How did Tolstoy portray Bolkonsky's feat? Andrey Bolkonsky in the battles of Shengraben and Austerlitz How Prince Andrey's idea of heroism is changing.
Composition
on the topic of: Andrei Bolkonsky in the Shengraben and Austerlitz battles
bolkonsky austerlitsky battle war
Andrei Bolkonsky - one of the main characters of the novel by L. N. Tolstoy war world . "...Small in stature, a very handsome young man with definite and dry features." We meet him in the first pages of the novel. A man who is bored with stupid high society and a pretty wife, he craves such a feat, which is necessary for a military man . Bolkonsky decided that war was the place where he could prove himself. Napoleon was his idol. Bolkonsky, like most young people of that time, also wanted to become famous.
The Battle of Shengraben is one of the key moments in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace . Hungry, shoeless, exhausted soldiers had to stop the army of the enemy, much stronger than they were. Knowing from Kutuzov that Bagration's detachment has not much chance of surviving, Andrei Bolkonsky begs the great commander to allow him to participate in this battle. Prince Andrei, who was constantly with the commander-in-chief, even when he got to the front line, continued to think in large categories, presenting the course of events in the most general terms. But the French opened fire, the battle began. Began! Here it is! But where? How will my Toulon be expressed? thought Prince Andrei. But everything did not happen at all as it seemed to Prince Andrei, as it was taught and said in theory. The soldiers either huddle together and run, then they counterattack, and the enemy is already forced to retreat. And the general gave almost no orders, although he pretended that everything was happening according to his intentions . However, the very fact of his presence, the calm manner of speaking worked wonders, raising the spirits of commanders and soldiers. Andrei watched as, returning from the battlefield, many go on about their exploits. The true hero of the Shengraben battle is Captain Tushin. It was his battery that stopped the French, made it possible for theirs to retreat, and not be completely defeated. They forgot about him, the guns were left without cover. In fact, Andrei was the only one of the staff officers who was not afraid to deliver the order to retreat to the battery and who, under intense fire, helped to withdraw the surviving guns and artillerymen. The true hero remained invaluable. And this incident began to destroy the dreams and ideas of Bolkonsky. Tolstoy shows that simple and inconspicuous warriors, such as company commander Timokhin and captain Tushin, played the main role in this battle. Not numerical superiority, not the strategic plans of wise commanders, but the enthusiasm and fearlessness of the company commander, who dragged along the soldiers, influenced the course of the battle. Bolkonsky could not fail to notice this.
The battle of Austerlitz, as Prince Andrei believed, was a chance to find his dream. It is in this battle that he will be able to accomplish, albeit a small, but feat. Even Napoleon noticed and appreciated his heroic deed. During the retreat, the prince grabs the banner and, by his example, induces the battalion to rush to the attack. Here it is! thought the prince. He ran shouting "Hurrah!" and never doubted for a moment that the whole regiment would run after him. Andrei barely held the banner and simply dragged it by the pole, shouting piercingly as a child: Guys, go ahead! On the field of Austerlitz, Andrei Bolkonsky is undergoing a reassessment of values. Seriously wounded, he lay and looked at the endless sky. What seemed to him beautiful and sublime turned out to be empty and vain. And Napoleon himself, his hero, now seemed "a small and insignificant person," and his words were nothing more than the buzzing of a fly.
The Battle of Shengraben undoubtedly played a positive role in the life of Prince Andrei. Thanks to Tushin, Bolkonsky changes his view of the war. It turns out that war is not a means of achieving a career, but dirty, hard work, where an anti-human deed is performed. The final realization of this comes to Prince Andrei on the field of Austerlitz. After these fights, and most importantly after being wounded, Andrei changes his outlook on life. He understands that the outcome of the battle does not depend on the feat of one person, but on the feat of the people.
Each of Tolstoy's heroes has his own way of searching - often difficult, painful, contradictory. This also applies to the hero of "War and Peace" Andrei Bolkonsky.
