Novel war and peace title. The meaning of the title of L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace. Contrast between battles and peaceful life

The meaning of the title of the novel "War and Peace"

At first glance, it may seem that the novel “War and Peace” is named precisely because it reflects two eras in the life of Russian society early XIX centuries: the period of the wars against Napoleon 1805-1814 and the peaceful period before and after wartime. However, the data of literary and linguistic analysis allow us to make some significant clarifications.

The fact is that, unlike the modern Russian language, in which the word “peace” is a homonymous pair and denotes, firstly, the state of society opposite to war, and, secondly, human society in general, in the Russian language of the 19th century There were two spellings of the word “peace”: “peace” - the state of absence of war and “peace” - human society, community. The title of the novel in the old spelling included precisely the form “world”. From this one could conclude that the novel is devoted primarily to the problem, which is formulated as follows: “War and Russian society" However, as researchers of Tolstoy’s work have established, the title of the novel was published not from a text written by Tolstoy himself. However, the fact that Tolstoy did not correct the spelling that was not agreed with him suggests that the writer was satisfied with both versions of the name.

In fact, if we reduce the explanation of the title to the fact that there is an alternation of parts in the novel, dedicated to the war, with parts devoted to depicting peaceful life, many additional questions arise. For example, can a depiction of life behind enemy lines be considered a direct depiction of the state of the world? Or would it not be correct to call the endless strife that accompanies the course of life war? noble society?

However, such an explanation cannot be neglected. Tolstoy actually connects the title of the novel with the word “peace” in the meaning of “the absence of war, strife and hostility between people.” Evidence of this is the episodes in which the theme of condemnation of war is heard, the dream of a peaceful life for people is expressed, such as, for example, the scene of the murder of Petya Rostov.

On the other hand, the word “world” in the work clearly means “society”. Using the example of several families, the novel shows the life of all of Russia during that difficult period for it. In addition, Tolstoy describes in detail the life of the most diverse layers of Russian society: peasants, soldiers, patriarchal nobility (the Rostov family), high-born Russian aristocrats (the Bolkonsky family) and many others.

The range of problems in the novel is very wide. It reveals the reasons for the failures of the Russian army in the campaigns of 1805-1807; using the example of Kutuzov and Napoleon, the role of individuals in military events and in the historical process in general is shown; the great role of the Russian people, who decided the outcome of the Patriotic War of 1812, is revealed, etc. This also, of course, allows us to talk about the “social” meaning of the title of the novel.

We should not forget that the word “peace” in the 19th century was also used to designate a patriarchal-peasant society. Tolstoy probably took this meaning into account as well.

And finally, the world for Tolstoy is a synonym for the word “universe,” and it is no coincidence that the novel contains a large number of discussions of a general philosophical plan.

Thus, the concepts of “world” and “mir” in the novel merge into one. This is why the word “peace” in the novel takes on an almost symbolic meaning.

"War and Peace". This title of Tolstoy's great epic seems to us, readers, the only possible one. But the original title of the work was different: “All’s well that ends well.” And at first glance, this title successfully emphasizes the course of the war of 1812 - great victory Russian people in the fight against the Napoleonic invasion.

Why was the writer not satisfied with this name? Probably because his plan was much broader and deeper than just a story about Patriotic War 1812. Tolstoy wanted to present the life of an entire era in all its diversity, contradictions and struggles, and he brilliantly accomplished this task. The new title of the epic novel is as large-scale and multi-valued as this work itself, like all human life. Indeed, what is Tolstoy’s great creation about? The simplest answer: about the life of Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century, about the wars of 1805-1807 and 1812, about the peaceful life of the country between these wars and how people (both fictional and historical characters) lived after them.

But this generally correct answer does not reflect the depth of Tolstoy’s thought. Really, what is war? In the usual sense, these are military actions with the aim of resolving some interstate conflicts; according to Tolstoy, “contrary to human reason and all human nature event". Peace is the absence of such actions.

