Introduction

The concept of "people's war" includes the main lexical core - "people". And the people, that means peasants, peasants, people who did not belong high class. That is, a people's war is a struggle of the masses without the involvement of generals and colonels, without certain clearly planned actions (more often these are spontaneous decisions), without concrete ideas. But the people's war in the novel "War and Peace" by Tolstoy L.N. This is not a war of one people, but a war of an entire nation. Here noblemen, peasant partisans, officers, and militias howl together. Tolstoy shows everyone in a single goal - to win the French troops at any cost.

Heroes of the People's War

Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" describes in sufficient detail the actions of commanders in chief, officers, and ordinary soldiers during battles. We can watch how the enemy moves, hear the whistle of bullets, smell the smoke from the cannonballs flying out of the cannon. Everyone participates in the Patriotic War of 1812. “They want to pile on all the people; one word - Moscow. They want to make one end, ”says one of the heroes of the novel to Pierre Bezukhov.

We see on the battlefield the commander-in-chief of the Russian army - Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, Count Nikolai Rostov, little Petya Rostov, the commanders of the troops of Bagration, Barclay de Tole, Captain Tushin, Denisov and many other military people. Partisan detachments are connected to them, sometimes formed independently by peasant peasants. But next to them, people of the invisible front are fighting. This is Natasha Rostova, Princess Marya Bolkonskaya, residents of Moscow, who left the city only because they did not want to obey French Emperor, the merchant Ferapontov, who gave all his property to the soldiers: “Drag, otherwise I’ll burn everything myself! ..” Now we can say with confidence that L.N. Tolstoy really described the people’s war in his novel “War and Peace”. Only all together, by common efforts, thoughts, feelings, the Russian people remained invincible.

People's War Partisan Movement

According to Leo Tolstoy, the partisan movement played a special role, one might even say the main one. After leaving Moscow, the French moved in a huge army along the roads of retreat. But every day their army was melting not only from cold, hunger and disease, the most terrible thing for them were the partisans, who launched active activities at that time. They waited everywhere, and in the end, the French army was completely defeated. The miserable remnants of the enemy troops (about 10,000 soldiers in total) were taken prisoner. The partisans did their job well. They helped the Russian army to stand, helped to hold their positions, helped to defeat the enemy.

The partisans were different: “there were parties that adopted all the methods of the army, with infantry, artillery, headquarters, with the conveniences of life; there were only Cossack, cavalry; there were small, prefabricated, foot and horse, there were peasants and landlords ... there was a deacon ... who took several hundred prisoners. There was an elder, Vasilisa, who beat hundreds of Frenchmen…” Tolstoy links them together. Yes, they are different, but they have one goal - to save the Russian land, and in this they are all together. The people of the war in the work "War and Peace" experience a single feeling of patriotism, the feeling of a Russian person who wants to win.

The writer gives us a detailed description of some partisans, as, for example, Tikhon Shcherbaty. Having joined the detachment of Denisov, Tikhon led an active partisan activity. He "was the most needed person" in the detachment. His cunning, dexterity, dexterity, fearlessness, good physical strength, accuracy in fulfilling the goals set gave the Russian army results. But there were many like Tikhon. Tolstoy describes them briefly, or simply does not give any description. This is not important, something else is important: the feeling of unity of all people, to which social class they did not belong.

About the people in the novel "War and Peace"

“It is good for the people who, in a moment of trial, without asking how others acted according to the rules in such cases, with simplicity and ease pick up the first club that comes across and nail it until the feeling of insult and revenge in their soul is replaced by contempt. and pity,” L.N. Tolstoy himself expresses himself in the novel. The writer shows a sincere attitude towards the Russian people through his heroes. Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov exclaimed: “Wonderful, incomparable people!” His unity with the people is emphasized by Tolstoy in his characterization, in his paternal attitude towards his soldiers, in tears, which Kutuzov often gave vent to in various situations.

Nikolai Rostov recognizes the strength of "our Russian people", without which he can no longer imagine himself. Andrei Bolkonsky explains to Bezukhov what the success of a military campaign depends on: “Success has never depended and will not depend either on position, or on weapons, or even on numbers; and least of all from the position ... From the feeling that is in me, in him, in every soldier. And this feeling of true patriotism, and not the feeling of “his Toulon” (which Prince Andrei initially thinks about), comes to Bolkonsky with an understanding of the strength of the people, faith in the people, unity with the people.