Let's start talking about Prince Andrei with the question: have you ever wondered why he is inactive during the Battle of Borodino? In the battle of Austerlitz, he accomplishes a real feat: one, with a banner in his hands, runs forward, hoping to captivate the retreating soldiers with his example. However, according to the deep conviction of the writer, that war was completely unnecessary for Russia, the feat of Andrei was meaningless. But the Battle of Borodino had a completely different meaning. The fate of Russia was decided there. That's when Prince Andrei needs to accomplish a feat! Nothing like this actually happens. Why?
Andrei Bolkonsky adopted a rationalistic type of consciousness from his father. It is no accident that the old Prince Bolkonsky torments his daughter Marya with geometry and laughs at her religious views. He is a follower of the ideas of the 18th century. (Centuries of Enlightenment). It must be assumed that this explains a lot in Andrey - a certain dryness, the desire to live by the mind, and not by feelings.
In the first half of the novel, Andrei Bolkonsky combines contempt for aristocratic society with an ambitious desire for personal fame. He is ready to give everything in the world "for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for people's love for themselves." That is why Prince Andrei even feels jealous of Napoleon. Thus, from the very beginning of "War and Peace" the "Napoleonic theme" arises in its relation to the destinies of the main characters.
The hero of the novel is convinced that historical events may well obey the will of one person. Having learned during the war of 1805 about the hopeless situation of the Russian army, Andrei dreams of how “he will give an opinion at the military council that alone will save the army, and how he alone will be entrusted with the execution of this plan.”
The courage of Captain Tushin and his soldiers for the first time made the arrogant Prince Andrei imbued with respect for people who committed truly heroic deeds, not at all thinking about glory or feats. And yet, the desire to glorify himself, to compare with Napoleon does not leave Andrei Bol-konsky. That is the only reason why he accomplishes his feat at Austerlitz.
However, when he, seriously wounded, lay on the field of Austerlitz, the light of the eternal, unchanging, high sky helped him realize that everything he had dreamed about before - empty and deception, everything turned out to be insignificant compared to this endless sky. Even Napoleon, a recent idol, now seems to him small and insignificant, and the pompously beautiful phrases of the French emperor - false and inappropriate.
An ideological crisis leads Andrey to disappointment in his ambitious plans and even to disappointment in life in general. He will have to go through a lot until he finds his way.
This state of depression, pessimism, caused by the collapse of hopes, the death of his wife, is violated by Pierre Bezukhov. Pierre at that time was fond of Freemasonry, which he understood as "the teaching of Christianity, freed from state and religious shackles." He says to his friend: earth, it is on this earth (Pierre pointed to the field) that there is no truth - everything is a lie and evil; but in the world, in the whole world there is a realm of truth, and we are now children of the earth, and forever children of the whole world ... We must live, we must love, we must believe ... that we do not live today only on this piece of earth, but lived and will live forever there, in everything (he pointed to the sky).
These words struck Prince Andrei: “... for the first time after Austerlitz, he saw that high, eternal sky ... and something long asleep, something better that was in him, suddenly woke up joyfully and young in his soul ".
Thus, Andrey's meeting with Natasha was psychologically prepared, which brought him back to the fullness of the feeling of living life. And ahead of him is disappointment in civic activities, burning pain from Natasha's betrayal ... In a state of gloomy depression, he meets the Patriotic War. But it is precisely now that participation in the great universal cause helps it to truly be reborn.
Andrei Bolkonsky perceives the war with Napoleon as a nationwide, and not just his personal tragedy: the personal organically and naturally merges with the historical and folk. He finally overcomes the false idea of a lone hero, comes to a decisive condemnation of the "Napoleonic idea", to comprehend the spirit of the Russian people, people's truth, people's understanding of historical events.
Impressed by a conversation with Kutuzov on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, having fully accepted his views, Bolkonsky tells Pierre: material from the site
“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.
- And from what?
“From the feeling that is in me, in him,” he pointed to Timokhin, “in every soldier.”