But “war” also means internal contradictions between the people and the authorities, between different classes, between various groups people and individuals within the same class, even within the same family. Moreover, the “war”, that is, the internal struggle, goes on in every individual person. L. N. Tolstoy wrote about this as an indispensable condition for an honest life in his “Diary”: “To live honestly, you have to rush, get confused, fight, make mistakes, start and give up, and start again, and give up again, and forever fight and to lose. And calmness is spiritual meanness.” The concept of “peace” is even more ambiguous. This is not only the absence of war, but also harmony, concord and unity of classes, agreement (“peace”) of a person with himself and with other people. “Mir” is also a peasant community. The concept of “world” includes “real life”, as understood by great writer: “Life, meanwhile, the real life of people with their essential interests of health, illness, work, rest, with their interests of thought, science, poetry, music, love, friendship, hatred, passions, went on, as always, independently and outside the political closeness or enmity with Napoleon Bonaparte and beyond all possible transformations." So, “War and Peace” is a book about good and evil, about birth and death, about love and hate, about joy and sorrow, about happiness and suffering, about youth and old age, about honor, nobility and dishonor, about hopes and disappointments, losses and searches. This book covers everything that a person lives by, from the most insignificant personal events to the unprecedented unity of people in an hour of common misfortune, the common struggle of the people.

The life that Tolstoy paints is very rich. The episodes, whether they relate to “war” or “peace,” are very different, but each expresses the deep, inner meaning of life, the struggle of opposite principles in it. Internal contradictions are a prerequisite for the movement of the life of an individual and humanity as a whole. Moreover, “war” and “peace” do not exist separately, autonomously, independently of each other (Tolstoy himself refutes his definition of “ real life", showing how war destroys habitual relationships, connections, interests and becomes the basis of existence). One event is connected to another: it follows from another and in turn entails the next.

Here's one example. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky goes to war because life in high society not for him. The prince, a man of honor, behaves with dignity in battle and is not looking for a warm place. Dreaming of glory, “human love,” he accomplishes a feat, but realizes that glory cannot and should not be the meaning of a real person’s life. Internal conflict leads to the deepest spiritual crisis. The war of 1805-1807 ended, but there was no peace in his soul. It's amazing how one matches storyline, the “search for thought” of one hero is the name of the entire epic. And what efforts did it take to find “peace” from Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova - Tolstoy’s favorite heroes, whom he leads through the cleansing crucible of the War of 1812.

With amazing power, the depth of the title of the novel “War and Peace” is revealed in Volume III, dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812, when the entire “world” (people) realized the impossibility of surrendering to the mercy of the invaders. The defenders of Moscow “want to attack the whole people, they want to make one end.” The unanimity of Kutuzov, Prince Andrei, Pierre, Timokhin and the entire Russian army, the entire ... “world” determined the outcome of the war, because national unity was created, the peace of the twelfth year ....

The title “War and Peace” is also brilliant because it contains a contrast that became the main principle of constructing the epic: Kutuzov - Napoleon; Rostov, Bolkonsky - Kuragin and at the same time Rostov - Bolkonsky; N. Rostova - Princess Marya, Borodin's field before and after the battle, Pierre before and after the events of 1812 ... In the epilogue of the novel the principle of contrast is the main compositional technique“War and Peace” is emphasized by an episode of a dispute between Pierre Bezukhov, the future Decembrist, and the unreasoning, “law-abiding” N. Rostov. In this the most important episode“vicious people” are directly opposed to “honest people.”

War and peace are eternal concepts, even if there is no military action. That is why Tolstoy’s novel “rises to the highest peaks of human thoughts and feelings, to peaks usually inaccessible to people” (N. N. Strakhov). There are no more such books and no such brilliant titles.

Krinitsyn A.B.

So, now we are closer to understanding the general philosophical meaning of the novel. Let's try to draw final conclusions about what Tolstoy understood by war and peace. These are two philosophical categories that explain the principle of the existence of life on earth, two models of the development of human history.