Conclusion

In my essay on the topic “People's War in the novel “War and Peace”, Leo Tolstoy expressed the idea that the Russian people are strong in their unity, and it was this unity that helped win the Patriotic War of 1812. This is confirmed in his great work - the novel "War and Peace".

Artwork test

To love a people means to see with complete clarity both its virtues and its shortcomings, its greatness and its smallness, its ups and downs. To write for the people means to help them understand their strengths and weaknesses.
F.A.Abramov

In terms of genre, "War and Peace" is an epic of modern times, that is, it combines the features of a classical epic, the model of which is Homer's Iliad, and the achievements of the European novel of the 18th-19th centuries. The subject of the image in the epic is the national character, in other words, the people with its everyday life, a look at the world and a person, an assessment of good and bad, prejudices and delusions, with his behavior in critical situations.

The people, according to Tolstoy, are not only peasants and soldiers who act in the novel, but also nobles who have a people's view of the world and spiritual values. Thus, the people are people united by one history, language, culture, living in the same territory. In the novel " Captain's daughter» Pushkin noted: the common people and the nobility are so divided in the process historical development Russia, that they cannot understand each other's aspirations. In the epic novel War and Peace, Tolstoy argues that at the most important historical moments, the people and the best nobles do not oppose each other, but act in concert: during Patriotic War aristocrats Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov, Rostov feel in themselves the same "warmth of patriotism" as ordinary peasants and soldiers. Moreover, the very meaning of personality development, according to Tolstoy, lies in the search for a natural fusion of personality with the people. The best nobles and people together are opposed to the ruling bureaucratic and military circles, who are not capable of high sacrifices and feats for the sake of the fatherland, but in all actions are guided by selfish considerations.

War and Peace presents the big picture folk life both in peacetime and in wartime. The most important test event national character is the Patriotic War of 1812, when the Russian people most fully demonstrated their steadfastness, unostentatious (internal) patriotism and generosity. However, the description of folk scenes and individual heroes from the people appears already in the first two volumes, that is, one might say, in a huge exposition to the main historical events novel.

Mass scenes of the first and second volumes make a sad impression. The writer depicts Russian soldiers on foreign campaigns, when the Russian army is fulfilling its allied duty. For ordinary soldiers, this duty is completely incomprehensible: they are fighting for foreign interests on foreign soil. Therefore, the army is more like a faceless, submissive crowd, which, at the slightest danger, turns into a stampede. This is confirmed by the scene at Austerlitz: “... a naively frightened voice (...) shouted: “Well, brothers, the Sabbath!”. And as if this voice was a command. At this voice, everything rushed to run. Mixed, ever-increasing crowds fled back to the place where five minutes ago they passed by the emperors ”(1, 3, XVI).

Complete confusion reigns in the allied forces. The Russian army is actually starving, as the Austrians do not deliver the promised food. Hussars of Vasily Denisov pull out some edible roots from the ground and eat them, which makes everyone's stomach hurt. As an honest officer, Denisov could not calmly look at this disgrace and decided on an malfeasance: he forcibly recaptured part of the provisions from another regiment (1, 2, XV, XVI). This act did not reflect well on him. military career: for arbitrariness Denisov is put on trial (2, 2, XX). Russian troops constantly find themselves in difficult situations due to the stupidity or betrayal of the Austrians. So, for example, near Shengraben, General Nostitz with his corps left the position, believing the talk of peace, and left Bagration's four thousandth detachment without cover, which now stood face to face with Murat's hundred thousandth French army (1, 2, XIV). But under Shengraben, Russian soldiers do not flee, but fight calmly, skillfully, because they know that they are covering the retreat of the Russian army.

