There are two very similar concepts - morality and ethics. Morality is following certain rules that exist in society, and morality is the basis of morality. For many people, the understanding of the correctness of their actions and thoughts is based on kindness, spirituality, honesty, respect for themselves and others; these are the very concepts of morality on which the morality of society is based. Throughout the narrative, as life circumstances change, the moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel “War and Peace” reflects his views on the world and events around him at a given, specific moment in time.

But under any circumstances, Andrei Bolkonsky retains his main core of life - he always remains an honest and decent person. For him, the main principles always remain, which are based on respect for people who are worthy, from his point of view.

Changing views on the life of Andrei Bolkonsky

At the beginning of the novel, Prince Andrei suffers from the life he lives; it seems to him that everything that surrounds him is deceitful and false through and through. He is eager to go to war, dreams of exploits, of his Toulon. About glory and love of people. But here he feels sick and disgusted. “Drawing rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot escape,” says Bolkonsky to Pierre, answering the question why he goes to war.

The fact that his young wife is expecting a child not only does not stop him, on the contrary, the princess irritates him with her coquetry, her usual drawing room chatter. “Of all the faces that bored him, the face of his pretty wife seemed to bore him the most,” Tolstoy writes about Bolkonsky at the beginning of the novel.

The path of spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky begins with the thought that real life- in war, the main thing in this world is not the quiet comfort of family, but military exploits in the name of glory, for the sake of human love, for the sake of the Fatherland.

Once in the war, he happily serves as Kutuzov’s adjutant. “In the expression of his face, in his movements, in his gait, the former pretense, fatigue and laziness were almost not noticeable; he had the appearance of a man who does not have time to think about the impression he makes on others, and is busy doing something pleasant and interesting. His face expressed more satisfaction with himself and those around him; his smile and gaze were more cheerful and attractive.”

Bolkonsky, before the decisive battle, reflects on the future: “Yes, it’s very possible that they will kill you tomorrow,” he thought. And suddenly, at this thought of death, a whole series of memories, the most distant and most intimate, arose in his imagination; he remembered last goodbye with father and wife; he remembered the first times of his love for her; remembered her pregnancy, and he felt sorry for both her and himself... “Yes, tomorrow, tomorrow!

He thought. - Tomorrow, perhaps, everything will be over for me, all these memories will no longer exist, all these memories will no longer have any meaning for me. Tomorrow, maybe - even probably tomorrow, I have a presentiment of it, for the first time I will finally have to show everything that I can do.”

He strives for fame, for fame: “... I want fame, I want to be famous people, I want to be loved by them, then it’s not my fault that I want this, that I want this alone, for this alone I live. Yes, for this alone! I'll never tell anyone this, but oh my God! What should I do if I love nothing but glory, human love? Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear or dear many people are to me - my father, sister, wife - the most dear people to me - but, no matter how scary and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for love people whom I don’t know and won’t know, for the love of these people.”

As if in mockery, in response to lofty reasoning about what at the moment seems to Andrei the most important thing in life, Tolstoy immediately inserts a stupid joke from the soldiers, who are not at all interested in the prince’s lofty thoughts:
“Titus, what about Titus?”
“Well,” answered the old man.
“Tit, go thresh,” said the joker.
“Ugh, to hell with them,” a voice rang out, covered by the laughter of the orderlies and servants.”

But even this does not knock Bolkonsky out of his heroic mood: “And yet I love and treasure only the triumph over all of them, I treasure this mysterious power and glory that floats above me in this fog!” - he thinks.

Bolkonsky dreams of exploits, and, unlike Nikolai Rostov, does not flee from the battlefield; on the contrary, the prince rouses the retreating troops to attack. And he gets seriously injured.

This is where the first turning point occurs in Bolkonsky’s consciousness, suddenly what seemed absolutely right becomes completely unnecessary and even superfluous in his life. Lying wounded under the sky of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei clearly realizes that the main thing is not to die heroically in the war, in order to earn the love of complete strangers who don’t even care about you at all! “How come I haven’t seen this high sky before? And how happy I am that I finally recognized him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is deception, except this endless sky. There is nothing, nothing, except him. But even that is not there, there is nothing but silence, calm. And thank God!.."

Even at that moment when Napoleon, his hero, approached him... at that moment Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant person in comparison with what was now happening between his soul and this high, endless sky with clouds running across it. He didn’t care at all at that moment, no matter who stood above him, no matter what they said about him; he was glad... that these people would help him and return him to life, which seemed so beautiful to him, because he understood it so differently now.”