Now, on the Borodino field, Prince Andrei no longer thinks that he alone is able to decide the fate of the battle. In full accordance with the author's understanding of the laws of war, he feels (just like Kutuzov) only a part of that huge force that is destined to defeat the enemy. “He had nothing to do and order,” the novel says about the behavior of regimental commander Andrei Bolkonsky during the Battle of Borodino. “Everything was done by itself.” As you can see, the outward inaction of Prince Andrey is a manifestation of that higher wisdom that he acquired as a result of many life tests, as a result of understanding the great truth of Kutu-zov, but by no means Napoleon. The quest of Andrei Bolkonsky in the period from Austerlitz to Borodin is his path from Napoleon to Kutuzov.
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On this page, material on the topics:
- Andrew's dreams on the eve of the battle of Austerlitz
- why Bolkonsky remains to live after Austerlitz
- the sky of Austerlitz in the fate of Andrei Bolkonsky
- Bolkonsky on the Borodin field + quotes
- andrey bolkonsky overcomes the crisis
Goals and objectives of the lesson: to identify the ideological and artistic features of the image of the Battle of Austerlitz as the compositional center of the entire war of 1805-1807; to realize the role of Andrei Bolkonsky in this episode; be able to answer questions; build monologue speech; contribute to the development of patriotism.
Lesson form: group.
Features of the lesson: a differentiated approach.
Equipment: text of 1 volume of the novel "War and Peace", cards with questions, illustrations, computer, DVD.
During the classes.
- Repetition of the material covered. Questions session.
What are the causes of the war of 1805-1807? How does Tolstoy feel about this war? How did Timokhin's company and Tushin's battery prove themselves in the battle of Shengraben? What is cowardice and heroism? With what thoughts did Andrei B. leave for the war? What feelings did he experience while participating in this war?
Teacher. Summing up all that has been said, we conclude: the Russian government entered the war out of fear of the spread of revolutionary ideas and the desire to prevent Napoleon's aggressive policy. Tolstoy has a negative attitude towards war. She is cruel and senseless. After all, all people are brothers. But even here the soldiers showed miracles of heroism. Timokhin's company, in conditions of confusion, "one in the forest resisted and attacked the French." In the hottest area, in the center of the battle, Tushin's battery fought. Andrei Bolkonsky goes to war in order to accomplish a military feat, to win glory. At the initial stage of the war, he understands that heroes are not necessarily people of officer rank, but ordinary soldiers. He saw that a feat in the war is a common thing.
Yes, Prince Andrei went to war for feat and glory. Let's see if he managed to do it?
We are divided into three groups. Each group is given tasks and questions on cards.
Question: During the development of the disposition (plan of action) Kutuzov openly sleeps. Why?
The students are trying to find the answer. Because in any, even the most carefully developed plan, different circumstances can interfere. And any outcome of the case is decided by people. You can't predict how they will behave.
(Students from group 1 read an excerpt about the beginning of the battle)
Question: What happened? What accident has invaded the disposition?
Fog was not included.
Question: How did the soldiers behave when they saw the French in front of them? And the panic began.
Question: How else can one explain the flight of the soldiers?
The absence of a moral incentive for waging war, the foreignness of its goals for the people.
Question: How does Kutuzov behave in the decisive moments of the battle?
He is in the thick of the crowd of his soldiers. He does not try to escape from it, painfully trying to understand what is happening.
Question: How did Tolstoy reveal Kutuzov's state of mind?
Kutuzov is completely powerless before the flight of his soldiers, he is tormented by what he sees. He calls for help to Andrei Bolkonsky. He is ashamed and sad.
What is Prince Andrew doing?
(Students 2-1 gr. Read out an excerpt from the behavior of Prince Andrei in battle.)
Questions: What did Andrey B. feel when he saw the soldiers flee from the battlefield?
What prompted Prince Andrei to grab the banner and run forward?
What does Andrei B. see and hear when he runs against the enemy with a banner in his hands?
Prince Andrei was obsessed with one thought: we must stop this shame, stop the flight. Before Austerlitz, he thinks only about his feat. And then everything happened as he imagined: he happened to “go ahead of the troops” with a banner in his hands, and the whole battalion ran after him. He hears only the whistle of bullets and sees the banner dragging along the ground. Prince Andrei did not feel the beauty of the feat.
Question: Why is this feat not poetized in the novel?