On the pages of the first two volumes, Tolstoy creates separate images of soldiers: Lavrushka, Denisov's rogue batman (2, 2, XVI); the cheerful soldier Sidorov, who deftly imitates French speech (1,2, XV); Transfiguration Lazarev, who received the Order of the Legion of Honor from Napoleon in the scene of the Peace of Tilsit (2, 2, XXI). However, much more heroes from the people are shown in a peaceful setting. Tolstoy does not depict the hardships of serfdom, although he, being an honest artist, could not completely bypass this topic. The writer says that Pierre, going around his estates, decided to make life easier for the serfs, but nothing came of it, because the chief manager easily deceived the naive Count Bezukhov (2, 1, X). Or another example: the old Bolkonsky sent Philip the bartender to the soldiers because he forgot the order of the prince and, according to an old habit, served coffee first to Princess Marya, and then to her companion Bourienne (2, 5, II).

The author skillfully, with just a few strokes, draws heroes from the people, their peaceful life, their work, worries, and all these heroes receive vividly individual portraits, like the characters from the nobility. The arrival of Counts Rostovs Danila takes part in the hunt for a wolf. He selflessly surrenders to hunting and understands this fun no less than his masters. Therefore, without thinking about anything else but the wolf, he angrily scolded the old Count Rostov, who decided to "snack" during the rut (2,4, IV). Anisya Fyodorovna, a stout, ruddy, beautiful housekeeper, lives with Uncle Rostovs. The writer notes her cordial hospitality and homeliness (how many treats were on the tray that she herself brought to the guests!), Her kind attention to Natasha (2,4, VII). The image of Tikhon, the devoted valet of the old Bolkonsky, is remarkable: the servant without words understands his paralyzed master (3, 2, VIII). The Bogucharov elder Dron, a strong, cruel man, “whom the peasants feared more than the master” (3, 2, IX), has an amazing character. Some vague ideas, dark dreams, roam in his soul, incomprehensible neither to himself nor to his enlightened masters - the Bolkonsky princes. In peacetime, the best nobles and their serfs live a common life, understand each other, Tolstoy does not find insoluble contradictions between them.

But now the Patriotic War begins, and the Russian nation faces a serious danger of losing its state independence. The writer shows how different characters, familiar to the reader from the first two volumes or appearing only in the third volume, are united by one common feeling, which Pierre will call "the inner warmth of patriotism" (3, 2, XXV). This feature becomes not individual, but national, that is, inherent in many Russian people - peasants and aristocrats, soldiers and generals, merchants and urban philistines. The events of 1812 show the sacrifice of the Russians, incomprehensible to the French, and the determination of the Russians, against which the invaders can do nothing.

During the Patriotic War, the Russian army behaves in a completely different way than in the Napoleonic Wars of 1805-1807. Russians do not play war, this is especially noticeable when describing the Battle of Borodino. In the first volume, Princess Mary, in a letter to her friend Julie Karagina, tells about seeing off recruits for the war of 1805: mothers, wives, children, recruits themselves are crying (1,1, XXII). And on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Pierre observes a different mood of the Russian soldiers: “The cavalrymen go to battle and meet the wounded, and do not think for a minute about what awaits them, but walk past and wink at the wounded” (3, 2, XX). Russian "people are calmly and as if thoughtlessly preparing for death" (3, 2, XXV), since tomorrow they will "fight for the Russian land" (ibid.). The feeling of the troops is expressed by Prince Andrei in last conversation with Pierre: “For me, this is what tomorrow is: a hundred thousandth Russian and a hundred thousandth French troops have come together to fight, and whoever fights harder and feels less sorry for himself will win” (3,2, XXV). Timokhin and other junior officers agree with their colonel: “Here, Your Excellency, the truth, the truth is true. Why feel sorry for yourself now! (ibid.). The words of Prince Andrei came true. Towards the evening of the battle of Borodino, an adjutant came to Napoleon and said that, on the orders of the emperor, two hundred guns were firing tirelessly at Russian positions, but that the Russians did not flinch, did not run, but “everyone is still standing, as at the beginning of the battle” (3, 2, XXXVIII).

Tolstoy does not idealize the people and paints scenes showing the inconsistency and spontaneity of peasant sentiments. First of all, this is the Bogucharov rebellion (3, 2, XI), when the peasants refused to give Princess Mary carts for her property and did not want to let even her out of the estate, because French leaflets (!) urged not to leave. Obviously, the Bogucharov peasants were seduced by French money (false, as it turned out later) for hay and food. The peasants display the same selfishness as noble staff officers (like Berg and Boris Drubetskoy), who see war as a means to make a career, achieve material well-being and even home comfort. However, having made a decision at the meeting not to leave Bogucharov, for some reason the peasants immediately went to a tavern and got drunk. And then the entire peasant gathering obeyed one decisive gentleman - Nikolai Rostov, who shouted at the crowd in a wild voice and ordered to knit the instigators, which the peasants obediently complied with.

