There are two very similar concepts - morality and morality. Morality is the observance of certain rules that exist in society, and morality is the basis of morality. For many people, understanding 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 story, as life circumstances change, the moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel "War and Peace" reflects his views on the world and the 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, based on respect for worthy, from his point of view, people.

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 false and false through and through. He is eager for war, dreams of exploits, of his Toulon. About the glory and love of people. And here it is all sickening and disgusting. “Living rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot get out,” 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 annoys him with her coquetry, her habitual chatter in living rooms. “Of all the faces that bored him, the face of his pretty wife seemed to bother 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 family quiet comfort, but military exploits in the name of glory, for the sake of people's love, for the sake of the Fatherland.

Once in the war, he gladly serves as an adjutant to Kutuzov. “In the expression of his face, in his movements, in his gait, there was almost no noticeable former pretense, fatigue and laziness; he had the appearance of a man who has no time to think about the impression he makes on others, and is busy with pleasant and interesting business. His face expressed more satisfaction with himself and those around him; his smile and look were more cheerful and attractive.

Bolkonsky, before the decisive battle, reflects on the future: “Yes, it may very well be that tomorrow they will be killed,” he thought. And suddenly, at this thought of death, a whole series of recollections, the most distant and most sincere, rose in his imagination; he remembered last goodbye with father and wife; he remembered the first days 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 foresee 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 one! I will never tell this to anyone, but my God! what am I to do if I love nothing but glory, human love. Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear or dear to me are many people - my father, sister, wife - the people dearest to me - but, no matter how terrible and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for love. to myself people whom I do not know and will not know, for the love of these people”

As if in mockery, in response to lofty arguments about what at the moment seems to Andrei the most important thing in life, Tolstoy immediately inserts a stupid joke of soldiers who are not at all interested in the high thoughts of the prince:
"Titus, and Titus?"
"Well," replied the old man.
“Titus, go thresh,” said the joker.
“Pah, well, to hell with them,” a voice was heard, covered with the laughter of batmen and servants.

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

Bolkonsky dreams of exploits, and, unlike Nikolai Rostov, does not run away from the battlefield, on the contrary, the prince raises the retreating troops to attack. And gets seriously injured.

This is where the first turning point occurs in Bolkonsky's mind, suddenly what seemed absolutely right becomes completely unnecessary and even superfluous in his life. Lying wounded under the sky of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei is clearly aware that the main thing is not to die heroically in the war, in order to earn the love of completely strangers who don’t care about you at all! “How could I not have seen this lofty sky before? And how happy I am that I finally got to know him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is a lie, except for this endless sky. Nothing, nothing but him. But even that is not even there, there is nothing but silence, calmness. And thank God!.."

Even at the moment when “Napoleon, his hero” approached him… at that moment Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant person in comparison with what was happening now between his soul and this high, endless sky with clouds running across it. It was absolutely indifferent to him at that moment, no matter who was standing over him, no matter what they said about him; he was glad ... that these people would help him and bring him back to life, which seemed to him so beautiful, because he understood it differently now.

And now Napoleon, with his ambitious plans, seems to the prince an insignificant creature who does not understand the true meaning of life. “All the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant to him at that moment, 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 his eyes Napoleon, Prince Andrew thought about the insignificance of greatness, the insignificance of life, which no one could understand the meaning of, and the even greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one could understand and explain from the living.

In delirium, not realizing, Bolkonsky dreams of a family, a father, a sister, and even a wife and a small child who should soon be born - it was these "dreams ... that formed the main basis of his feverish ideas." For him, suddenly became the main "Quiet life and calm family happiness in the Bald Mountains ...".

And when he returned to the family estate, having managed to catch his wife in the last minutes of his life, "... something came off in his soul that he was guilty of guilt, which he could not correct and not forget." The birth of a son, the death of his wife, all the events that happened to Prince Andrei in the war turned his attitude to life upside down. Bolkonsky even decided never to serve in the army again, the main thing for him now is taking care of 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 the 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 he wrote, even this interest makes him angry, because he does not want to take part in this alien, "there" life.

Pierre's arrival, conversations and disputes about what is better: to do good to people, according to Bezukhov, or not to do evil, according to Bolkonsky, 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 his 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, "a date with Pierre was ... an epoch from which, although in appearance it is the same, but in the inner world, his new life began."

During this period of his life, Bolkonsky compares himself with an old, gnarled oak that does not want to obey the spring and bloom, “Spring, and love, and happiness!” - this oak seemed to be saying, - “and how you don’t get tired of the same stupid and senseless deceit. Everything is the same, and everything is a lie!”

