the future writer? What idea of ​​this philosopher was close to the young Tolstoy? What role did his diary play in Tolstoy's life and work? In what period of his life did he lead him? Tell us about Tolstoy's participation in Caucasian war and in the defense of Sevastopol. In what year and in what magazine was the first story from autobiographical trilogy Tolstoy? What was her name? What side of Tolstoy's writing talent was already evident in his first story? Name two other works from this trilogy. What works of Tolstoy were devoted to the defense of Sevastopol? What theme becomes the main one in the Sevastopol essays and then one of the leading ones in the novel "War and Peace"? What topics are comprehended by the writer in the novel "Family Happiness" and in the story "Cossacks"? What significance did these themes have in Tolstoy's subsequent work? Which major work created by Tolstoy in the 1860s and what is his main idea? How is this idea conceptualized in Anna Karenina, Tolstoy's central work of the 1870s? What was the turning point in Tolstoy's worldview at the end of the 1870s? What are the most significant works written by Tolstoy after the fracture?

2. What is the originality of Tolstoy's understanding of the problems of his contemporary era in "War and Peace"? Outline the main themes of the novel. What "worlds" did the writer recreate in his work? Formulate the main ideas of Tolstoy, embodied in War and Peace, and comment on them. Why does not the idea of ​​the natural being of man become an absolute moral ideal in Tolstoy? How is the idea of ​​the spiritual unity of Russian people comprehended in the novel? What is the difference between Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in understanding this idea?

3. What is the originality of the embodiment of the “folk thought” in the novel “War and Peace” in comparison with the works about the Russian people of other writers - Tolstoy's contemporaries? What did the writer understand by the word "people"? What facets of this concept are revealed in "War and Peace"? How is “folk thought” related to the genre of the work? What aspects of "people's thought" does Tolstoy comprehend in his novel?

4. How did Tolstoy's fatalism manifest itself in the comprehension of historical events? How, in what words does the writer formulate his understanding of the role of the individual in history? What criterion does Tolstoy introduce into the evaluation of historical figures? What episodes describing Kutuzov and Napoleon reveal author's position about these people? What conclusions does Tolstoy draw about Kutuzov and Napoleon?

5. What is the meaning of Tolstoy's opposition of the war of 1805-1807 to the war of 1812? How does the writer portray the Shengraben and Austerlitz battles? Name the most important episodes of these battles and comment on them.

6. Tell us about the episodes of the war of 1812 preceding the battle of Borodino, and about their interpretation by Tolstoy. What is the meaning of the author's digression immediately preceding the story of the Battle of Borodino? Tell us about the impressions of Pierre Bezukhov on the eve of the battle. What is the meaning of two episodes describing Kutuzov and Napoleon before the battle - a prayer service to the Smolensk Icon of Our Lady and posing french emperor in front of a portrait of his son? How does Tolstoy paint the morning landscape before the battle? What episode in the depiction of the Battle of Borodino is central? How are ordinary soldiers and Pierre described in this episode? How does Tolstoy portray Napoleon and Kutuzov during the battle? What pictures show the cruelty, unnaturalness of war? What conclusions does Tolstoy make about the results of the Battle of Borodino?

7. Why can the abandonment of Moscow be called a high epic topic? How does Tolstoy paint an autumn landscape at the moment of leaving the ancient capital? What is the symbolic meaning of the picture of the burning of Moscow?

8. With what metaphor does Tolstoy define the partisan movement? How does Tolstoy draw its participants? From what side does Tolstoy show the people in the face of Tikhon Shcherbaty? In what episodes did the humanity of the partisans, ordinary Russian soldiers, appear in relation to the French?

9. What are the sides of the Russian national character revealed in the image of Platon Karataev? What is the basis of the worldview of this character, his attitude towards others? How does the figure of Karataev compare with the figure of Napoleon in ideological content novel? What can you say about Plato's speech? What role did Plato play in the life of Pierre Bezukhov?

10. Name other representatives of the common people in the novel "War and Peace", briefly describe them. What ideological load does the depiction of Bogucharov's rebellion carry in Tolstoy's work?

11. What layers of the Russian nobility does Tolstoy depict in the novel "War and Peace"? On the example of what characters does the writer show the highest Petersburg society? What exactly does Tolstoy denounce in the representatives of high society? How does Tolstoy draw "golden youth"? What is the ambiguity of the image of Dolokhov? In what way is Freemasonry shown in the novel? What are the highest administrative and diplomatic circles in the image of Tolstoy? Stop at the images of Speransky and Bilibin.