This is a glorious feat worthy of the honor of a Russian officer. But for Tolstoy, the inner essence of a feat is important. After all, Napoleon can also go ahead of his troops. This inner essence of the feat of Andrei Bolkonsky is the reason why the feat is not poetized.
(Students in group 3 read out the final passage of the chapter).
Questions: How did Andrei B. feel about Napoleon before the war?
Why does Napoleon now seem small and insignificant to the wounded Prince Andrei?
Previously, Prince Andrei considered Napoleon a hero. And now he saw his true nature, learned how he got his glory by walking over the corpses of his soldiers. Andrei Bolkonsky was disappointed in Napoleon. Napoleon introduced himself to him as "a small, insignificant little man", "with an indifferent, limited and happy look from the misfortune of others."
What did Prince Andrei discover for himself, looking at the high sky?
What is the meaning of the "high sky" image in this episode?
In this image of the sky there is greatness, infinity of aspiration, coldness. The sky is absolute, fair, Prince Andrei is looking for justice and perfection in life. Life shouldn't be confusing. Prince Andrei sees the sky, looking over human life.
Question: What was Austerlitz for Prince Andrei and for Russia?
Austerlitz brought Prince Andrei the discovery of a new world, a new meaning of life. He wished that people would "help him and bring him back to life, which seemed to him so beautiful, because he understood it differently now." The world opened up to Andrei Bolkonsky in another dimension, where ambitious dreams, fame, honors - everything was insignificant compared to the endless sky.
Austerlitz became an era of shame and shame for Russia. Terrible, like any war, by the destruction of human life, this war, according to Tolstoy, did not have at least an explanation for its inevitability, started for the ambitious interests of the court circles, it was incomprehensible and not needed by the people. Therefore, it ended with Austerlitz. But the Russian army could be courageous and heroic when the goals of the battle were clear to it.
Homework. Choice:
- Write a mini essay “What, according to Tolstoy, is the inner essence of any human act, including heroic?”;
- Make a chapter plan;
- Draw up OSK "Austerlitz";
- Illustrate the chapter.
The page contains a snippet.
Correcting the now previously created part about Austerlitz, Tolstoy dealt with Bolkonsky a lot, especially in the last episode: the wounded Prince Andrei on the Field of Austerlitz. Concise notes appeared, as always explaining a lot: “Prince Andrei hears, the battle is lost everywhere. He thinks: I did everything that depended on me, and yet nothing. Another: “Prince Andrei lies on the field of Austerlitz, suffers, sees the suffering of others, and then suddenly he sees the calm, triumphant face of Napoleon, he holds back the pain in order to despise it.” The following shows Bolkonsky's new attitude towards Napoleon: "Bonaparte is a hero, but he hates him." Prince Andrei saw that "Bonaparte with his chin is not a man," that there is "no life" in him, but he is a "machine." And finally, the main thought that permeated the last scene: “He saw a high, indifferent sky, and the structure of thought was consistent with the sky. Napoleon looked small."
After the Battle of Shengraben, Prince Andrei felt that he could "find meaning and thought in these crowds." The first month in the war, meetings with the highest circle of the army and the approach of the ordinary army were an important stage in the life of Prince Andrei. The feat of Bolkonsky on the Austerlitz field has now become the logical conclusion of the impressions and thoughts that preceded him. During this period, many of his views on military affairs and, most importantly, on the role of the people in the war, changed.
The thoughts captured in the abstract are developed in the last chapter, dedicated to Prince Andrei in the war of 1805. According to the first version of the scene on the field of Austerlitz, the only thing that was imprinted in the mind of Prince Andrei when he fell, wounded, was "a limited patch of stubble with crumpled straw." Such an image, which creates the impression of hopelessness and limits the event to the theme of physical death, was replaced by Tolstoy with the sky. In the corrected text we read: "And suddenly there is nothing but the sky - a high sky with gray clouds crawling over it - nothing but a high sky."
An essay on the theme "War in the World of Prince Adrey Bolkonsky", written based on the work of Leo Tolstoy "War and Peace". The essay describes the change in Andrei's attitude to the war in the course of the events of the work.