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 not wanting anything.”

But that's the whole point, 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 fact that it will turn his soul upside down and stir up in it the dormant expectation of joy and love.

Just at that 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 confirms his thoughts: “The old oak, all transformed, spread out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, shimmering, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No clumsy 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 everything always changes in life, and the relationship between Prince Andrei and 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 understand 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 the family, for a woman, for people.

But, often, in order to realize and draw the final verdict for himself, a person goes through serious trials. Thanks to these trials, thinking 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.

Artwork test

There are two very similar concepts - morality and morality. Morality is the observance of certain rules that exist in society, and morality is the basis of morality. For many people, understanding 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 story, as life circumstances change, the moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel "War and Peace" reflects his views on the world and the 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, based on respect for worthy, from his point of view, people.

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 false and false through and through. He is eager for war, dreams of exploits, of his Toulon. About the glory and love of people. And here it is all sickening and disgusting. “Living rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot get out,” Bolkonsky says 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 annoys him with her coquetry, her habitual chatter in living rooms. “Of all the faces that bored him, the face of his pretty wife seemed to bother 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 is in war, the main thing in this world is not family quiet comfort, but military exploits in the name of glory, for the sake of people's love, for the sake of the Fatherland.

Once in the war, he gladly serves as an adjutant to Kutuzov. “In the expression of his face, in his movements, in his gait, there was almost no noticeable former pretense, fatigue and laziness; he had the appearance of a man who has no time to think about the impression he makes on others, and is busy with pleasant and interesting business. His face expressed more satisfaction with himself and those around him; his smile and look were more cheerful and attractive.

Bolkonsky, before the decisive battle, reflects on the future: “Yes, it may very well be that tomorrow they will be killed,” he thought. And suddenly, at this thought of death, a whole series of recollections, the most distant and most sincere, rose in his imagination; he remembered the last farewell to his father and wife; he remembered the first days 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 foresee 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 known to people, I want to be loved by them, then it’s not my fault that I want this, that I want this alone, I live for this alone. Yes, for this one! I will never tell this to anyone, but my God! what am I to do if I love nothing but glory, human love. Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear or dear to me are many people - my father, sister, wife - the people dearest to me - but, no matter how terrible and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for love. to myself people whom I do not know and will not know, for the love of these people”

As if in mockery, in response to lofty arguments about what at the moment seems to Andrei the most important thing in life, Tolstoy immediately inserts a stupid joke of soldiers who are not at all interested in the high thoughts of the prince:
"Titus, and Titus?"
"Well," replied the old man.
“Titus, go thresh,” said the joker.
“Pah, well, to hell with them,” a voice was heard, covered with the laughter of batmen and servants.

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

Bolkonsky dreams of exploits, and, unlike Nikolai Rostov, does not run away from the battlefield, on the contrary, the prince raises the retreating troops to attack. And gets seriously injured.

This is where the first turning point occurs in Bolkonsky's mind, suddenly what seemed absolutely right becomes completely unnecessary and even superfluous in his life. Lying wounded under the sky of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei is clearly aware that the main thing is not to die heroically in the war, in order to earn the love of completely strangers who don’t care about you at all! “How could I not have seen this lofty sky before? And how happy I am that I finally got to know him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is a lie, except for this endless sky. Nothing, nothing but him. But even that is not even there, there is nothing but silence, calmness. And thank God!.."

Even at the moment when “Napoleon, his hero” approached him… at that moment Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant person in comparison with what was happening now between his soul and this high, endless sky with clouds running across it. It was absolutely indifferent to him at that moment, no matter who was standing over him, no matter what they said about him; he was glad ... that these people would help him and bring him back to life, which seemed to him so beautiful, because he understood it differently now.

And now Napoleon, with his ambitious plans, seems to the prince an insignificant creature who does not understand the true meaning of life. “All the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant to him at that moment, 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 his eyes Napoleon, Prince Andrew thought about the insignificance of greatness, the insignificance of life, which no one could understand the meaning of, and the even greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one could understand and explain from the living.

In delirium, not realizing, Bolkonsky dreams of a family, a father, a sister, and even a wife and a small child who should soon be born - it was these "dreams ... that formed the main basis of his feverish ideas." For him, suddenly became the main "Quiet life and calm family happiness in the Bald Mountains ...".

And when he returned to the family estate, having managed to catch his wife in the last minutes of his life, "... something came off in his soul that he was guilty of guilt, which he could not correct and not forget." The birth of a son, the death of his wife, all the events that happened to Prince Andrei in the war turned his attitude to life upside down. Bolkonsky even decided never to serve in the army again, the main thing for him now is taking care of 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 turbulent social life that the 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 he wrote, even this interest makes him angry, because he does not want to take part in this alien, "there" life.

