Greatness is where simplicity is war peace. There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth (based on the novel by L.N.
"There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth". According to JI. N. Tolstoy, the decisive force in history is the people. And the main criterion in assessing the personality, in his opinion, is the attitude towards the people. Tolstoy denied in history the role of the individual who put his own interests above those of the people. In his epic novel War and Peace, he contrasts Kutuzov, the commander people's war, and Napoleon - "the most insignificant instrument of history", "a man with a clouded conscience."
Kutuzov appears before us as a majestic commander, a true leader of the people. He is not interested in either fame or wealth - he, along with Russian soldiers, is fighting for the freedom of his homeland. With simplicity, kindness and sincerity, he managed to achieve unlimited trust and love from his army, they listen to him, believe him and unquestioningly obey: “... by an irresistible mysterious connection that maintains the same mood throughout the army, called the spirit of the army and constituting the main nerve war, the words of Kutuzov, his order for battle for tomorrow, were transmitted simultaneously to all parts of the army. This is an extremely experienced and skillful commander who, with wise orders, helps the soldiers to believe in themselves, in their strength, strengthens the military spirit: he knew that it was not the orders of the commander-in-chief, not the place on which the troops stood, not the number of guns and killed people, but that elusive force called the spirit of the army, that decide the fate of the battle, and he followed this force and led it, as far as it was in his power ".
Kutuzov is the same person as everyone else, and he treats the captured French with sympathy and humanity: “They are worse than the last beggars. While they were strong, we did not feel sorry for ourselves, and now you can feel sorry for them. They are people too." And he read the same sympathy for the prisoners, according to Tolstoy, in all the looks fixed on him. In Kutuzov there is nothing ostentatious, nothing heroic, he is close to the soldiers who feel in him native person. Outwardly, it is ordinary an old man, obese and overweight, but it is in these details that the “simplicity, kindness and truth” of the great commander shines through.
Napoleon is the exact opposite of Kutuzov. This is a man obsessed with megalomania, commanding an army of marauders, robbers and murderers who are seized by a thirst for profit and enrichment. According to the author, “it was a crowd of marauders, each of whom carried and carried with him a bunch of things that seemed valuable and necessary to him. The goal of each of these people when leaving Moscow ... was ... to keep what they had acquired. Napoleon is characterized by hypocrisy, falsehood, posturing, admiring himself, he is indifferent to the fate of people, because he is only interested in fame and money. However, the scene of the shameful flight of the “great emperor from the heroic army” becomes the most disgusting and repulsive scene. "The last degree of meanness" the author calls this betrayal in relation to the French army. Napoleon's appearance is also described in satirical colors: "fat shoulders and thighs, a round belly, colorless eyes repel this person from us even more." Denying the greatness of Napoleon, Tolstoy thereby also denies war, showing the inhumanity of conquests for the sake of glory.
One of the brightest works Russian prose is the epic novel War and Peace. Through the dramatic personal stories of the heroes, pictures of battles and landscape sketches the author depicted one of the most significant civil events in history Russian state – Patriotic war 1812, proclaiming the idea that "there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth."
Historical figures in the system of characters in the novel
To create a work that reflects heroic impulses, the revival of the patriotic spirit and national unity, courage and bravery ordinary people, behavior noble society, the author used a complex and branched system of characters. The heroes of the 4-volume epic novel are both real historical personalities and heroes created by the author's fantasy. compositional, character and ideological concept the author is realized thanks to the method of opposition. Through the prism of using the antithesis technique, the author depicts the two main representatives of opposite military camps - Napoleon and Kutuzov.
The ideological content of the images of Napoleon and Kutuzov
When creating these images, the author endows them with features that symbolize certain ideological views. Napoleon, who for a long time was the idol of the highest Russian society and representatives of the national army, L.N. Tolstoy portrays the degradation of the individual through the use of the technique. Bonaparte in the work "War and Peace" symbolizes the anti-people, inhumane, inhuman attitude. In the novel "War and Peace" he is depicted as a selfish military leader, ready to do anything to satisfy his own ambitions.
