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War and peace system of heroes. Composition "The system of images of the novel" War and Peace "L

The specificity of the system of images of the novel "War and Peace" is determined primarily by a single center ("people's thought"), in relation to which all the heroes of the novel are characterized. The group of characters who are part of the nationwide "world" (nation) or in the process of life's quest finds a way to connect with it, includes the characters "favorite" by the author - Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, Princess Marya. They belong to the type of novel heroes, in contrast to the epic ones, to which Kutuzov belongs among the characters of the "world". Epic images have such qualities as static, monumental, as they embody unchanging qualities.

So in the image of Kutuzov the best qualities of the Russian national character are presented. These qualities can also be found in novel characters, but they have variability, are constantly in the process of searching for truth and their place in life, and having gone through the path of mistakes and delusions, they come to the solution of their problems through unity with the whole nation - the “world”. Such heroes are also called "heroes of the path", they are interesting and important for the author, because they embody the idea of the need for spiritual development, the search for a way of self-improvement for each person. In contrast, among the novel characters, “heroes out of the way” stand out, who have stopped in their internal development and embody the author’s idea: “calmness is spiritual meanness” (Anatole and Helen Kuragin, Anna Pavlovna Sherer, Vera, Berg, Julie and others ). All of them are part of a group of characters who are outside the nation, separated from the national "world" and cause extreme rejection of the author.

At the same time, the criterion for determining the place of a character in the system of images in relation to the “folk thought” is his behavior during the Patriotic War of 1812. That is why among the “heroes of the path” there is also such a character as Boris Drubetskoy, who goes through his path of quest, but, preoccupied with selfish interests, he does not change for the better, but degrades spiritually. If at first he is fanned by the poetry of the purely Russian Rostov family, then in his desire to make a career at all costs and marry profitably, he approaches the Kuragin family - he enters the circle of Helen, and then, refusing to love Natasha, for the sake of money and position in society, marries Julie. The final assessment of this character is given during the battle of Borodino, when Drubets-koy, at the moment of the highest unity of the whole nation, is concerned only with his selfish selfish interests, calculating which outcome of the battle is more profitable for him from the point of view of his career.

On the other hand, among the "heroes out of the way" is Nikolai Rostov, who is closely related to the author's most beloved family, which embodies the best features of the national character. Of course, this also applies to Nikolai Rostov, but this image is interesting to the writer from a different point of view. Unlike exceptional, extraordinary natures, like Prince Andrei and Pierre, Nikolai Rostov is a typical average person. It embodied what is inherent in most of the noble youth. Tolstoy convincingly shows that the main danger lurking in such a character is the lack of independence, independence of opinions and actions. No wonder Nikolai feels so comfortable in the conditions of army life, it is no coincidence that he always has idols whom he imitates in everything: first Denisov, then Dolokhov. A person like Nikolai Rostov can show the wonderful features of his nature - kindness, honesty, courage, true patriotism, sincere love for loved ones, but can, as follows from the conversation between Nikolai and Pierre in the epilogue, turn out to be an obedient toy in the hands of those to whom he obeys.