Pierre's arrival, conversations and disputes about what is better: to do good to people, according to Bezukhov, or not to do evil, according to Bolkonsky, 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 his 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, "a date with Pierre was ... an epoch from which, although in appearance it is the same, but in the inner world, his new life began."

During this period of his life, Bolkonsky compares himself with an old, gnarled oak that does not want to obey the spring and bloom, “Spring, and love, and happiness!” - this oak seemed to be saying, - “and how you don’t get tired of the same stupid and senseless deceit. Everything is the same, and everything is a lie!”

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 not wanting anything.”

But that's the whole point, 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 fact that it will turn his soul upside down and stir up in it the dormant expectation of joy and love.

Just at that 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 confirms his thoughts: “The old oak, all transformed, spread out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, shimmering, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No clumsy 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 everything always changes in life, and the relationship between Prince Andrei and 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 understand 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 the family, for a woman, for people.

But, often, in order to realize and bring out the final verdict for himself, a person goes through serious trials. Thanks to these trials, thinking people develop and grow spiritually and morally. In my essay on the topic “The Moral Quests 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.

Artwork test

Leo Nikolayevich 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 to a constant desire for self-improvement. Everything would seem simple, but the author is not content with just one desire for 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 highlights 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 personalities, and whom Tolstoy closely watches, noting their ups and downs.

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

The duel with Dolokhov leaves a deep moral shock and causes hatred for secular pathos and pretense. This state pushes Pierre to join the ranks of Freemasonry. But, after a while, he becomes disillusioned with this.

After a spiritual 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 a meeting with Platon Karataev, a soldier who does not complain about anything, is kind to others and meek, introduces a new worldview of Pierre Bezukhov to the common people. The end point of Bezukhov's quest is the camp of the Decembrists, where he finds himself.

Glory is what the young Bolkonsky dreams of, and only for this he goes to the army. However, these youthful thoughts about dignity, valor, glory and other sublime quickly evaporate when he visits the Austerlitz field. Lying on the ground and bleeding, Bolkonsky realizes that glory is not the ultimate goal of existence. This disappointment is followed by another: his idol - Napoleon - "falls" in the eyes of Bolkonsky 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. Andrei, being in a depressed state, will retire to his estate. However, this is tantamount to a small death for him, so Andrei again rushes 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 life of the hero. He takes part in the battle and feels like the right person here. He is related 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 her and realized that life was given for love of one's neighbor.

Both of these heroes strove for moral self-improvement, both started from scratch, and both reached the truth, which is as old as the world: "We must live, we must love, we must believe."

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

One of these heroes is Andrei Bolkonsky. The first meeting with him takes place at the moment when, wanting to escape from the idle and, as it were, unnatural life that has bothered him, Prince Andrei is going to war. In the first moments of the battle near Austerlitz, it seems to him that the dream of a feat has begun to come true, but seeing the fleeing soldiers retreating due to panic fear, Prince Andrei feels only shame. His proud dreams dissipate, he only thinks about how to stop the fleeing, to carry him into the attack. When he falls, wounded in the head, he is no longer interested in what he previously considered valuable, which 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, losing faith in his ideal. Compared with the significant, new and high that the sky of Austerlitz opened to him, all 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. After going 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 person as Prince Andrei. He inevitably had to return to life, to people, to new definitions, to love, to faith. Although this revival was difficult, but all the best that was in his soul also strove for happiness, for a new life.

First there was a conversation with Pierre on the ferry, then - Moonlight night in Otradnoe. These were, as it were, milestones on the path of Prince Andrei's return to life, they predetermined his spiritual rebirth, which later confirms the meeting with the oak.

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

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

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

But this happiness was short-lived. He was very upset by the break with Natasha, it again seems to him that everything around him has faded, has ceased to be happy and joyful.

But in 1812, the main goal of Prince Andrei was the defense of the homeland. recede into the background as personal grief so ambitious dreams. He decides to serve in the army, because that's how he can be more useful. A new aspiration awakens in his soul - service to people. One of the main features of the psychology of Andrei Bolkonsky is the ability to think clearly, evaluate and judge one's actions, movements of the soul, thoughts. New feelings and impressions accumulate in his soul, causing changes in his state.

The author's attitude to people and events is constantly felt in the novel. All the highest and most beautiful, pure and kind are embodied in L.N. Tolstoy, one of which is Prince Andrei Bolkonsky.