Opposed to him by the commander Russian army Mikhail Kutuzov, who is the personification of the Russian people, their invincible spirit. The image of Mikhail Kutuzov is a symbol of popular opposition to the conqueror of the Fatherland. In the novel, when it became necessary to defend his native land not for life, but for death, Mikhail Kutuzov showed himself to be the most experienced, far-sighted and true patriot.
Contrasting egoism with the people's spirit
The unwillingness of the tsar to see Kutuzov as the commander of the Russian army, which Tolstoy focused on, in Once again emphasizes Kutuzov's closeness to the people. The most striking is the thought of Andrei Bolkonsky, who explained to Pierre Bezukhov why this particular person is leading the Russian army. Prince Andrei believed that when his native land is bad, only a true native of the people who loves his native land and is sick of everyone who lives on it can protect it. Kutuzov showed great military wisdom when he made the risky decision to retreat and surrender Moscow to the enemy. Only true patriot and the wise commander, who knows how to think globally in the interests of the whole country, took the risk of giving up one of the main cities in exchange for the freedom of the country and the lives of soldiers.
This decision of Kutuzov and the behavior of the Russian army made Napoleon rejoice, enjoying his greatness and invincibility. His selfish and self-satisfied thoughts about Moscow and Russia are most vividly shown in an episode on Poklonnaya Hill. Admiring the panorama of Moscow, Napoleon was confident in his victory and subjugation of the Russian people, but he did not take into account the high patriotic feelings of the local population, which was ready to burn and destroy their homes and property, but not to surrender to him with a “guilty head”.
Attitude towards soldiers
Such closeness of the commander to his subordinates, the ability to feel each soldier ensured the success of Kutuzov's ideas and actions, which brought victory to Russia. On the scales, he put Moscow and the army, which can defend the rest of Russia, and made a decision in favor of the Russian people. Love for the people and high human humanity is shown by Kutuzov after the end of the war, refusing the post of commander in chief. He believed that it was pointless to shed the blood of soldiers outside the Motherland when the enemy no longer threatened the native land and the Russian people.
Unlike his Russian opponent, Napoleon shows complete coldness and indifference to the soldiers of his own army. For him, lives and personalities are not important. Bonaparte was only interested in what ensured his success. He showed complete indifference to the wounded and dying of his army. This explains his attitude towards people who followed his idea. For Napoleon, soldiers are just one of the military tools to satisfy his ambitions.
conclusions
In the novel "War and Peace" two commanders are opposed. Napoleon and Kutuzov in the novel are distinguished different essence and purpose of life. Contrasting these characters, Tolstoy reveals one of the main ideas of the work - the connection with the people and the unity of the Russian spirit. That commander, who is guided only by ambition and the desire to rule, will never be able to lead the people and win true victories - such is main idea my essay on the topic: "There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth."
Artwork test
This idea L.N. Tolstoy carried throughout the entire novel "War and Peace". According to him, it is the people who are driving force history, and only a simple person, close to the people, kind and honest, can be truly great. Greatness is where goodness and justice are, where the spirit of the people is. I think this is what Tolstoy means.
According to this idea, he contrasts Kutuzov - the commander of the people's war, and Napoleon - "the most insignificant instrument of history." Kutuzov appears before us as a great commander, a people's leader. Simple, kind, sincere, he was able to achieve love, respect and trust from his army. Napoleon, on the other hand, is a petty megalomaniac man with an army of marauders and murderers out for gain. He is far from his soldiers, far from the people and, therefore, simplicity, goodness and truth.
Tolstoy not only does not consider him great - he paints his portrait on the pages of the novel as repulsive and disgusting.
I believe that the opposition of these two heroes is a confirmation of Tolstoy's thought. It seems to me that he says: "A person who is far from the people, simplicity, goodness cannot be great." This is how I understand his words.