12. What is the originality of the life of the Moscow nobility, the Rostov family and their environment? How is the life of Muscovites fundamentally different from high-society life in St. Petersburg? What characters of Moscow residents does Tolstoy create in his novel?

13. Tell me about life local nobility on the example of the Rostovs and Bolkonskys. What is the peculiarity of the estate life of each of these families?

14. What is the symbolic meaning of the image of the dying Count Bezukhov? What role does the image of Emperor Alexander I play in the novel? From which side does Tolstoy show it?

15. What was the meaning of “family thought” for Tolstoy? Why was the problem of the family so relevant in the 1860s? What was Tolstoy's position regarding the family in the public disputes of that time? What is the originality family world Rostovs and Bolkonskys? What traits bring these two families together? What is the identity of each of them? Why is it difficult to even call the Kuragins a family? Why can the Kuragin family be considered escheat? How does Tolstoy portray young families in the novel? How is the ideal of a woman-mother related to the theme of the family in Tolstoy?

16. List the most significant female images in War and Peace. Tell us in detail about Natasha Rostova and Princess Marya Bolkonskaya. What features bring together and what distinguishes these two heroines? How do the images of Vera Rostova, Sonya, Julie Karagina compare with them? What is Helen Bezukhova shown by Tolstoy? Briefly describe Anna Pavlovna Sherer, Marya Dmitrievna Akhrosimova, Andrei Bolkonsky's wife Lisa, as well as female characters from the people.

17. In what does Tolstoy see the meaning of the spiritual quests of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov? What are the heroes looking for in their lives? What are they striving for? Name the main stages of the spiritual quest of Andrei and Pierre, comment on them. What spiritual values ​​does each of the characters acquire: Andrei - before his death, Pierre - in the epilogue of the novel? What role does the content of Nikolenka Bolkonsky's dream at the end of the work play in understanding the results of the spiritual quest of the two characters?

18. Tell us what role nature plays in War and Peace. How does Tolstoy's thought about the natural being of man relate to the theme of nature? Determine the main functions of descriptions of nature. Name and comment on several landscapes in the novel.

19. Analyze genre originality"War and Peace". How does the work combine the features of the novel and the epic? What other literary genres do we observe here?

20. Consider the composition of "War and Peace." What types of storytelling can you point out here? What is the main compositional element of "War and Peace"? What does it consist of? Name and comment on the main plot and thematic lines of Tolstoy's novel. What role do descriptions of nature play in the work, author's digressions? Give examples of author's digressions of different content.

21. Which of the Russian critics first used the term "dialectics of the soul"? What did he understand by this? Is the concept of "dialectics of the soul" considered more broadly?

Name and comment on the main principles of Tolstoy in depicting the inner world of a person.

List the means of psychological analysis used by Tolstoy in War and Peace. Give examples from the text of the novel.

22. Make a detailed outline plan

L.N. Tolstoy himself called the principle of depicting the characters of heroes « the dialectic of the soul.
Personal in relation to the characters is that

  • change, improve, strive for an unattainable ideal,
  • unloved characters are static.

As a means of revealing the characters of the heroes of the novel "War and Peace", the writer, in addition to the expressed author's position, also uses a number of artistic techniques.

Artistic means of revealing characters in the novel

Portraits of the heroes of the novel

In the portrait of his heroes, Tolstoy emphasizes one recurring detail: the thickness of Pierre, the marbling of Helen's shoulders, the radiant eyes of Princess Mary, the trembling of Napoleon's thighs, the decrepitude of Kutuzov ...

Tolstoy is not afraid to show the ugliness of his characters. Natasha may

“dissolve your big mouth, becoming completely bad”,

the ugliness of Princess Marya is constantly set off by her radiant eyes. In moments of strong shocks, a transformation can occur with the heroes. Describing the meeting of Natasha and Andrei in Mytishchi, Tolstoy writes that his face was scary for Rostova, but at the same time, the most wonderful feelings unite the heroes. When Princess Mary fell in love with Nikolai Rostov,

“for the first time, all that pure spiritual inner work that she had lived until now came out”:

the appearance of the heroine becomes beautiful: breast feminine notes appear, femininity and grace are manifested in the movements.

Character characteristics

Characteristics of this or that character can be given by another hero. So, Pierre thinks about Helen:

“Elena Vasilievna, who never loved anything but her body, and one of the most stupid women in the world, seems to people the height of perfection, and they worship her.”