Starting from Smolensk, a feeling that is difficult to define, from the point of view of the French, wakes up in the Russians: “The people waited with carelessness for the enemy ... And as soon as the enemy approached, all the rich left, leaving their property, while the poor remained and lit and destroyed what what was left” (3, 3, V). An illustration of this reasoning is the scene in Smolensk, when the merchant Ferapontov himself set fire to his shop and flour barn (3,2, IV). Tolstoy notes the difference in the behavior of "enlightened" Europeans and Russians. Austrians and Germans, conquered by Napoleon a few years ago, dance with the invaders at balls and are completely enamored with French gallantry. They seem to forget that the French are enemies, but the Russians do not forget this. For Muscovites, “there could be no question whether it would be good or bad under the control of the French in Moscow. It was impossible to be under the control of the French: it was the worst of all” (3, 3, V).

In the irreconcilable struggle against the aggressor, the Russians maintained high human qualities which testifies to the mental health of the people. The greatness of a nation, according to Tolstoy, lies not in the fact that it conquers all neighboring peoples by force of arms, but in the fact that a nation, even in the most cruel wars, knows how to preserve a sense of justice and humanity in relation to the enemy. The scene that reveals the generosity of the Russians is the rescue of the boastful captain Rambal and his batman Morel. The first time Rambal appears on the pages of the novel, when the French troops enter Moscow after Borodin. He gets to stay in the house of the widow of the freemason Joseph Alekseevich Bazdeev, where Pierre has lived for several days, and Pierre saves the Frenchman from the bullet of the crazy old man Makar Alekseevich Bazdeev. In gratitude, the Frenchman invites Pierre to dine together, they are quite peacefully talking over a bottle of wine, which the valiant captain, by right of the winner, has already taken in some Moscow house. The talkative Frenchman praises the courage of Russian soldiers on the Borodino field, but the French, in his opinion, are still the bravest warriors, and Napoleon is “the most great person past and future centuries” (3, 3, XXIX). The second time Captain Rambal appears in the fourth volume, when he and his batman, hungry, frostbitten, abandoned by their beloved emperor to their fate, came out of the forest to a soldier's fire near the village of Red. The Russians fed both of them, and then Rambal was taken to the officer's hut to warm himself. Both Frenchmen were touched by such an attitude of ordinary soldiers, and the captain, barely alive, kept repeating: “Here are the people! O my good friends!” (4, 4, IX).

In the fourth volume, two heroes appear who, according to Tolstoy, demonstrate opposite and interconnected sides of the Russian national character. These are Platon Karataev, a dreamy, benevolent soldier, meekly submitting to fate, and Tikhon Shcherbaty, an active, skillful, determined and courageous peasant who does not resign himself to fate, but actively intervenes in life. Tikhon came to Denisov's detachment not on the orders of the landowner or military commander, but on his own initiative. He killed the French most of all in Denisov's detachment and brought "tongues". In the Patriotic War, as follows from the content of the novel, the “Shcherbatovsky” active character of the Russians manifested itself more, although the “Karataev’s” wise long-suffering-humility in the face of adversity also played a role. The self-sacrifice of the people, the courage and steadfastness of the army, the self-initiated partisan movement - this is what determined the victory of Russia over France, and not the mistakes of Napoleon, the cold winter, the genius of Alexander.

So, in "War and Peace" folk scenes and characters occupy an important place, as they should be in the epic. According to the philosophy of history, which Tolstoy outlines in the second part of the epilogue, the driving force behind any event is not an individual great person (king or hero), but the people directly involved in the event. The people are at the same time the embodiment of national ideals and the bearer of prejudices; they are the beginning and the end of state life.