And now Napoleon, with his ambitious plans, seems to the prince to be an insignificant creature who does not understand the true meaning of life. “At that moment all the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant to him, his hero himself seemed so petty to him, with this petty vanity and joy of victory, in comparison with that high, fair and kind sky that he saw and understood... Looking into the eyes To Napoleon, Prince Andrei thought about the insignificance of greatness, about the insignificance of life, the meaning of which no one could understand, and about the even greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one living could understand and explain.”

In delirium, without realizing it, Bolkonsky dreams about his family, about his father, sister, and even his wife and a small child who should soon be born - it was these “dreams ... that formed the main basis of his feverish ideas.” “A quiet life and calm family happiness in Bald Mountains...” suddenly became the main thing for him.

And when he returned to the family estate, having managed to catch his wife in the last minutes of her life, “... something came off in his soul that he was guilty of a fault that he could not correct or forget.” The birth of a son, the death of his wife, all the events that happened to Prince Andrei during the war changed his attitude towards life. Bolkonsky even decided to never serve in the army again; the main thing for him now is caring for his little son, who needs him. “Yes, this is the only thing left for me now,” the prince thinks.

The moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov

Everything about the stormy public life, which is led by his father, what is happening in the army seems boring and uninteresting, all this only irritates Bolkonsky. Even the fact that while reading a letter from Bilibin, Prince Andrei suddenly awakens interest in what was written, even this interest angers him, because he does not want to take part in this alien, “over there” life.

Pierre's arrival, conversations and debates about what is better: to do good to people, as Bezukhov claims, or not to do evil, as Bolkonsky believes, these events seem to awaken the prince from sleep. This philosophical dispute reflects the moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov in a difficult period of life for both of them.

They are both, each in their own way, right. Each of them is looking for their place in life, and each wants to understand for himself how to live in accordance with the concepts of honor and dignity. This dispute becomes another turning point in the life of Prince Andrei. Unexpectedly for him, “the meeting with Pierre was... the era from which, although in appearance it was the same, but in the inner world his new life began.”

During this period of his life, Bolkonsky compares himself to an old gnarled oak tree that does not want to obey spring and bloom, “Spring, and love, and happiness!” - as if this oak tree was saying, “and how can you not get tired of the same stupid and senseless deception. Everything is the same, and everything is a deception!

Looking at this tree, Prince Andrei convinces himself “that he didn’t need to start anything, that he should live out his life without doing evil, without worrying and without wanting anything.”

But the whole point is that he has to convince himself of this, in the depths of his soul, not yet fully realizing, he is ready for new metamorphoses. To the point that it will turn his soul upside down and stir up in it the dormant expectation of joy and love.

Just at this moment he meets Natasha Rostova, falls in love with her and suddenly discovers that in fact he can be happy and can love, and even the old oak tree confirms his thoughts: “The old oak tree, completely transformed, spreading out like a tent of lush, dark greenery, thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No gnarled fingers, no sores, no old mistrust and grief - nothing was visible.”

Everything that was good in his life comes to his mind, and these thoughts lead him to the conclusion that in fact: “life is not over at 31.” Love, not yet fully realized, finally returns Bolkonsky to activity.

But in life everything always changes, and Prince Andrei’s relationship with Natasha will also change. Her fatal mistake will lead to a break with Bolkonsky and to the fact that he will again lose faith in life.

Not wanting to understand and forgive Natasha, the prince will go to war, and there, having come under fire and already mortally wounded, Bolkonsky will nevertheless come to the understanding that the main thing in life is love and forgiveness.

Conclusion

So what is morality in the understanding of Prince Bolkonsky in the novel “War and Peace”? This is honor and dignity, this is love for family, for women, for people.

But, often, in order to realize and reach the final verdict for himself, a person goes through serious tests. Through these trials, thoughtful people develop and grow spiritually and morally. In an essay on the topic “ Moral quest Andrei Bolkonsky” I wanted to show that for Prince Andrei the concept of morality is the basis of life, the very core on which his inner world rests.

Work test

There are two very similar concepts - morality and ethics. Morality is following certain rules that exist in society, and morality is the basis of morality. For many people, the understanding of the correctness of their actions and thoughts is based on kindness, spirituality, honesty, respect for themselves and others; these are the very concepts of morality on which the morality of society is based. Throughout the narrative, as life circumstances change, the moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel “War and Peace” reflects his views on the world and events around him at a given, specific moment in time.

But under any circumstances, Andrei Bolkonsky retains his main core of life - he always remains an honest and decent person. For him, the main principles always remain, which are based on respect for people who are worthy, from his point of view.