War in the novel is not only fighting two powers, but also any conflict, any hostile confrontation, even between individuals, not necessarily leading to death. War sometimes emanates from the seemingly peaceful scenes of the novel. Let's remember the struggle between Prince Vasily and Drubetskaya, the duel between Bezukhov and Dolokhov, Pierre's furious quarrels with Helen and Anatole, constant conflicts in the Bolkonsky family, and even in the Rostov family, when Natasha, secretly from her relatives, wants to run away with Anatole, or when her mother forces Sonya to abandon the marriage with Nikolai. Taking a closer look at the participants in these clashes, we will notice that the most frequent participants or culprits are Kuragins. Where they are, there is always war, generated by vanity, pride and low selfish interests. Dolokhov also belongs to the world of war, who clearly takes pleasure in tormenting and killing (sometimes “as if bored with daily life,” he “felt the need to get out of it with some strange, mostly cruel act,” as in the case of the policeman, whom for fun he tied his back to the bear, with Pierre or Rostov). Dolokhov feels in his element in a real war, where, thanks to his fearlessness, intelligence and cruelty, he quickly advances to command positions. So, by the end of the War of 1812 we find him already at the head partisan detachment.

The very embodiment of war and the military element in the novel is Napoleon, who at the same time embodies a personal principle. Napoleon illuminated the entire 19th century with the brilliance of his glory and the charm of his personality (remember that Dostoevsky made him the idol of Raskolnikov, a representative younger generation already in the 60s), during his lifetime Napoleon was a thunderstorm, a fiend of hell or an object of servile worship throughout Europe. His figure turned out to be symbolic for everything European romanticism with his cult of a strong and free personality. Already Pushkin saw in “Napoleonism” a whole social phenomenon, noting as if in passing in “Eugene Onegin”: “We all look at Napoleons, millions of two-legged creatures are one weapon for us.” Thus, Pushkin was the first in Russian literature to begin rethinking the image of Napoleon, pointing out the terrible trait underlying the personality of the dictator - monstrous selfishness and unprincipledness, thanks to which Napoleon achieved exaltation, not disdaining any means (“We honor everyone as zeros, and ourselves as ones” ). It is known that one of his decisive steps on the path to power was the suppression of the anti-republican uprising in Paris, when he shot the rebellious crowd from cannons and drowned them in blood, the first in history to use grapeshot on the streets of the city.

Tolstoy uses all kinds of arguments and artistic media to debunk Napoleon. The novelist faced a very difficult task: to portray the famous hero as an insignificant vulgar, a man of the sharpest mind as stupid (there were legends about the quick thinking, efficiency and phenomenal memory of Napoleon, who remembered the face of almost every officer of his army), and finally, to show by example greatest commander of all times and peoples, who won countless victories and conquered all of Europe - the impossibility of an individual to influence the course of history and - moreover - the illusory convention of military leadership as such. He calls Napoleon “complacent and narrow-minded” and describes him in such a way as to lower his image, to make us physically disgusted with him: “His entire plump, short figure with broad, thick shoulders and an involuntarily protruding belly and chest had that representative, dignified appearance , which forty-year-old people living in the hall have.” Elsewhere, Tolstoy shows the emperor at his morning toilet, describing in detail how he, “snorting and grunting, turned first with his thick back, then with his overgrown fat chest under the brush with which the valet rubbed his body.” Napoleon is surrounded by helpful servants and flattering courtiers. Feeling like the main character of the story, he takes false poses, showing off in front of others, and lives an exclusively invented, “external” life, without noticing it. According to Tolstoy, a person who is capable of sacrificing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people to his own lust for power and vanity cannot understand the essence of life, because his “mind and conscience are darkened”: “Never, until the end of his life, could he understand either goodness or beauty, no truth, no meaning of his actions, which were too opposite to goodness and truth, too far from everything human for him to understand their meaning.” Napoleon is fenced off from the world, because he is occupied only with himself: “It was clear that only what was happening in his soul was of interest to him. Everything that was outside of him did not matter to him, because everything in the world, as it seemed to him, depended only on his will.” But this is precisely what Tolstoy is ready to argue decisively and to the end: in his opinion, Napoleon’s power over other people (millions of people!) is imaginary, existing only in his imagination. Napoleon imagined himself as a chess player, playing a game on the map of Europe, reshaping it at his discretion. In fact, according to the author, he himself is a toy in the hands of history, called to power precisely by those historical events which seem to him to occur according to his free will. According to the author, who inexorably “rips off the masks” from his heroes, Napoleon has long, unknown to himself, been engaged in self-deception: “And he was again transported to his former artificial world of ghosts of some greatness, and again he obediently began to fulfill that cruel, sad and the difficult, inhuman role that was destined for him.” But for Tolstoy, “there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.” Napoleon “imagined that by his will there was a war with Russia, and the horror of what had happened did not strike his soul. He boldly accepted the full responsibility of the event, and his darkened mind saw justification in the fact that among hundreds of thousands dead people there were fewer French than Hessians and Bavarians."