This truth was understood by Tolstoy's favorite hero, Prince Andrei. At the beginning of the novel, he believed that a particular hero could influence history with orders from the army headquarters or a beautiful feat, so during the foreign campaign of 1805 he sought to serve in Kutuzov's headquarters and looked for his Toulon everywhere. After analyzing the historical events in which he personally participated, Bolkonsky came to the conclusion that history is not made by headquarters orders, but by direct participants in the events. Prince Andrei tells Pierre about this on the eve of the battle of Borodino: “... if anything depended on the orders of the headquarters, then I would be there and make orders, but instead I have the honor to serve here, in the regiment, with these gentlemen, and I believe that tomorrow will really depend on us, and not on them ... ”(3, 2, XXV).

The people, according to Tolstoy, have the most correct view of the world and man, since the people’s view is not formed in one head of some sage, but undergoes “polishing” - a test in the heads of a huge number of people, and only after that it is approved as a national (communal) sight. Kindness, simplicity, truth - these are the real truths that have been worked out popular consciousness and to which Tolstoy's favorite heroes aspire.

A short essay-reasoning on literature for grade 10 on the topic: “War and peace: folk thought”

The tragic war of 1812 brought a lot of troubles, suffering and torment, L.N. Tolstoy did not remain indifferent to the turning point of his people and reflected it in the epic novel "War and Peace", and his "grain", according to L. Tolstoy, is Lermontov's poem "Borodino". The epic is also based on the idea of ​​reflecting the national spirit. The writer admitted that in "War and Peace" he loved "the thought of the people." So, Tolstoy reproduced the "swarm life", proving that history is made not by one person, but by the whole people together.

According to Tolstoy, it is useless to resist the natural course of events, it is useless to try to play the role of arbiter of the fate of mankind. Otherwise, the participant in the war will fail, as it was with Andrei Bolkonsky, who tried to take control of the course of events and conquer Toulon. Or fate will doom him to loneliness, as happened with Napoleon, who fell in love with power too much.

During the Battle of Borodino, on the outcome of which much depended for the Russians, Kutuzov "did not make any orders, but only agreed or disagreed with what was offered to him." In this, it would seem, passivity, the deep mind and wisdom of the commander are manifested. Kutuzov's connection with the people was a victorious feature of his character, this connection made him the bearer of "people's thought".

Tikhon Shcherbaty is also a folk image in the novel and a hero of the Patriotic War, although he is a simple peasant who is not at all connected with military affairs. He himself voluntarily asked to join the detachment of Vasily Denisov, which confirms his dedication and readiness to make sacrifices for the sake of the Fatherland. Tikhon fights off four Frenchmen with only one ax - according to Tolstoy, this is the image of the "club of the people's war."

But the writer does not dwell on the idea of ​​heroism, regardless of rank, he goes further and wider, revealing the unity of all mankind in the war of 1812. In the face of death, all class, social, national boundaries are erased between people. All as one are afraid to kill; all as one do not want to die. Petya Rostov is worried about the fate of the French boy who was taken prisoner: “We are fine, but what about him? Where do you share it? Have you fed him? Were you offended?" And it seems like this is an enemy to a Russian soldier, but at the same time, even in a war, you need to treat your enemies like a human being. French or Russian - we are all people in need of mercy and kindness. In the War of 1812, this thought mattered as never before. Many heroes of War and Peace adhered to it, and, first of all, L.N. Tolstoy.

Thus, the Patriotic War of 1812 entered the history of Russia, its culture and literature as a significant and tragic event for the entire people. It showed up true patriotism, love for the Motherland and the national spirit, which did not break under anything, but only got stronger, giving impetus to the great victory, the pride for which we still feel in our hearts.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

In the words of Tolstoy himself, he loved “folk thought” in the novel most of all. Reflections on this topic became the most important thing for the writer that he wanted to convey to the reader. What did he mean?

The “thought of the people” in the novel is not in the depiction of the Russian people as a community and not in the abundance of mass scenes, as it may seem to an inexperienced reader. It is in the writer's point of view, in the system of moral assessments that he gives both to historical events and to his heroes. Don't confuse it!

  1. Mass scenes in the novel are associated with the depiction of battle scenes in 1805, scenes of the Battle of Borodino, the defense and abandonment of Smolensk, partisan war.