In the artistic canvas of "War and Peace" threads of "links" are drawn between different groups of characters. The unity of all strata of society in the face of the danger threatening the fatherland, the entire nation, is shown through figurative parallels connecting representatives of various groups of the nobility and people: Pierre Bezukhov - Platon Karataev, Princess Mary - "God's people", old Prince Bolkonsky - Tikhon, Nikolai Rostov - Lavrushka, Kutuzov - Malasha and others. But the "linkage" is most clearly manifested in its own figurative figurative parallels, Correlating with the opposition of the two main contrasting human types. A good name was invented for them by the critic N.N. Strakhov - "predatory" and "pacified" types of people. In the most complete, complete, "monumental" form, this opposition is presented in the images of the epic heroes of the work - Kutuzov and Napoleon. Denying the cult of Napoleon, portraying him as a "predatory type", Tolstoy deliberately reduces his image and opposes the image of Kutuzov - a truly national leader, embodying the spirit of the nation, the simplicity and naturalness of the people, its humanistic basis ("tame type"). But not only in the monumental-epic images of Napoleon and Kutuzov, but also in the individual human destinies of other - novel - heroes, the ideas of the "predatory" and "meek" type are refracted, as it were, which creates the unity of the figurative system - novel and realizing epic genre features. At the same time, the characters vary, duplicating each other and, as it were, flowing into each other. So, for example, a smaller version of Napoleon in the "novel" part is Dolokhov, a man who, even in peacetime, managed to bring war and aggression. Features of Napoleon can be found in other characters, such as Anatole Kuragin, Berg and even Helen. On the other hand, Petya Rostov, like Kutuzov, manages to maintain a peaceful way of life during the war (for example, in the scene when he offers raisins to the partisans). Similar parallels can be continued. It can be said that almost all the characters in War and Peace gravitate towards the images of Napoleon and Kutuzov, towards the “predatory” and “tame” types, thus divided into people of “war” and people of “peace”. So it turns out that "War and Peace" is an image of two universal states of human existence, the life of society. Napoleon, according to Tolstoy, embodies the essence of modern civilization, expressed in the cult of personal initiative and a strong personality. It is this cult that brings disunity and general hostility into modern life. He is opposed by Tolstoy's beginning, embodied in the image of Kutuzov, a man who has renounced everything personal, does not pursue any personal goal and, because of this, is able to guess the historical necessity and contributes to the course of history with his activity, while Napoleon only seems to that it is he who controls the historical process. Kutuzov in Tolstoy personifies the principle of the people, while the people represent a spiritual integrity, poeticized by the author of War and Peace. This integrity arises only on the basis of cultural traditions and traditions. Their loss turns the people into a vicious and aggressive crowd, whose unity rests not on a common principle, but on an individualistic principle. Such a crowd is the Napoleonic army marching on Russia, as well as the people who tore apart Vereshchagin, whom Rostopchin dooms to death.

But, of course, the manifestation of the "predatory" type is more related to those heroes who stand outside the nation. They embody an extra-national environment that introduces an atmosphere of enmity and hatred, lies and falsehood into the nationwide “world”. This is where the novel begins. The salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer is like a spinning workshop with its orderly, mechanical rhythm once and for all. Here everything is subject to the logic of decency and decency, but there is no place for natural human feeling. That is why Helen, who belongs to this society, despite her outward beauty, is recognized by the author as the standard of false beauty.

After all, the inner essence of Helen is ugly: she is selfish, selfish, immoral and cruel, that is, she fully corresponds to the type that is defined as “predatory”.

From the very beginning, Tolstoy's favorite heroes, Prince Andrei and Pierre, look alien in this environment. Both cannot fit into this externally ordered world, where everyone plays their roles. Pierre is too natural, and therefore unpredictable, and the free and independent Andrei Bolkonsky, who despises this world, will not allow anyone to make himself a toy in the hands of other people. But, paradoxically, the main quality of this world, which is associated in the novel with the image of Napoleon and can be called "Napoleonism", is inherent in the beginning to both Pierre and Prince Andrei. As for many other contemporaries of these heroes, reflected in literature, for example, in the image of Onegin, Napoleon is their idol. But their life path is different from that of the heroes associated with the salon life of the highest aristocracy and close to them in spirit. If the path of Boris Drubetskoy is to join the world of "Napoleonism", then the path of Tolstoy's favorite heroes is to get rid of it. Thus, considering the history of his beloved heroes, showing their "dialectics of the soul", Tolstoy talks about the need and ways to combat "Napoleonism" in the souls of people, about the way to get rid of selfish aspirations and connect with the interests of the whole people, the whole nation . And this, of course, is a problem that goes far beyond the depicted era and is directly related to the burning issues of the time when the novel was created.