Tolstoy's attitude towards war is determined by his all-conquering pacifism. For him, war is an absolute evil, contrary to God and human nature, the killing of one’s own kind. Tolstoy tries in every possible way to destroy the historical-bookish, heroic perception of wars: seeing them as wars of kings and generals fighting for great ideas and performing glorious deeds. Tolstoy deliberately avoids any glorification of war and depiction of exploits on the battlefield. For him, war can only be terrible, dirty and bloody. Tolstoy is not interested in the course of the battle itself from the point of view of the commander: he is interested in the feelings of an ordinary, random participant in the battle. What does he feel and experience, unwillingly exposed to mortal danger? What does he feel when he kills his own kind, taking away from him the most precious thing - life? Tolstoy depicts these feelings with exceptional truthfulness and psychological authenticity, convincingly proving that all beautiful descriptions of exploits and heroic feelings are composed later, in hindsight, since everyone sees that his feelings in battle were not at all heroic and were sharply different from those that are usually heard in the descriptions. And then, involuntarily, so as not to be worse than others, so as not to seem like a coward to himself and others, a person begins to embellish his memories (as Rostov, talking about his wound, imagined himself as a hero, although in reality he showed a very pathetic picture in his first battle), and so a general lie about the war arises, embellishing it and attaching the interest of more and more generations to it.

In fact, everyone in war feels, first of all, an insane, animal fear for his life, for his body, natural for every living creature, and it takes a lot of time until a person gets used to the constant danger to life so that this protective instinct of self-preservation becomes dull. Then he looks brave from the outside (like Captain Tushin in the Battle of Shengraben, who managed to completely abandon the threat of death).

Pierre comes closest to the author's understanding of the war on the pages of the novel when he notices how, at the sound of a marching drum, the expression on the faces of all the French soldiers with whom he had already become close suddenly changes to cold and cruel. He realizes the sudden presence of a mysterious, silent and terrible force, whose name is war, but stops, unable to understand its source.

The depiction of the wars of 1805 and 1812 follows from the philosophy of war in general. The first is seen by Tolstoy as a “political” war, a “power game” of diplomatic offices, conducted in the interests of the ruling circles. Russia's defeat in this war was explained by the fact that the soldiers did not understand why it was being fought and why they had to die, so they were in a depressed mood. At Austerlitz, the Russians, according to Andrei Bolkonsky, had almost the same loss as the French, but we told ourselves very early that we had lost the battle - and we lost.” It was in vain that Napoleon attributed the victory to his military genius. “The fate of the battle is decided not by the orders of the commander-in-chief, not by the place where the troops stand, not by the number of guns and killed people, but by that elusive force called the spirit of the army.” It was this force that predetermined Russia's victory in the war of liberation, when soldiers fought for their land. On the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Prince Andrei confidently says that “tomorrow, no matter what happens,<...>we will win the battle!”, and his battalion commander Timokhin confirms: “The truth is true.<...>Why feel sorry for yourself now! The soldiers in my battalion, believe me, didn’t drink vodka: it’s not that kind of day, they say.” This example speaks more eloquently than any loud words about the seriousness of the fighting spirit and the patriotism that is not expressed in beautiful speeches. Quite the contrary: those who speak well of patriotism and selfless service always lie and embellish themselves. Tolstoy, as we remember, generally attaches little value to words, believing that they rarely express true feelings.