The author himself can single out the dominant character.

"The essence of her life - love - is still alive in her,"

- says Tolstoy about Natasha.

Tolstoy, explaining the mistakes of his heroes (Pierre, Natasha), each time speaks of an intuitive feeling of something bad, repeats the words of synonyms: “nasty”, “forbidden”, “unnatural”, “dishonest”, “something indecent”, "indecent intent".

contrast like artistic medium in "War and Peace"

One of Tolstoy's favorite tricks for revealing the characters of his characters is contrast.

So, at the reception of contrast, there is a description of the first ball of Natasha Rostova, when her living, pure beauty is compared with the marble beauty of Helen and is opposed to her, as true - false. As antagonists, the images of Kutuzov and Napoleon appear in the novel (see:).

Nature in the disclosure of characters

The character of the hero is also determined by his ability to feel.

This ability has:

  • Prince Andrei (the sky of Austerlitz, an oak tree on the road to Otradnoye),
  • Pierre (starry sky),
  • Natasha (night in Otradnoe)

All of the writer's favorite characters. The dialogue between Natasha and Sonya is built on the contrast at night in Otradnoye. Sonya is alien to the charm of a summer night.

Heroes' speeches as a characteristic

The speech of the character himself can also serve as his characteristic. The order of the old Prince Bolkonsky to his son before leaving for the army speaks of high moral requirements for noble honor and service to the Motherland, about hidden love for his son, about anxiety for his fate:

“Remember one thing, Prince Andrei: if they kill you, it will hurt me, an old man ... and if I find out that you did not behave like the son of Nikolai Bolkonsky, I will be ... ashamed!”

Comparison as a means

Often, to characterize the hero or his state, the writer uses comparisons:

"always spoke lazily, as an actor speaks the part of an old play"

(about Prince Vasily Kuragin),

an evening at Anna Pavlovna Scherer's is compared to a spinning workshop in which

“Spindles from different sides evenly and incessantly rustled”,

about Pierre's condition:

“It was as if the main screw on which his whole life rested was curled up in his head.”

Description as a technique for revealing the characters of "War and Peace"

Important events in the hero's life can be commented on through the description of the episode. About Prince Andrew:

“A new, gratifying and reassuring feeling seized him when, looking at these girls, he realized the existence of other, completely alien to him and just as legitimate human interests as those that occupied him.”

When describing the character of the hero, his actions, the manifestation of the author's irony is possible, as, for example, when describing the behavior of Prince Vasily when Kutuzov was appointed commander in chief.

Showing the dialectics of the soul of his characters, Tolstoy allows us to penetrate into the aspirations, experiences, the essence of the actions of people whose lives are separated from ours by almost two hundred centuries.

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Report

Genre features of the novel "War and Peace" by L.N. Tolstoy

Iva Zyuzina

III course, f.s. 4636

Russian philology

The novel "War and Peace" is a work of great volume. It covers 16 years (from 1805 to 1821) of the life of Russia and more than five hundred different heroes. Among them are real characters of the historical events described, fictional heroes and many people whom Tolstoy does not even give names, for example, "the general who ordered", "the officer who did not arrive." Thus, the writer wanted to show that the movement of history occurs not under the influence of any specific individuals, but thanks to all the participants in the events. In order to combine such huge material into one work, the author created a genre that had not been used before by any of the writers, which he called the epic novel. This is one of the few works in the world literature of the 19th century, to which the name of the epic novel is rightfully proposed. Events of a large historical scale, common life, and not private life, form the basis of its content, the historical process is revealed in it, an unusually wide coverage of Russian life in all its layers has been achieved, and as a result, the number of actors, in particular characters from the people's environment, is so large.

The novel describes real historical events: the battles of Austerlitz, Shengraben, Borodino, the conclusion of the Tilsit peace, the capture of Smolensk, the surrender of Moscow, the partisan war and others, in which real historical figures manifest themselves. The historical events in the novel perform and compositional role. Since the battle of Borodino largely determined the outcome of the war of 1812, 20 chapters are devoted to its description, it is the climax of the novel. The work contains pictures of the battle, which are replaced by the image of the world as the complete opposite of war, peace, as the existence of a community of many and many people, as well as nature, that is, everything that surrounds a person in space and time. Disputes, misunderstanding, hidden and open conflicts, fear, hostility, love... All this is real, alive, sincere, like the heroes of a literary work themselves.