In the quests of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov, despite the significant difference in their characters, there is much in common, although their paths of quest have a number of significant differences. The upheaval in the soul of Prince Andrei for the first time takes place on the field of Austerlitz, where he is looking for glory, similar to Napoleon's, and seems to accomplish a real feat. But Tolstoy debunks him, showing the falsity of the ideals of Prince Andrey in comparison with the "high endless sky", that is, with that which is immeasurably higher than any egoistic aspirations of a person. "High Sky" also highlights the true essence of the former idol of Prince Andrei - Napoleon. But an attempt to close oneself in a limited family world after returning from captivity, the birth of a son and the death of his wife, cannot satisfy Andrei Bolkonsky's high life demands. Pierre, animated at that time by Masonic ideas, brings Prince Andrei out of his state of apathy and returns him to the idea of the need to lead an active life, aimed at the benefit of other people. And again, this spiritual upheaval is correlated with a natural phenomenon - an old oak, which Prince Andrei sees on the way to the Rostovs' Otradnoye estate and which turns out to be able to respond to the general spring revival, turn green and rejuvenate. “No, life is not over at thirty-one,” Andrey Bolkonsky decides for himself and enthusiastically sets to work in the Speransky commission, which is preparing a project related to the implementation of liberal reforms in Russia. But this ideal also turns out to be false, and Prince Andrei's encounter with "living life" - now embodied in the young Natasha Rostova - helps to rediscover its failure. Love for Natasha refreshes and purifies the soul of the prince, clarifies the illusory nature and falsity of Speransky and his reforms. Through Natasha, Andrei Bolkonsky approaches earthly life, and it seems that he almost achieves the happiness that now seems to him in family life. But for this, Prince Andrei was not created, moreover: he is unable to understand his chosen one and agrees to a condition that is impossible for her. With his postponement of the wedding for a year, his inability to catch living life in its beautiful moments, he, in fact, provokes a catastrophe, and the pride inherent in all Bolkonskys does not allow him to forgive Natasha for a mistake. Only in the fire of a people's war, having found his place on the fields of its battles, among ordinary Russian soldiers and officers, does Prince Andrei radically change his ideas and, finally, is able to understand the legitimacy of the existence of "other, completely alien to him" human interests. After being wounded, he is not only able to understand and forgive Natasha, but even feels a deep compassion for the wounded Anatol Kuragin. It seems that now the road to happiness is again open before him and Natasha, but the path of Andrei Bolkonsky is interrupted by death. In the dying prince Andrei, heaven and earth, death and life, are fighting each other, this struggle manifests itself in two forms of love: earthly - for Natasha, and - for all people; the first is warm, lively, and the second is extraterrestrial and somewhat chilly. It is this ideal love that separates Andrei completely from the earth and dissolves in that high sky, to which he has striven all his life.

The path of Pierre's searches has a different result: he finds the truth in unity with the people and in this he finds a way out for himself. Like Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre goes through a whole series of delusions before this truth is revealed to him. An unhappy family life with Helen leads him to a crisis state: he, a kind person by nature, capable of understanding others and compassion, almost turns out to be a killer in a duel with Dolokhov. This turning point makes him not only part with Helen, the embodiment of evil and falsity of the life around him, but also try to find for himself a worthy life guide, which Freemasonry becomes for him for a certain time. Pierre sincerely believes that the Freemasons are concerned about helping the suffering, but after making sure that their slogans do not correspond to real deeds, he is disappointed in Freemasonry. Like Prince Andrei, on the threshold of war, Pierre feels completely lost, he is close to complete despair. That is why he is in such a hurry to be in the thick of things and hurries to the Borodino field, where the decisive battle is to take place. A non-military person, he does not immediately understand the military significance of the upcoming battle - this is explained to him by Prince Andrei, whom Pierre accidentally meets before the Battle of Borodino. But on the other hand, Pierre feels how a single patriotic impulse embraces everyone - from ordinary soldiers, militias, to senior officers, including Andrei Bolkonsky, and surrenders to this unity entirely. He finds himself on Raevsky's battery among ordinary soldiers, and after the battle he no longer wants to part with them, he eats with soldiers from the same cauldron. Pierre's spiritual rebirth is completed by captivity and a meeting with Platon Karataev, in which he is conquered by love for the world without the slightest admixture of an egoistic feeling. Communication with Karataev gives Pierre a deeper, folk understanding of the meaning of life, based on love for people and God. Pierre discovers the secret of popular religiosity, based not on renunciation of the world, but on active love for it. The narrative in the novel is constructed in such a way that the description of the last days of the life and death of Prince Andrei echoes the spiritual turning point in Pierre, for whom the life philosophy of Platon Karataev becomes the basis of his own worldview for a long time. In Pierre, unlike Prince Andrei, love for life wins, which is realized in his love and happiness with Natasha Rostova.