Thus, Tolstoy justifies the war of liberation. The War of 1812 fully corresponds to his ideas that the course of the war does not depend on the will of rulers and generals. The famous commander Napoleon was defeated practically without battles, despite the victorious offensive that culminated in the capture of Moscow. The only major battle - Borodino, unusually bloody for both sides, was outwardly unsuccessful for the Russian army: it suffered greater losses than the French, as a result of which it had to retreat and give up Moscow. And yet, Tolstoy joins Kutuzov, considering the Battle of Borodino won, because there for the first time the French received a repulse from a strong-willed enemy, who inflicted a mortal wound on them, from which they were never able to recover.

Kutuzov's role as commander-in-chief was only to understand the historical pattern of the war and not interfere with its natural course. What was important was not his orders, but his authority and the trust in him of all the soldiers, inspired by his Russian name alone, for in a moment of danger for the fatherland, a Russian commander-in-chief was needed, just as a father would be better looked after by a son during a mortally dangerous illness than by himself. skilled nurse. Kutuzov understood and accepted the immutable course of events, did not try to change it with his will and fatalistically waited for the outcome he had guessed. Realizing that the French invasion would choke and die by itself, but only “patience and time” would defeat them, which would force the invaders to “eat horse meat,” Kutuzov only tried not to waste his troops in meaningless battles, wisely biding his time.

Andrei Bolkonsky makes important observations about the field marshal: “The more he saw the absence of everything personal in this old man, in whom there seemed to be only habits of passions and instead of intelligence<...>one ability to calmly contemplate the course of events, the more he was calm that everything would be as it should be. “He won’t have anything of his own. He won't think of anything, won't do anything,<...>but he will listen to everything, remember everything, put everything in its place, will not interfere with anything useful and will not allow anything harmful. He understands that there is something stronger and more significant than his will - this is the inevitable course of events, and he knows how to see them, knows how to understand their meaning and, in view of this meaning, knows how to renounce participation in these events, from his personal will aimed at other."

Thus, Tolstoy endows Kutuzov with his vision of history and its laws, and, accordingly, his attitude towards the war of 1812. Appearance Kutuzova tells us about his old age (heaviness, fatigue felt in every movement, an senile trembling voice, he moves his heavy body heavily, falls asleep at military councils), intelligence and experience (flabby folds of skin in place of a lost look, as well as the fact that he only looks and listens to people for one second in order to understand them and understand the situation), as well as kindness and even sentimental soulfulness, strange for a field marshal (softness of hands, soulful notes in his voice, tearfulness, reading French romance novels). He is the complete opposite of Napoleon, there is not a drop of self-confidence, vanity, conceit, or blindness in his own strength.

Moreover, a popular guerrilla war unfolded against the French invaders - spontaneous, without any rules or measures. According to Tolstoy, the Russian people (like any patriarchal people not spoiled by civilization) are good-natured, peace-loving, and consider war to be an unworthy and dirty matter. But if he is attacked, threatening his life, then he will be forced to defend himself without considering any means. The most effective means, as always, turned out to be guerrilla warfare, which is opposed to regular war (due to the absence of a visible enemy and organized resistance). Tolstoy praises it for its spontaneity, which testifies to its necessity and justification. "club" people's war rose with all her formidable and majestic strength and, without asking anyone’s tastes and rules, with stupid simplicity, but with expediency, without understanding anything, she rose, fell and nailed the French until the entire invasion was destroyed. And good for that people<...>who, in a moment of testing, without asking how others acted according to the rules similar cases“, with simplicity and ease, he picks up the first club he comes across and nails it with it until in his soul the feeling of insult and revenge is replaced by contempt and pity.”

Among the Russian people, the instinct of self-preservation turned out to be so strong that all the efforts of the French were smashed against it, like against an invisible wall. “The won battle did not bring the usual results, because the men Karp and Vlas, who after the French came to Moscow with carts to plunder the city and did not personally show heroic feelings at all, and all the countless number of such men did not carry hay to Moscow for good money, which They offered it to them, but they burned it.”