The breadth of coverage of the Russian nation in the work is striking: noble estates, aristocratic metropolitan salons, village holidays and diplomatic receptions, the greatest battles and pictures of peaceful life, emperors, peasants, dignitaries, landowners, merchants, soldiers, generals. We meet more than 500 characters on the pages of the novel. All of them, especially the goodies, are in constant search. Tolstoy's favorite heroes are not perfect, but they strive for perfection, they seek the meaning of life, calmness for them is tantamount to spiritual death. But the path to truth and truth is difficult and thorny. The characters created by Tolstoy reflect the moral and philosophical research of the author of the novel himself. The novel tells about the events taking place at three stages of the struggle between Russia and Bonapartist France. The 1st volume describes the events of 1805, when Russia, in alliance with Austria, waged war on its territory with France. In the 2nd volume of 1806-1807, when Russian troops were in Prussia. The 3rd and 4th volumes are devoted to a broad depiction of the Patriotic War of 1812, which Russia waged on its native land. The epilogue takes place in 1820.

The most complex artistic, historical and philosophical fabric of the novel is woven from everyday life and historical paintings, from the image of epochal events in the life of the people and the culminating moments of the life of individuals - great and unknown, real and fictional; from the speech of the narrator and passionate monologues of the author himself, who, as it were, came to the fore and removed his heroes, stopped the action of the novel in order to talk with the reader about something of the utmost importance, to sharply challenge the generally accepted point of view of professional historians, to substantiate his principles.

The very first and common topic any epic - war and peace. The title is in the highest degree consistent with the "spirit of the epic", which, as recognized by all, is filled with Tolstoy's book. What the theme and main event of the book tells about is war and peace, and in the composition the main division is carried out into chapters into “peaceful” and “military”, replacing each other. At the same time, the meaning of the title seems to be doubled - namely, the meaning of the second concept: the world. Here it is no longer so unambiguous and simple - the question arises in what sense the word "world" is given, because the text of the book provides a basis for this. After all, this word is not only in the title, but also penetrates the entire text of the novel, covers wide circle content and forms a whole grid of meanings. The "world" in the text of Tolstoy's novel is essentially untranslatable. This is not only that “peace” that is the opposite of war, a sign of silence, peace and harmony, but also “peace”, which is in the sense of the cosmic meaning - “the whole world” or “all people”.

In the “world”, the author gives the specific meaning of worldly life, all the boundlessness of connections in human life with its diversity of relationships, opinions, events, comprehensible or not goals, in which it is necessary to navigate and make decisions. This life "in the world", which is the image of the "disorder of the free world", is opposed to another meaning of "world" in Tolstoy's novel. In the context of the novel, another meaning of "world" is the antipode of the word "earth", which already approaches the meaning of the word "heaven" and reassembles with the concepts of God, faith and death. The world is not just a general connection of human life, which more than once appeared to the characters in Tolstoy's books as chaos, a game of chance, but it is also a special expedient connection, a harmonious whole, the "kingdom of truth." Within the boundaries of the original text, this difference is also conveyed by the different spelling of a specific word - “peace” and “peace”, where the concept of “peace” appears in places where it is clearly opposed to war, and “peace” is used in the meaning of “the whole world / all people”.

There are many attempts to study the main composition of the novel, fundamentally different in their approach. At first, the researchers saw their task in finding the main stages in the development of the action in the novel, as they should be according to generally accepted concepts of composition - a tie, a climax, a denouement. Of the author's works on this topic, one can note T.L Motyleva, who clarifies in her research that despite the lack of a plot in the generally accepted sense of the word - the initial event that would determine the further development of the action, there is a brewing conflict from the first pages of the work that underlies the epic. Namely: the contradiction and the brewing war between the Russian state and the Napoleonic army. The main spring of action is the concrete deepening and development of this storyline, the Battle of Borodino can be considered the climax of the story, and the denouement is the expulsion of Napoleon from Russia. In this case, the place of the denouement itself is rather unusual - since the action of the novel does not stop after it. This traditional view of the composition of the novel, according to other researchers, is too general a scheme that does not cover the completeness and logic of the plot lines of the novel, nor does it subjugate many of the life processes depicted in the book.