Natasha is a special heroine of the novel, his "living life", according to the author. That is why she does not need, like Prince Andrei and Pierre, to think about the meaning of life, to comprehend it with her mind - she lives by it, knows it with her heart, soul. It is no coincidence that Pierre says about her: “She does not deign to be smart,” because Natasha is higher and more complicated than the concepts of intelligence and stupidity. She cognizes the world holistically, as a person of art. It is no coincidence that the writer endows her with an amazing singing talent. But the main thing in it is the talent of life, feelings, intuition. It is simple and natural always, at every moment of its existence. But at the same time, the secrets of the human soul are revealed to her. "Live life", Natasha "infects" people with her optimism, inexhaustible energy, opens them a new view of the world. This is what happens with Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre. The light exuded by Natasha turns out to be capable of even saving from death - this was the case with her mother, who was killed by the news of Petya's death, but resurrected by Natasha's active love. The same need to bring love and life is manifested in Natasha even when she feels her involvement in the “common life”. It is this feeling, expressed in the words of the prayer “Let us pray to the Lord in peace!”, that helps Natasha overcome the difficult crisis in which she finds herself before the start of the war as a result of the story with Anatole. material from the site

It seems impossible that this immoral, selfish, unworthy person should be close to Natasha. But Tolstoy has repeatedly noted that it is here that the most important psychological knot of the novel is located. And not only because the heroine here receives a difficult, but important life lesson. The main thing is that in this episode the power of life itself broke out - unpredictable, irrational. It is this elemental force that brings Natasha and Anatoly closer together. After all, he is also characterized by complete looseness, not limited by any conditional framework. But if for Anatole unlimited freedom is also freedom from moral norms, then for Natasha morality is the natural side of her nature, and therefore her deepest repentance for what happened is inevitable. So in this episode of the novel, Tolstoy carries out a thought that is very important for him. He shows that not only an excess of intellect, which muffles the direct feeling of life in a person, as in Prince Andrei, is detrimental, but also an elemental life force that is not controlled by the mind. In the union of Natasha and Pierre Tolstoy is trying to find a harmonious combination of these qualities. And it is significant that Pierre, having found the truth in the depths of the people's consciousness, unites his life with Natasha, who embodies the element of people's life. She fills the essence of the heroine so naturally that the question does not even arise of whether this “countess” belongs to the nation, the people, or not. Evidence of this is the scene of hunting and dancing in the village house of a relative of the Rostovs: “Where, how, when she sucked herself in from that Russian air that she breathed, this countess, brought up by a French emigrant, this spirit, where did she take she these tricks? ... But these spirits and methods were the same, not imitated, not studied, Russian, which her uncle expected from her. She knew how to understand everything that was in Anisya, and in Anisya's father, and in her aunt, and in her mother, and in every Russian person. And Natasha retains the same understanding of the deep foundations of life, becoming a married lady, the mother of a family, the wife of Pierre.

In the epilogue, where family unions are presented that united Tolstoy's favorite heroes, we see how the opposites of honey are removed by spouses, in communication between them, the personalities of each of them are mutually complemented. Such are the families of Maria Bolkonskaya and Nikolai Rostov, Pierre and Natasha. In the epilogue, Natasha seemed to many of Tolstoy's contemporaries to have fallen, having lost her charm, her connection with living life. But this is not so: the writer simply demonstrates the operation of the immutable “law of honor flow” he has deduced. Natasha - the ideal embodiment of femininity - remains true to herself in adulthood. All the natural riches of her nature, all the fullness of her life-loving being do not disappear, but, as it were, "flow" into another form - into motherhood and the family. As a wife and mother, Natasha is still beautiful.