The most complete expression of the people's idea in the novel is the image of Platon Karataev with his dovelike gentleness and endless sympathy for all living things. For Tolstoy, he embodies the deep features of the Russian soul and the age-old wisdom of the people. Let us remember that he is friendly and loving even towards the French guarding him. We simply cannot imagine that Plato could fight and kill anyone. Plato responds to Pierre’s story about the execution of prisoners of war with contrition and horror: “It’s a sin! It’s a sin!”

To depict the partisan war, Tolstoy needed a completely different hero from the people’s environment - Tikhon Shcherbaty, who kills the French with the cheerful dexterity and passion of a hunter. He, too, like all heroes from the people, is natural and spontaneous, but his naturalness is the naturalness and necessity of a predator in the forest as one of the links in the ecosystem. It is no coincidence that Tikhon is constantly compared by the author to a wolf (“Tikhon did not like to ride and always walked, never lagging behind the cavalry. His weapons were a blunderbuss, which he wore more for laughs, a pike and an ax, which he wielded like a wolf wields his teeth , equally easily picking out fleas from fur and biting through thick bones”). Admiring the partisan war, Tolstoy is unlikely to sympathize with Tikhon, the most needed person in the detachment, who killed the most French.

Thus, Tolstoy’s two views on the war of 1812 come into conflict with each other: on the one hand, he admires it as a people’s, liberation, just war that united the entire nation with an unprecedented rise of patriotism; on the other hand, already at the very late stage of work on the novel, Tolstoy comes to the denial of any war, to the theory of non-resistance to evil through violence, and makes Platon Karataev the spokesman for this idea. The images of Karataev and Shcherbatov are simultaneously opposed and mutually complement each other, creating a holistic picture of the image of the Russian people. But the main, essential features of the people are still embodied in the image of Karataev, since a peaceful state is the most natural for the people.

Let us remember the scene when the French, lagging behind, exhausted from fatigue, hungry, officer Rambal and his orderly Morel, come out of the forest to the Russian bivouac, and the soldiers take pity on them, friendly let them warm themselves by the fire, and feed the hungry Morel to his fill with porridge. And it’s amazing how quickly Morel, who doesn’t know Russian at all, wins the favor of the soldiers, laughs with them, drinks the offered vodka and devours more and more pots of porridge on both cheeks. The French folk songs that he, drunk, begins to sing, enjoy extraordinary success, despite the incomprehensibility of the words. The fact is that, having ceased to be an enemy-invader in the eyes of the soldiers, he turns out to be for them simply a man in trouble, and moreover, thanks to his humble origins - his brother, a peasant. It also means a lot that the soldiers saw him up close - thereby he immediately became for them just like them, a concrete and living person, and not an abstract “Frenchman.” (remember the scene of the truce between the Russians and the French before the Battle of Shengraben from the first volume, where Tolstoy shows how quickly the soldiers of the two hostile armies became friends). What Morel finds common language with Russian soldiers, should clearly show the reader: the common people, regardless of nationality, have a common psychology and are always kindly disposed towards their fellow man.

The region of the world, as Tolstoy understands it, is devoid of any contradictions, strictly ordered and hierarchical. Just like the concept of “war,” the concept of the word “peace” is very ambiguous. It includes the following meanings: 1) peace in relations between people (the antonym of “war”); 2) a long-established, well-established human community, which can be of different sizes: this and separate family with its unique spiritual and psychological atmosphere, and the village peasant community, the cathedral unity of those praying in the church (“Let us pray to the Lord in peace!” exclaims the priest at the litany in the church, when Natasha prays for the victory of the Russian troops), the warring army (“All the people want to attack ", says Timokhin before the Battle of Borodino), finally, all of humanity (for example, in the mutual greeting of Rostov and the Austrian peasant: “Long live the Austrians! Long live the Russians! - and long live the whole world!”); 3) the world as a space inhabited by someone, a universe, a cosmos. Separately, it is worth highlighting the opposition in the religious consciousness of the monastery as a closed, sacred space to the world as an open (passions and temptations, complex problems), everyday space. From this meaning the adjective “worldly” and a special form were formed prepositional case“in mira” (i.e. not in a monastery), different from the later form “in mira” (i.e. without war).