Depiction of the War of 1805 Special attention given to two battles: at Austerlitz and Shengraben. Tolstoy's goal is to show why the army wins or loses. Shengraben is a "forced" battle, 4 thousand soldiers must cover the withdrawal of the forty thousandth Russian army. The battle is observed by Kutuzov's guarantor, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. He sees how the soldiers show heroism, but not in the same way as this quality seemed to the prince: Captain Timokhin and his squad force the French to retreat with skillful actions, Captain Tushin, an inconspicuous modest man, "does his job", cheerfully and quickly, his battery smashes the main positions of the French, sets fire to the village and forces them to retreat, and they do not suspect that they are "ordinary heroes."

On the contrary, the battle of Azsterlitz is a “battle of three emperors”, with incomprehensible goals and an incomprehensible plan. It is no coincidence that at the military council, Kutuzov dozed off like an old man under the measured muttering of an Austrian general. Kutuzov wants to save the soldiers who do not understand what they are fighting for, it is not for nothing that the landscape of the beginning of the battle is symbolic: fog covering the battlefield. The author comes to the conclusion: the battle is not won by the generals, the battle is won by the soldiers, more precisely, the spirit of the army, the understanding of what they are doing.

The same thing happens at Borodino: Kutuzov almost does not participate in the leadership of the battle, in contrast to Napoleon, who believes that the outcome depends on the will of the emperor. No, the outcome depends on the soldiers going to the last battle, as if on a holiday, putting on clean shirts. According to Kutuzov, the Battle of Borodino was not won or lost in terms of consequences, but the Russians won, crushing the French by force of mind, by the unprecedented unity of all against a single enemy.

This is how the "people's thought" manifested itself in the mass scenes.

  1. The unity of the Russian people is also evidenced by the guerrilla war that unfolded spontaneously during the invasion. In various places under the French, landowners and peasants took up pitchforks and axes in order to drive the enemy from native land. The "club of the people's war" rose and "nailed ... the Frenchman until the invasion itself died." Drawing pictures of guerrilla warfare, Tolstoy depicts some peasant heroes. One of them is Tikhon Shcherbaty, like a wolf attacking the enemy, "the most useful person in the squad", cruel and merciless. According to Tolstoy, this is a folk type that manifests itself in difficult times for the Motherland. The second popular type is Platon Karataev, from whom Pierre learned to live simply and harmoniously, to accept everything that happens on a person’s path, he realized “that ballet shoes are tight just like peasant bast shoes”, and therefore a person needs little to be happy. So moral values ​​for Tolstoy become the measure of everything else: peace, war, people, deeds.
  2. In captivity, Pierre has a dream. In a dream, the globe appears to him as a ball of drops that tremble, shimmer, separate somewhere, merge somewhere. And every drop reflects God. This metaphor is an idea of ​​the people's life of Tolstoy himself: a person lives his "swarm life", busy with his own problems and thoughts, but he must "match" (the writer's word) his life with the lives of others. And if the desires and needs of many people coincide at one point, then history makes its own movement. This is another aspect of "folk thought in the novel".
  3. And Tolstoy "measures" his heroes with this yardstick. If they are far from common interests, common aspirations, if they do not understand the common, put their own interests above others or try to interfere in the natural course of life, then they all sink lower, fall into a spiritual crisis. This also happens with Prince Andrei, when he raises soldiers in a senseless attack at Austerlitz, and with Pierre, who is trying to kill Napoleon. Some of the heroes never realize at all own life, more precisely, existence - such is Helen, Rostopchin with his "posters", Napoleon. Pierre, who is trying to somehow help Russia, equips the regiment with his own money, Natasha gives carts to the wounded, not thinking about the well-being of the family, and Berg tries to "buy a bookcase that Vera likes so much." Who among them lives according to the laws of the people?

So, "The People's Thought", according to Tolstoy, is the idea of ​​the need to match one's life with common interests, life according to moral laws that have existed in the world for centuries, life together.

Peak creative activity Leo Tolstoy falls on the middle of the 19th century. Russia shuddered from the indignation of the peasant masses, so the idea of ​​popular consciousness in the process of development of society became a key theme in literary works many writers of that time. "The Thought of the People" in the novel "War and Peace" reveals the heroic image of the Russian people against the backdrop of the events of the Patriotic War of 1812.