This is the end of the search for Tolstoy's heroes: they come to the original truths and values - this is love, family, friendship. Unity with the people, in which these natural foundations of life always remain, helped them to know them. But life goes on, a new generation appears - the children of Tolstoy's heroes - who again have to solve the same problems. It is to them, to his contemporaries and subsequent generations, that Tolstoy addresses himself, urging him to open for himself the ways of searching for truth and goodness in the new conditions. According to Dostoevsky, "War and Peace" is "a magnificent historical picture that will pass into posterity and without which posterity will not do."

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Figurative system of the novel "War and Peace" by Tolstoy

Two criteria are considered primary for characterizing Tolstoy's images:

Relationships with the motherland and native people.

The morale of the heroes, i.e. spiritual life or spiritual death.

The novel begins with an image of a secular society - the salon of Anna Pavlovna Sherer, in which lies and hypocrisy reign. The regulars of the salon are described satirically. The range of their interests are court gossip, intrigue, talk about money and career. The selfish life of aristocrats is embodied in the images of the Kuragins. Vasily Kuragin is trying to become the heir to Count Bezukhov, and when it becomes clear that this is impossible, he tries by hook or by crook to marry his daughter Helen, a beautiful but soulless coquette, to Pierre Bezukhov. But this is not enough for Vasily, and he decides to marry his son Anatole, a "dissolute fool", to the rich Princess Bolkonskaya. Kuragins are not able to act directly, so they achieve their goals in detours.

Ironically, Leo Tolstoy portrayed Prince Boris Drubetskoy, who, according to many, is a man of great potential. He is smart, strong-willed, active, but gradually the author reveals his cold greed. This is clearly shown when he achieves his goal - wealth, by marrying the ugly Julie Karagina.

Ironic motifs also take place in the image of Berg, the son-in-law of the Rostovs, a colonel "with Vladimir and Anna around his neck." Sitting at the headquarters, he picked up a lot of awards, and when he arrived in Moscow, he tells Count Rostov about the valor of the Russian troops. However, he is not concerned about the fate of the troops and the country, but only for personal selfish interests.

The author also debunks the state administration, satirically depicting Rostopchin, who is far from the people, and Arakchaev, who shows his loyalty to Emperor Alexander, using cruelty and violence.

The provincial nobility, close to the people, is depicted differently. The author appreciates in the Rostovs simplicity, hospitality, cheerfulness, love and respect, as well as a good attitude towards the peasants. Nikolai Rostov, having married Maria Bolkonskaya, became a master attentive to the life of ordinary people. However, Tolstoy does not embellish the cruelty of the serf economy of the landowners.

With deep sympathy, the author portrays the proud and independent Bolkonsky family. The elder Bolkonsky is stubborn, domineering, does not bow to anyone, educated and honest, but at the same time a man with a difficult fate. He raised worthy children - the son of Andrei, who is trying to find the meaning of life, and the daughter, the gentle Princess Maria, her vocation is love and self-sacrifice. Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy believes that the provincial nobility has a folk basis, therefore, in the novel, the Rostovs, Bolkonskys and Pierre Bezukhov are opposed to the capital's aristocracy and the master's bureaucracy.

In addition to the analysis of the figurative system "War and Peace" is also available:

The image of Marya Bolkonskaya in the novel "War and Peace", composition
The image of Napoleon in the novel "War and Peace"
The image of Kutuzov in the novel "War and Peace"
Comparative characteristics of the Rostovs and Bolkonskys - composition
Life quest of Natasha Rostova - composition