Changing views on the life of Andrei Bolkonsky

At the beginning of the novel, Prince Andrei suffers from the life he lives; it seems to him that everything that surrounds him is deceitful and false through and through. He is eager to go to war, dreams of exploits, of his Toulon. About glory and love of people. But here he feels sick and disgusted. “Drawing rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot get out,” Bolkonsky says to Pierre, answering the question of why he is going to war.

The fact that his young wife is expecting a child not only does not stop him, on the contrary, the princess irritates him with her coquetry, her usual drawing room chatter. “Of all the faces that bored him, the face of his pretty wife seemed to bore him the most,” Tolstoy writes about Bolkonsky at the beginning of the novel.

The path of Andrei Bolkonsky’s spiritual quest begins with the thought that real life is in war, the main thing in this world is not the quiet comfort of family, but military exploits in the name of glory, for the sake of human love, for the sake of the Fatherland.

Once in the war, he happily serves as Kutuzov’s adjutant. “In the expression of his face, in his movements, in his gait, the former pretense, fatigue and laziness were almost not noticeable; he had the appearance of a man who does not have time to think about the impression he makes on others, and is busy doing something pleasant and interesting. His face expressed more satisfaction with himself and those around him; his smile and gaze were more cheerful and attractive.”

Bolkonsky, before the decisive battle, reflects on the future: “Yes, it’s very possible that they will kill you tomorrow,” he thought. And suddenly, at this thought of death, a whole series of memories, the most distant and most intimate, arose in his imagination; he remembered the last farewell to his father and wife; he remembered the first times of his love for her; remembered her pregnancy, and he felt sorry for both her and himself... “Yes, tomorrow, tomorrow!

He thought. - Tomorrow, perhaps, everything will be over for me, all these memories will no longer exist, all these memories will no longer have any meaning for me. Tomorrow, maybe - even probably tomorrow, I have a presentiment of it, for the first time I will finally have to show everything that I can do.”

He strives for fame, for glory: “... I want fame, I want to be known to people, I want to be loved by them, but it’s not my fault that I want this, that this is what I want, this is what I live for. Yes, for this alone! I'll never tell anyone this, but oh my God! What should I do if I love nothing but glory, human love? Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear or dear many people are to me - my father, sister, wife - the most dear people to me - but, no matter how scary and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for love people whom I don’t know and won’t know, for the love of these people.”

As if in mockery, in response to lofty reasoning about what at the moment seems to Andrei the most important thing in life, Tolstoy immediately inserts a stupid joke from the soldiers, who are not at all interested in the prince’s lofty thoughts:
“Titus, what about Titus?”
“Well,” answered the old man.
“Tit, go thresh,” said the joker.
“Ugh, to hell with them,” a voice rang out, covered by the laughter of the orderlies and servants.”

But even this does not knock Bolkonsky out of his heroic mood: “And yet I love and treasure only the triumph over all of them, I treasure this mysterious power and glory that floats above me in this fog!” - he thinks.

Bolkonsky dreams of exploits, and, unlike Nikolai Rostov, does not flee from the battlefield; on the contrary, the prince rouses the retreating troops to attack. And he gets seriously injured.

This is where the first turning point occurs in Bolkonsky’s consciousness, suddenly what seemed absolutely right becomes completely unnecessary and even superfluous in his life. Lying wounded under the sky of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei clearly realizes that the main thing is not to die heroically in the war, in order to earn the love of complete strangers who don’t even care about you at all! “How come I haven’t seen this high sky before? And how happy I am that I finally recognized him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is deception, except this endless sky. There is nothing, nothing, except him. But even that is not there, there is nothing but silence, calm. And thank God!.."

Even at that moment when Napoleon, his hero, approached him... at that moment Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant person in comparison with what was now happening between his soul and this high, endless sky with clouds running across it. He didn’t care at all at that moment, no matter who stood above him, no matter what they said about him; he was glad... that these people would help him and return him to life, which seemed so beautiful to him, because he understood it so differently now.”

And now Napoleon, with his ambitious plans, seems to the prince to be an insignificant creature who does not understand the true meaning of life. “At that moment all the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant to him, his hero himself seemed so petty to him, with this petty vanity and joy of victory, in comparison with that high, fair and kind sky that he saw and understood... Looking into the eyes To Napoleon, Prince Andrei thought about the insignificance of greatness, about the insignificance of life, the meaning of which no one could understand, and about the even greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one living could understand and explain.”

In delirium, without realizing it, Bolkonsky dreams about his family, about his father, sister, and even his wife and a small child who should soon be born - it was these “dreams ... that formed the main basis of his feverish ideas.” “A quiet life and calm family happiness in Bald Mountains...” suddenly became the main thing for him.