Updated: 2017-04-14
Attention!
Thank you for your attention. Useful material on this topic
If you notice an error or typo, highlight the text and press Ctrl+Enter.
Thus, you will provide invaluable benefit to the project and other readers.
In "War and Peace" L. N. Tolstoy argues with the cult of the outstanding historical figure. This cult was based on the teachings of the German philosopher Hegel. According to Hegel, the closest conductors of the World Mind, which determines the fate of peoples and states, are great people who are the first to guess what is given to understand only to them and is not given to understand the human mass, the passive material of history. Hegel's great people are always ahead of their time, and therefore they turn out to be loners of genius, forced to despotically subjugate the inert and inert majority to themselves. LN Tolstoy did not agree with Hegel.
L. N. Tolstoy does not have an exceptional personality, but the life of the people as a whole turns out to be the most sensitive organism that responds to hidden meaning historical movement. The vocation of a great man lies in the ability to listen to the will of the majority, to the "collective subject" of history, to folk life. Napoleon in the eyes of the writer is an individualist and ambitious, brought to the surface historical life dark forces that for a time took possession of the consciousness of the French people. Bonaparte is a toy in the hands of these dark forces, and Tolstoy denies him greatness because "there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth."
L. Tolstoy argues as follows: the people are the decisive force of history, but this force is only an instrument of Providence. The greatness of Kutuzov lies in the fact that he acts, taking into account the will of Providence. He understands this will better than others and obeys it in everything, giving the appropriate orders. So, for example, the path of the French in 1812 to Moscow and back was determined from above. Kutuzov is great because he understood this and did not interfere with the enemies, which is why he surrendered Moscow without a fight, saving the army. If he had given battle, the result would have been the same: the French would enter Moscow, but Kutuzov would not have an army, he could not win.
For Tolstoy’s understanding of the meaning of Kutuzov’s activities, the scene of the military council in Fili is typical, where Kutuzov laments: “When, when was it done that Moscow was abandoned, and who is to blame for this?” So it was Kutuzov half an hour ago in the same hut who gave the order to retreat for Moscow! Kutuzov the man is grieving, but Kutuzov the commander cannot do otherwise.
Revealing the greatness of Kutuzov the commander, Tolstoy emphasized: "Kutuzov knew that there is something stronger and more significant than his will - this is an inevitable course of events, and he knows how to see them, understand their significance, and in view of this significance, he knows how to refuse to participate in these events, from his personal will directed to something else." Overall score Kutuzov in Tolstoy repeats Pushkin's characterization: "Kutuzov alone was clothed in a people's power of attorney, which he so wonderfully justified!" For Tolstoy, this remark forms the basis of the artistic image.
The antithesis of the image of Kutuzov is Napoleon, who in the image of Tolstoy is focused not on the "inevitable course of events", but on his own arbitrariness, in his decisions he does not take into account the circumstances. That is why Napoleon is defeated and Tolstoy ridicules him. This antithesis is consistently carried out in the novel: if Kutuzov is characterized by the rejection of everything personal, subordinating his interests to the interests of the people, then Napoleon is the embodiment of the egg principle with the idea of himself as the creator of history, Kutuzov is characterized by modesty and simplicity, sincerity and truthfulness, Napoleon is arrogance , vanity, hypocrisy and posturing. Kutuzov treats war as an evil and inhuman cause, I recognize only a defensive war, for Napoleon, war is a means of enslaving peoples and creating a world empire,
The final characterization of Napoleon is very bold, it expresses Tolstoy's original understanding of his role: "Napoleon throughout his activity was like a child who, holding on to the ribbons tied inside the carriage, imagines that he rules."