The diverse world of a work of art is not only difficult, but even impossible to “squeeze” into some specific framework, “sort it out”, explain it with the help of logical formulas, concepts, graphs or diagrams. The wealth of artistic content actively resists such an analysis. But it is still possible to try to discover some kind of system, on the necessary condition, of course, that it will not contradict the author's intention. What was the most important thing for Tolstoy when creating "War and Peace"? Let us open the beginning of the third part of the second volume: “Meanwhile, the real life of people with their essential interests of health, illness, work, rest, with their own interests of thought, science, poetry, music, love, friendship, hatred, passions, went on like always, independently and outside of political affinity or enmity with Napoleon Bonaparte, and outside of all possible transformations. As you can see, the most important thing for a writer is real life, understood as a powerful and indomitable element that opposes any phenomena, events established by laws, if they do not coincide with the interests of ordinary, ordinary people. This is what the system of images in "War and Peace" is based on. There are people who live normal, natural lives. This is one world. There is another, built on other, unnatural interests (career, power, wealth, pride, etc.). This is a doomed world, devoid of movement and development, a world subject to pre-established rules, rituals, regulations, all sorts of conventions, abstract theories, a world that is basically dead. Tolstoy basically does not accept any theoretical scholasticism that is detached from real, simple, normal life. So, about General Pfule in the novel it is said that out of love for theory, he "hated all practice and did not want to know it." It is for this reason that Prince Andrei does not like Speransky with his "unshakable faith in the power of the mind." And even Sonya turns out to be a "dummy" in the end, because in her virtue there is an element of rationality, calculation. Any artificiality, a role that a person tries to play voluntarily or involuntarily, programming (as we would say today) is rejected by Tolstoy and his favorite characters. Natasha Rostova says about Dolokhov: "He has everything assigned, but I don't like it." There is an idea of two principles in life: war and peace, evil and good, death and life. And all the actors in one way or another gravitate towards one of these poles. Some choose the goal of life immediately and do not experience any hesitation - Kuragins, Berg. Others go through a long path of painful hesitations, mistakes, searches, but in the end they "wash" to one of the two shores. It was not so easy, for example, for Boris Drubetsky to overcome himself, his normal human feelings, before he decided to propose to the rich Julie, whom he not only does not love, but, it seems, cannot stand at all. The system of images in the novel is based on a fairly clear and consistent antithesis (opposition) of nationality and anti-nationality (or pseudo-nationality), natural and artificial, humane and inhuman, and finally, "Kutuzov" and "Napoleonic". Kutuzov and Napoleon form two peculiar moral poles in the novel, to which various characters gravitate or repel. As for Tolstoy's favorite heroes, they are just shown in the process of constant change, overcoming isolation and selfish one-sidedness. They are on the road, on the way, and this alone makes them dear and close to the author.

“Gobsek rejected him like a feather and opened the doors. What a sight before us! The room was in a terrible mess. The Countess stood motionless, disheveled, and on her face was an expression of despair. Caught unexpectedly, she looked at us with burning eyes in confusion, and all kinds of rubbish, papers, clothes of the deceased, rags were scattered around her. It was terrible to see this chaos around the deceased. As soon as the earl died, his wife broke all the drawers in the desk, the carpet around her was covered with pieces of torn letters; the chest was broken, the briefcases were cut open - her impudent hands were prowling everywhere. Perhaps at first her search was in vain, but now her appearance and excitement testified that she, after all, had found the secret papers.

IV. Formation of skills and abilities

Group IV characterizes those heroes whom they would single out yet (except for those mentioned).

I know, dear, kind princess, - said Anna Mikhailovna, clutching her briefcase with her hand and so tightly that it was clear that she would not let him go soon ... The princess was silent. All that could be heard was the sound of a struggle for the portfolio. It was evident that when she spoke, she would speak disappointingly for Anna Mikhailovna.

Materials for group work and expected results

III. Updating of basic knowledge

Target: to help students understand the complexity of the system of characters in the novel as carriers of certain ideas and full-fledged, artistically completed images; develop skills to characterize images, compare them, determine their role in a work, express their thoughts and prove them; to cultivate respect for universal moral and ethical standards, the desire for self-improvement.

Why are you silent, my cousin? the princess suddenly shouted so loudly that her voice was heard and frightened in the living room. “Why are you silent when no one knows here who allows himself to interfere and make scenes on the threshold of the dying man’s room? Schemer! she hissed fiercely and grabbed the briefcase with all her strength, but Anna Mikhailovna took a few steps to keep up with the briefcase and grabbed her hand.