In pre-revolutionary spelling, the word “peace” in the meaning of “not war” (English “peace”) was written as “peace”, and in the meaning of “universum” it was written as “mir” through the Latin “i”. All meanings modern word"peace" would have to be expressed in five or six English or in French words, therefore, during translation, the entire lexical completeness of the word will inevitably be lost. But, although in the title of Tolstoy’s novel the word “world” was written as “mir”, in the novel itself Tolstoy combines the semantic possibilities of both spellings into one universal philosophical concept that expresses Tolstoy’s social and philosophical ideal: the worldwide unity of all people living on earth in love and world. It must be created, ascending to the all-encompassing whole:

1) inner peace, peace with oneself, which is achieved only through understanding the truth and self-improvement; without it, peace with other people is impossible;

2) peace in the family, shaping personality and fostering love for one’s neighbor;

3) peace that unites the entire society into an indestructible family, the most expressive example of which Tolstoy sees in the peasant community, and the most controversial in secular society;

4) peace, gathering the nation into a single whole, just as it is shown in the novel using the example of Russia during the War of 1812;

5) the world of humanity, which has yet to take shape and to the creation of which, as the highest goal of humanity, Tolstoy tirelessly calls on the readers of his novel. When it is created, then there will be no place for enmity and hatred on earth, there will be no need to divide humanity into countries and nations, there will never be wars (thus the word “peace” again acquires its first meaning - “peace but not war”). This is how a moral and religious utopia emerged - one of the most artistically brilliant in Russian literature.

Nothing needs to be done based on cold considerations; let the feeling, the immediate feeling of joy and love, break through unhindered and unite all people into one family. When a person does everything according to calculation, thinking through his every step in advance, he breaks out of swarm life alienated from the general, because calculation is selfish in its essence, and what brings people together, draws them to each other is an intuitive feeling.

Happiness lies in living a true, not a false life - in loving unity with the whole world. This is main idea Tolstoy's novel.

The oracle of Apollo at Delphi was the most famous and authoritative in the era of antiquity: prophecies were given there, the truth of which was believed by all countries of the ancient Mediterranean.

IN opera art called leitmotif theme song hero, preceding his phrases.

This term was introduced into scientific use by Viktor Shklovsky.

Grief. The topic of the essay is very difficult, it is more suitable for graduates of the institute Faculty of Philology or graduate students who are engaged in research into Tolstoy's works. I did not fully reflect everything in my essay philosophical problems The 4-volume novel "War and Peace", and this is understandable: it is impossible to fit all the thoughts of Tolstoy on two pages, he is a genius, but I still reflected the main ones. ...

Differently. Many tried to express their understanding of the novel, but not many were able to feel its essence. Great piece requires a lot of deep thought. The epic novel “War and Peace” allows you to think about many principles and ideals. Conclusion The work of L.N. Tolstoy is undoubtedly a valuable asset of world literature. It has been studied for many years...

(349 words) The title is extremely important to the creation of a literary work. A real writer can spend a lot of time searching for just a few words above the main text. A well-chosen title can not only attract the reader’s attention, but also accurately convey the thoughts and ideas of the author himself. We can observe such a situation in the epic novel by L. N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”.