What did Tolstoy mean by the word people

Writers of the nineteenth century showed the people either in the form of the peasantry oppressed by the tsar or the entire Russian nation, or the patriotic nobility or the social stratum of the merchants. Tolstoy lovingly says "people" every time when it comes to moral people. Everyone who behaves immorally, is distinguished by laziness, greed and cruelty, the author deprives the right to be involved in this community of citizens.

People living within one state represent its basis, are the material of history, regardless of class and education. Do we have a genius, a great man? His role in the development of mankind is insignificant, Tolstoy argues, a genius is a product of his society, wrapped in a bright wrapper of talent.

No one alone can manage millions of people, create the history of an entire state, provoke a vector of events according to his plan, especially their consequences. In the novel "War and Peace" the author assigned the role of the creator of history to the people, which are led by rational life desires and instincts.

Folk thought in the image of Kutuzov

Decisions made on the sidelines of power, at the legislative level, the Russian classic calls the upward trend in the development of society. This, in his opinion, is the centrifugal force of history. The events that take place among the common population are a process of downward development of history, a centripetal force in the development of social ties.

Therefore, the image of Kutuzov is endowed with high moral qualities. Events show that the general is connected with the people by one chain of state problems. He is close to the problems experienced ordinary people, located much lower than Kutuzov on the social ladder. Anxiety, the bitterness of defeat and the joy of victories, the legendary commander feels as naturally as his soldiers. They have one task, they move along the same path of events, defending their homeland.

In the novel, Kutuzov is a prominent representative of the people, because his personal goals absolutely coincide with the goals of the Russian population. The author in every possible way focuses the reader's attention on the merits of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army. His authority in the eyes of soldiers and officers is invincible. The spirit of the troops he commands depends on his mood, healthy state of health, on his physical presence on the battlefield.

Folk thought in the images of nobles

Can a count or prince be considered a people? Was it typical for the representatives of the Russian nobility to meet the requirements of historical necessity? Story line The novel clearly reflects the moral development of positive characters, their merging with the masses during the Patriotic War of 1812.

Leo Tolstoy emphasizes that the will to win, to get rid of the presence of an enemy army on the territory of one's own land, is tested by the thought of the people. Pierre Bezukhov, in the same stream with the refugees, ends his search for the meaning of life, seeing it in the very idea of ​​\u200b\u200bdignified survival in the face of danger.

Natasha Rostova cannot remain indifferent and leave the wounded soldiers behind. The young countess rushes in search of additional carts to take the wounded out of burning Moscow. Along the Smolensk road, she tries to help the soldiers who are suffering and dying from wounds.

Marya Bolkonskaya, the sister of Prince Andrei, almost paid with her life for her desire to break out of the territory occupied by the enemy. The girl does not stick to the persuasion of Madame Bourrienne to wait for the French in her estate, enters into an open conflict with the peasants for the opportunity to be with her compatriots on Russian soil.

From the beginning of the plot, Prince Bolkonsky reveres Napoleon as an advanced contemporary, carrying new ideas of equality and fraternity. On the battlefield of Austerlitz, his delusion is dispelled when he sees the unhealthy admiration of Bonaparte, looking at the bodies of many dead soldiers of both armies.

Andrei Bolkonsky dies, remaining a small man, faithful to the oath, to his people and the emperor.

Patriotism is a Russian beginning

Leo Tolstoy refers to patriotism as a clear sign of nationality, uniting all social classes in moments of danger. Captain Tushin, heroically defending artillery positions, endowed as a simple man with "small and great." Tikhon Shcherbaty enters the same ambiguous character, ruthless to enemies, but a cruel man in his soul as a whole.

Young Peter Rostov dies while taking part in the partisan movement, which has become an important factor in victory. Platon Karataev, having been captured, shows courageous calmness, confessing love for life in situations of trial, as the main idea of ​​Christianity. Leo Tolstoy values ​​good nature and humble patience above all else in a Russian person.

History knows hundreds of examples of heroic deeds, sometimes the names of the heroes are not known. All that remains is memory and glory to the unbending patriotic spirit of the Russian people, which in times of peace remains a jealous guardian and bearer of spiritual values.