And when he returned to the family estate, having managed to catch his wife in the last minutes of her life, “... something came off in his soul that he was guilty of a fault that he could not correct or forget.” The birth of a son, the death of his wife, all the events that happened to Prince Andrei during the war changed his attitude towards life. Bolkonsky even decided to never serve in the army again; the main thing for him now is caring for his little son, who needs him. “Yes, this is the only thing left for me now,” the prince thinks.

The moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov

Everything that concerns the hectic social life that his father leads, what happens in the army, seems boring and uninteresting, all this only irritates Bolkonsky. Even the fact that while reading a letter from Bilibin, Prince Andrei suddenly awakens interest in what was written, even this interest angers him, because he does not want to take part in this alien, “over there” life.

Pierre's arrival, conversations and debates about what is better: to do good to people, as Bezukhov claims, or not to do evil, as Bolkonsky believes, these events seem to awaken the prince from sleep. This philosophical dispute reflects the moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov in a difficult period of life for both of them.

They are both, each in their own way, right. Each of them is looking for their place in life, and each wants to understand for himself how to live in accordance with the concepts of honor and dignity. This dispute becomes another turning point in the life of Prince Andrei. Unexpectedly for him, “the meeting with Pierre was... the era from which, although in appearance it was the same, but in the inner world his new life began.”

During this period of his life, Bolkonsky compares himself to an old gnarled oak tree that does not want to obey spring and bloom, “Spring, and love, and happiness!” - as if this oak tree was saying, “and how can you not get tired of the same stupid and senseless deception. Everything is the same, and everything is a deception!

Looking at this tree, Prince Andrei convinces himself “that he didn’t need to start anything, that he should live out his life without doing evil, without worrying and without wanting anything.”

But the whole point is that he has to convince himself of this, in the depths of his soul, not yet fully realizing, he is ready for new metamorphoses. To the point that it will turn his soul upside down and stir up in it the dormant expectation of joy and love.

Just at this moment he meets Natasha Rostova, falls in love with her and suddenly discovers that in fact he can be happy and can love, and even the old oak tree confirms his thoughts: “The old oak tree, completely transformed, spreading out like a tent of lush, dark greenery, thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No gnarled fingers, no sores, no old mistrust and grief - nothing was visible.”

Everything that was good in his life comes to his mind, and these thoughts lead him to the conclusion that in fact: “life is not over at 31.” Love, not yet fully realized, finally returns Bolkonsky to activity.

But in life everything always changes, and Prince Andrei’s relationship with Natasha will also change. Her fatal mistake will lead to a break with Bolkonsky and to the fact that he will again lose faith in life.

Not wanting to understand and forgive Natasha, the prince will go to war, and there, having come under fire and already mortally wounded, Bolkonsky will nevertheless come to the understanding that the main thing in life is love and forgiveness.

Conclusion

So what is morality in the understanding of Prince Bolkonsky in the novel “War and Peace”? This is honor and dignity, this is love for family, for women, for people.

But often, in order to realize and reach the final verdict, a person goes through serious trials. Through these trials, thoughtful people develop and grow spiritually and morally. In an essay on the topic “The Moral Quest of Andrei Bolkonsky,” I wanted to show that for Prince Andrei the concept of morality is the basis of life, the very core on which his inner world rests.

Work test

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy loves the people he describes in various works, not for any special merits, but truly for their inner consciousness and perception of the world, for their moral qualities and foundations. So, to one of the most important attributes inner world Lev Nikolaevich attributes a person's constant desire for self-improvement. Everything would seem simple, but the author is not content with just the pursuit of moral ideals - he is interested in the path chosen to achieve this goal.

Worldwide famous novel L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" is a very problematic work that highlights the difficulties of the social, political and family spheres of life. Among this, the writer identifies the basis - the search for the meaning of life and simple human well-being. In the novel “War and Peace” there are two overlapping characters - Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky, who are self-improving individuals, and whom Tolstoy closely observes, noting their ups and downs.

Pierre Bezukhov in the novel initially leads a reckless social life idle reveler. Pierre is so subject to someone else's will that he allows himself to be robbed to the skin and married to Helen Kuragina, who almost ruined Pierre's life by entangling him in a web of lies and falsehood.

The duel with Dolokhov leaves a deep moral shock and arouses hatred of secular pathos and pretense. This condition pushes Pierre to join the ranks of Freemasonry. But, after a while, he becomes disappointed in this too.