Another attempt to interpret the composition of the novel can be noted in the works of B. Bursov, who decides to move away from the traditional theoretical and literary scheme. He adheres to the theory of separate compositional centers of "War and Peace", which are the most significant moments of the historical event in it, but taken separately. In the first volume, such a center, according to Bursov, is the battle of Austerlitz, and in the third - Borodino. What does the significance of the Battle of Borodino is considered here, not only as the compositional center of the third volume, but of the entire work as a whole.

A completely different principle of considering the features of the composition of the novel is derived in the monograph by A. Saburov. The episode of the Battle of Borodino is recognized as the culmination of the work, but the leading role in this development is occupied by its so-called “external structure” of the self. This development examines the correlation in the novel of the factual side and fiction, war and peace, the author's reasoning and the narrative part, the scenic and descriptive elements. As a result, this work examines the features of the genre composition of the novel separately from the specific views of the writer on life, from the features of his world outlook. A method that was not accepted by the other part of the researchers, who focused in their developments on the moral and philosophical ideas of the author and Riva. the development was accepted. defines the features of the genre composition of the novel separately from the specific views of the writer on life, a specific novel (V. Selinov, S. Leushev).

Of course, without taking into account the philosophical basis of the novel, it is impossible to understand the methods of its construction. Here everything is determined by the writer's desire to artistically substantiate his view of people, life, and society. The author's fiction occupies no less place in the novel than reliable material in terms of significance, and also contains many philosophical premises in understanding not only military operations, but also in the everyday civil and everyday life of people. Particular attention is paid to the role of the masses in history, the ethical ideas of the best and thinking people from the advanced families of the nobility, the material and career motives of the ruling class, the problems of love, marriage and family.

Fiction in the novel also expands from the intentions of the writer, in addition to the historical event, to show in its entirety the life of people who are not always directly connected with the ongoing war. According to the writer himself, reflected in the draft version of the preface, he distinguishes his task from the task of the historian: “The historian and artist, describing historical era, have two completely different things. How wrong would a historian be if he tries to present a historical person in all its integrity, in all the complexity of its relationship to all aspects of life, and thereby involuntarily misses and obscures its main task - to point out the participation of a person in historical event, so the artist will not do his job, understanding the face in the same way as a historian, always presenting him in a historical sense ”(13.57). Precisely these words of the author himself show that he considers it his duty to touch on all aspects of life and, of course, to illuminate them from a philosophical point of view. The writer set the task of creating an epic, i.e. as it seems to him, a complete picture of the life of society at the beginning of the century with all kinds of life and customs of serf Russia. This intention mainly explains the exceptional completeness of the description of everyday phenomena of life - the birth and death of a person, the experiences of lovers, hunting, card games, duels, illness, disobedience of peasants to a mistress, experiences of a soldier's mother, poisoning of a lover, religious feelings of a person - in a word, everything that then a man lived. Throughout the reading of the entire novel, one can see how the writer tries to fully cover the life of the era, describe the life of mankind at a certain historical stage, show the sequence of events and how exactly people lived then.

The author assigns two equal halves a place in the novel to both military operations and events of civil life. In this regard, the alternation of military and everyday scenes is given in approximately the same parts, it is in balance with respect to the whole volume of the novel. Interrupting the descriptions of hostilities, the narrative describes the development of almost all lines of the family chronicle - the life of the Kuragins, Bolkonskys, Bezukhovs, Rostovs. In the work on the first half of the novel, the description of all families takes place as a rule - for example, after the Battle of Shengraben, in connection with the development of the plot, the Kuragins, Pierre Bezukhov and the Bolkonskys are shown. No events of the Rostovs' family life are mentioned here, but the author mentions them, observing the accepted order of keeping them in the field of view of the narrative.

In the author's mind, the two halves of the novel - military-historical and civil - correspond to the meaning of the title - "War and Peace" and serve as its clarification, i.e. peace here is again conceived not only as a state opposite to war, but also as the everyday civil, non-military life of people. In comparing one and the other, however, there are also semantic shades that speak of the impact of war on the world, people, their views, feelings and behavior.

The connection of the family chronicle with the events of the people's war is the main core of the development of the action in the novel. In a skillful interweaving of two-way action, the author traces the private destinies of people with vital observation, finding out how people of different positions, views and characters withstood the great test and behaved, what influence a crucial historical moment had on them.

In accordance with this, the novel begins by showing the world, and then moves on to pictures of the war. Thus, the reader gets acquainted with the main characters before they become participants in the war. And this already affects the very perception of the description of the war as a phenomenon - this is no longer just a war, but a war with the participation of familiar faces who have their own lives, thoughts and aspirations.