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War in the world of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky
At the beginning of the novel, Prince Andrei had a positive attitude towards the war. He needs war in order to achieve his goals: to accomplish a feat, to become famous: “There I will be sent,” he thought, “with a brigade or division, and there, with a banner in my hand, I will go forward and break everything that will be in front of me". For Bolkonsky, Napoleon was an idol. Andrei did not like the fact that Napoleon was already commander-in-chief at the age of twenty-seven, and he, at this age, was only an adjutant.
In September, the prince goes to war. It pleased him to think of leaving. Even when he said goodbye to Marya, he was already thinking about the war. When Andrei arrived at the front, he met two staff officers: Nesvitsky and Zhirkov. From the very acquaintance, the relationship between them “did not work out”, since Nesvitsky and Zhirkov were very different from Andrei. They were stupid, cowardly, while Bolkonsky was distinguished by intelligence and courage. These differences emerged when the officers met with General Mack. The staff officers laughed at the defeat of the Austrian army, and Andrei was very dissatisfied: “... we are either officers who serve the tsar and the fatherland and rejoice in our common success and grieve over our common failure, or we are lackeys who do not care about the master's business. Forty thousand people died, and the army allied to us was destroyed, and you can joke about it. Courage is shown in the episode when the prince asks Kutuzov to stay in Bagration's detachment, while Nesvitsky, on the contrary, does not want to participate in the battle and retreats to the rear.
At the battle of Shengraben, Prince Bolkonsky demonstrated not only courage, but also courage. He dared to go to Tushin's battery. And it is here that Andrei sees the courage shown by Tushin's gunners. After the battle, he was the only one who stood up for the captain before Bagration, although Andrei does not like that Tushin cannot recognize his merit, his feat and tries not to mention him.
After the Shengraben battle, Bolkonsky participates in another battle - Austerlitz. Here he manages to accomplish a feat: during the retreat of the battalion, he picks up the banner and, by his example, encourages the soldiers to return and rush to the attack: “As if from the whole swing with a strong stick, one of the nearest soldiers, as it seemed to him, hit him in the head.” After being wounded, Andrey sees the sky and admires it: “... How could I not see this high sky? And how happy that I finally recognized him ... there is nothing but silence, calmness. And thank God". During this battle, he is disappointed in Napoleon - he seems to him "a small, insignificant person." Andrei realized that life is more important than anything, even exploits and glory. He realized that war is not a means to a brilliant career, but dirty, hard work. The Battle of Austerlitz forces him to reconsider his priorities - now he values his family above all else. And, after captivity, he returns home to the Bald Mountains, where he finds the death of his wife: Lisa dies in childbirth. The prince feels guilty before the little princess and understands that he cannot atone for this guilt. After these events - the Austerlitz campaign, the death of his wife and the birth of his son - Prince Andrei "firmly decided never to serve in military service again."
When the Patriotic War began, Prince Bolkonsky goes to the army at will, but he goes there not for Toulon, but because of revenge. Andrei was offered service in the emperor's retinue, but he refused, because only by serving in the army would he be useful in the war. Before Borodino, the prince told Pierre the reason for his return to the army: “The French have ruined my house and are going to ruin Moscow, insulted and insult me every second. They are my enemies, they are all criminals, according to my concepts.
After Andrei was appointed commander of the regiment, he “was completely devoted to the affairs of his regiment, he was caring for his people and officers and affectionate with them. In the regiment he was called "our prince." They were proud and loved."
On the eve of the battle, Bolkonsky was confident in the victory of the Russian regiments, he believed in the soldiers. And he said to Pierre: “We will win the battle tomorrow. Tomorrow, whatever it is, we will win the battle."
At the battle of Borodino, the regiment of Andrei Bolkonsky stood in reserve. Cannonballs often fell there, the soldiers were ordered to sit down, but the officers walked. A cannonball falls next to Andrei, but he does not lie down and he was mortally wounded by a fragment from this cannonball. He is taken to Moscow, the prince sums up his life. He understands that relationships should be built on love.
In Mytishchi, Natasha comes to him and asks for forgiveness. Andrei understands that he loves her and he spends the last days of his life with Natasha. Right now he understands what happiness is and what, in fact, is his meaning of life.