The beginning of the third part of the second volume: “Life meanwhile, the real life of people with their essential interests of health, illness, work, recreation, with their own interests of thought, science, poetry, music, love, friendship, hatred, passions, went on as always , independently and beyond political affinity or enmity with Napoleon Bonaparte, and beyond all possible transformations.
As you can see, the most important thing for a writer is real life, understood as a powerful and indomitable element that opposes any phenomena, events established by laws, if they do not coincide with the interests of ordinary, ordinary people. This is what the system of images in “War and Peace” is based on.
There are people who live normal, natural lives. This is one world. There is another, built on other, unnatural interests (career, power, wealth, pride, etc.). This is a doomed world, devoid of movement and development, a world subject to pre-established rules, rituals, regulations, all sorts of conventions, abstract theories, a world that is basically dead.
Tolstoy basically does not accept any theoretical scholasticism that is detached from real, simple, normal life. So, about General Pfule in the novel it is said that out of love for theory “he hated all practice and did not want to know it.” It is for this reason that Prince Andrei does not like Speransky with his "unshakable faith in the power of the mind." And even Sonya turns out to be a “dummy” in the end, because in her virtue there is an element of rationality, calculation. Any artificiality, a role that a person tries to play voluntarily or involuntarily, programming (as we would say today) is rejected by Tolstoy and his favorite characters. Natasha Rostova says about Dolokhov: “He has everything assigned, but I don’t like it.” There is an idea of two principles in life: war and peace, evil and good, death and life. And all the actors in one way or another gravitate towards one of these poles. Some choose the goal of life immediately and do not experience any hesitation - Kuragins, Berg. Others go through a long path of painful hesitation, mistakes, searches, but in the end they “wash” to one of the two shores. It was not so easy, for example, for Boris Drubetsky to overcome himself, his normal human feelings, before he decided to propose to the rich Julie, whom he not only does not love, but, it seems, cannot stand at all.
The system of images in the novel is based on a fairly clear and consistent antithesis (opposition) of nationality and anti-nationality (or pseudo-nationality), natural and artificial, humane and inhuman, and finally, “Kutuz” and “Napoleonic”.
Kutuzov and Napoleon form two peculiar moral poles in the novel, to which various characters gravitate or repel. As for Tolstoy's favorite heroes, they are just shown in the process of constant change, overcoming isolation and selfish one-sidedness. They are on the road, on the way, and this alone makes them dear and close to the author.

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One of the most striking features of Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" is the deep psychologism and the author's attention to the feelings and thoughts of the characters. The life process itself becomes the main theme of his ...
From the very beginning of the story, all the thoughts of Anna Mikhailovna and her son are directed towards one goal - the arrangement of their material well-being. Anna Mikhailovna, for the sake of this, does not shun humiliating begging, nor ...
Natasha Rostova and Andrei Bolkonsky are the main characters of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel "War and Peace". It is on the life quests of Andrei Bolkonsky, as well as Pierre Bezukhov, that the storyline of this ...
From the epilogue of the novel we cannot learn anything about Nekhlyudov's future. “His business with Katyusha was over. She did not need him, and he was both sad and ashamed ....
Antithesis (opposition) is one of the most commonly used techniques used to reveal images in a work of art. The essence of antithesis as a trope is the juxtaposition of opposites, concepts or images antagonistic to each other....
In the novel by L. N. Tolstoy, the life of several families is described: the Rostovs, Bolkonskys, Kuragins, Bergs, and in the epilogue also the families of the Bezukhovs (Pierre and Natasha) and the Rostovs (Nikolai Rostov and Marya Bolkonskaya) ....
The principle of antithesis can be defined as the most important artistic principle of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace. It is one of the ways to embody the philosophy of history, the description of which was the most significant task for...
Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" is, according to famous writers and critics, "the greatest novel in the world." “War and Peace” is an epic novel that tells about significant and grandiose events...
Pierre Bezukhoye is one of Tolstoy's favorite characters. His life is a path of discoveries and disappointments, a path of crisis and in many ways dramatic. Pierre is an emotional person. He is distinguished by a mind inclined ... Without my Yasnaya Polyana, I can hardly imagine Russia and my attitude towards it. Without Yasnaya Polyana, I may perhaps see more clearly the general laws necessary for my fatherland, but...
The story of L. N. Tolstoy “After the Ball” develops the theme of “tearing off all kinds of masks” from the carefree, washed, festive life of some, contrasting it with lawlessness, oppression of others. But at the same time, the writer makes ...