For Tolstoy, Bonaparte in the huge moving picture that stood before his eyes was not at all main force, but was a particular: if subjectively he believed that he was reshaping the fate of peoples, objectively life went on as usual, she did not care about the plans of the emperor. Such is the conclusion reached by Tolstoy in his study of Napoleon. The writer is not interested in the number of battles won by the brilliant commander, the number of conquered states, he approaches Napoleon with a different measure.
In the epic novel, Tolstoy gives a universal Russian formula for the heroic. He creates two symbolic characters, between which, in varying proximity to one or the other pole, all the others are located.
At one extreme is the classically vain Napoleon, at the other, the classically democratic Kutuzov. These heroes represent the element of individualistic isolation ("war") and the spiritual values of "peace", or the unity of people. "The simple, modest and therefore truly majestic figure" of Kutuzov does not fit "into that deceitful formula of a European hero who supposedly controls people that history has come up with."
Kutuzov is free from actions and deeds dictated by personal considerations, conceited goals, individualistic arbitrariness. He is all imbued with a sense of common necessity, and endowed with the talent of living in "peace" with the many thousands of people entrusted to him. Tolstoy sees the "source of extraordinary strength" and special Russian wisdom of Kutuzov in "that popular feeling which he carries within himself in all its purity and power.
"Recognition of greatness, immeasurable measure of good and bad," Tolstoy considers ugly. Such "greatness" "is only the recognition of one's insignificance and immeasurable smallness." Insignificant and weak in his ridiculous egoistic "greatness" Napoleon appears. "There is no deed, no crime or petty deceit that he would commit, and which would not immediately be reflected in the mouths of those around him in the form of a great deed." The aggressive mob needs the cult of Napoleon to justify their crimes against humanity.
Hello)
I even specifically entered this quote into the search engine in order to know which work of Tolstoy it refers to. I discovered with pleasure that this work is "War and Peace", and the phrase was used to denounce the egocentrism of the famous Napoleon Bonaparte. we all know what an idol Napoleon was during his lifetime. he was great. and what? after several major defeats and the loss of the army and the most devoted comrades-in-arms, all his greatness crumbled to dust. why did this happen? now let's leave alone Napoleon and discuss in general terms.
It's no secret that in order to become a significant figure, to rise from the bottom and reach the heights, you need to make a lot of effort. a lot of great people started theirs from the lowest rung. but now the man has reached the top, so to speak, he is on a horse, on the crest of glory. and here it comes very important point on which many of the greats have made and are making mistakes. I already once said that being famous is a very serious test. so, more than once it happened that glory and greatness literally stupefied people who reached them. they forgot about who they were, about whose direct or indirect support they reached these heights, about the fact that life is changeable and nothing lasts forever. they imagined themselves as deities to whom everyone should bow. surround themselves with luxury. went to any lie, to any atrocity in relation to those who tried to reason with them or resist their arrogance. they exalted themselves above people and ceased to understand their problems, feel their needs and empathize with them. so we end up with self-centered greatness. which is artificially exaggerated by the bearer of this greatness and his sycophants, sing-alongs. this does not mean that such a person does not do anything useful for other people. does. but the trouble is, at the same time he exalts himself so much that his useful undertakings cause not respect, but rejection. such greatness is very shaky, it lasts as long as there is a force supporting it (army, influence, authority, power, money, etc.); if this strength disappears, then greatness itself crumbles. because it was founded on the wrong foundation. and the former owner of greatness himself becomes useless and despised by everyone. Or even lose your life.
however, there were also those who, despite the heights and successes achieved, did not forget that they were once, roughly speaking, in a bucket, that there were those who helped them achieve such achievements. they were aware of their connection with "mere mortals", clearly understood their needs and aspirations, tried to help and support them, communicated as equals, and were ready to give their lives for their well-being. they did all their good and useful deeds without any self-exaltation and self-praise. and this greatness is more enduring. it does not require brute force to maintain it. it lives for a long time, including after the death of such a person. about it will be saved good memory in centuries. this is true greatness.
wow, how much nonsense he wrote, yeah)