After a mental crisis, Pierre is again filled with patriotism and participates in the War of 1812. The turning point in Bezukhov’s quest was a visit to the Battle of Borodino, and the meeting with Platon Karataev, a soldier who does not complain about anything, is kind to those around him and meek, brings something new to Pierre Bezukhov’s worldview towards the common people. The final destination of Bezukhov’s quest becomes the camp of the Decembrists, where he finds himself.

Glory is what young Bolkonsky dreams of, and only for this he goes to the army. However, these youthful thoughts about dignity, valor, glory and other sublime things quickly evaporate when he visits the Field of Austerlitz. Lying on the ground and bleeding, Bolkonsky understands that fame is not the final goal of existence. This disappointment is followed by another: his idol - Napoleon - “falls” in Bolkonsky’s eyes and appears to him as a petty little man.

After these incidents, Bolkonsky decides to devote his life to a child left without a mother. Andrey, being in a depressed state, will retire to his estate. However, this is tantamount to a small death for him, so Andrei again throws himself into the cycle of life.

Arriving in St. Petersburg, he works with Speransky, but not for long. The War of 1812 caused fundamental changes in the hero's life. He takes part in the battle and feels like a necessary person here. He becomes close to the people and knows that the fate of the Motherland depends on him.

A. Bolkonsky completed his spiritual quest before his death, when he stopped being afraid of it and realized that life was given for love of one’s neighbor.

Both of these heroes strived for moral self-improvement, both started from scratch, and both reached a truth that is as old as the world: “You have to live, you have to love, you have to believe.”

The inner world of the heroes is very rich, and the moral level is high. They develop throughout their lives and strive for perfection.

One of these heroes is Andrei Bolkonsky. The first meeting with him occurs at the moment when, wanting to escape from the idle and seemingly unnatural life that has bored him, Prince Andrei is getting ready to go to war. In the first moments of the battle at Austerlitz, it seems to him that the dream of a feat has begun to come true, but seeing the fleeing soldiers retreating out of panic, Prince Andrei feels only shame. His proud dreams dissipate, he only thinks about how to stop those running and draw them into the attack. When he falls, wounded in the head, he is no longer interested in what he previously considered valuable, what was the purpose of life. He realized that life is much more important than all ambitious dreams, the very existence of man, his connection with nature, an eternal connection.

On the Field of Austerlitz the dream of glory finally disappears. Andrei Bolkonsky, in addition, is also disappointed and loses faith in his ideal. Compared to the significant, new and lofty that Austerlitz opened to him, all his previous aspirations seem insignificant, even Napoleon himself seems no more important than a fly annoying with its buzzing.

After the Battle of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei is shocked by two more events - the birth of a child and the death of his wife. Having gone through grief and repentance, he decides that life for himself and his family is the only possible existence. But such an existence could not suit such an active personality as Prince Andrei. He inevitably had to return to life, to people, to new definitions, to love, to faith. Even though this rebirth was difficult, all the best that was in his soul also strived for happiness, for a new life.

First there was a conversation with Pierre on the ferry, then - Moonlight night in Otradnoye. These were, as it were, milestones on the path of Prince Andrey’s return to life; they predetermined his spiritual rebirth, which was later confirmed by his meeting with the oak tree.

At the first meeting, this tree seems old and pitiful to him; It seems to Prince Andrei that the oak tree thinks and feels, and these thoughts and feelings are exactly the same as those of Andrei himself. And just as the oak tree is reborn, Prince Andrei is also reborn to life. Joy and love awaken in his soul, he believes in the possibility of happiness.

But the path of spiritual quest is not yet completed. Ambition reappears, the desire to take part in the Speransky commission. But when Prince Andrei realized the idleness of these laws, their isolation from real life, he was again disappointed.

Helped Andrey overcome it Bolkonsky love to Natasha. All the joys of life have been revealed to him, he thinks that now happiness has been achieved.

But this happiness turned out to be short-lived. He took the break with Natasha very hard; again it seemed to him that everything around him had faded, had ceased to be happy and joyful.

But in 1812, the main goal of Prince Andrey became the defense of his homeland. They recede into the background personal grief, so ambitious dreams. He decides to serve in the active army, since this is how he can bring more benefits. A new desire awakens in his soul - service to people. One of the main features of Andrei Bolkonsky’s psychology is the ability to think clearly, evaluate and judge one’s actions, movements of the soul, and thoughts. New feelings and impressions accumulate in his soul, causing changes in his state.

In the novel you can constantly feel the author's attitude towards people and events. Everything that is highest and most beautiful, pure and kind is embodied in L.N.’s favorite heroes. Tolstoy, one of whom is Prince Andrei Bolkonsky.