Initially, it seems that the secret of the name is simple. Tolstoy depicts the era of the Napoleonic wars before us. Detailed picture, which tells the story of people's lives during this highly controversial historical moment, is intended to teach us about peaceful and military life to create historical authenticity. This is where the name comes from, as a designation for the entire era. But Tolstoy in this case looked much deeper. The novel itself begins during the war in Austria, in the St. Petersburg salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer. First of all, we are presented with images of typical nobles of the nineteenth century - these are narcissistic careerists and hypocrites who do not care about anything but themselves. A little later, already at the theater of military operations, we see a similar picture: politician-commanders, careerist officers and demoralized soldiers create an atmosphere of complete hopelessness and decay. The main thing that Tolstoy wants to show us is a divided, disorganized society that knows where to direct its forces. It is in this that the secret of the first part of the title of the novel “War...” is revealed. The war that members of a decaying society wage against each other destroys the country and the people. Tolstoy denies and despises such orders prevailing in Russia. To revive a sense of community in people, the writer brings down a terrible test on them. The invasion of foreign invaders puts the Russian people on the brink of death. And it is because of the threat of an external enemy that the country truly unites. Tolstoy remains true to himself, not forgetting to show us a small, decayed aristocratic elite. But at the same time, the absolute majority of the people helps their country as best they can. And it is this state one people, passionate about the idea of ​​protecting his land from invaders, reveals to us the secret of the second part of the name “...peace.” Peace in society, a clear awareness of the Russian people's brotherhood. The sacrificial struggle of each individual for the benefit of the majority, as opposed to the struggle of individuals only for their own interests.

War and peace are two states of society, diametrically opposed to each other, based on different ideals. Actually exists huge amount interpretations of the novel's title. And this once again emphasizes the depth of Tolstoy’s thoughts and the versatility of his greatest creation.

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This is an epic novel in the truest sense of the word. Spanning several decades, it masterfully describes the history of Russia from the late 18th century to the first third of the 1800s. At over 1,600 pages, it is certainly one of the longest novels, but unlike many, it is much longer short books, its volume is quite justified. Although Tolstoy is very meticulous, his writing is easy to read, and the pages simply fly when you turn them.

It is known that at first the author wanted to title the work with the phraseology: “All’s well that ends well.” This meant a positive outcome of the war, as well as the lives of the heroes after all the events, difficulties, and ups and downs. But later to the writer this title seemed too superficial, not reflecting the full depth of the novel. In addition, it limited the author in developing the plot. The phrase implies an ideally good ending for everyone, but this could not happen in principle.

There were also other options: “1805” and “Decembrist”, but they turned out to be too narrow to display all the facets of a novel of this magnitude.

What is the meaning of the name?

L. N. Tolstoy gives his most fundamental work an ambiguous title, creating a contrast. The name of the novel is deep and multifaceted. The war here not only recalls the hostilities that took place in the described historical period. This is a split in 19th century society. This is the spiritual path of the heroes, the search for harmony, internal struggles, experiences, and tossing. These are difficulties in relationships between people, intra-family, love conflicts. This is the ambiguity, the contradictory nature of the images themselves. And also clashes of views, opinions on important social issues, the correct answer to which even the author did not know.

Society at War

In turn, peace, as the opposite concept, is harmony, finding personal happiness, acceptance, understanding of oneself and others. And not just the absence of hostility. On the other hand, the events of 1805-1807 and 1812 changed the heroes, turned their worldview upside down, and raised new ones. personal qualities, helped me get to know myself, my comrades, and realize the truths of life. In the novel, the words “world” and “society” are synonymous. The work could have been renamed “Society and War.” Much attention is paid to the person, the individual during combat operations. Andrei Bolkonsky is greatly changed by the Battle of Austerlitz. The author puts his hero on a fine line between life and death. Strong emotions, stress, existential experiences, serious injury become a test of the truth of his beliefs, moral ideals, strength moral principles, but Andrei breaks this severe test, deprives him of inner harmony. And Pierre compares his experience in society with the events experienced during the war to form philosophical views, your new worldview, cultivating your inner core.

The world is life, so the word in the title also carries a vital meaning.

Themes of the epic novel

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The books are devoted to two main topics. One of them is the Russian-French wars of 1805 and 1812. Tolstoy describes the wars, particularly the battles of Austerlitz (1805) and Borodino (1812), in vivid detail, apparently with great historical accuracy. The characters of Napoleon and Kutuzov (the leader of the Russian army) take an active part in the narrative, with lesser leaders (Bagration, de Tolly, Davout) also receiving enough attention to build a complete, interesting story. Specific events of the war are covered with the participation of the main characters of the book, such as Andrei Bolkonsky, Nikolai Rostov, Pierre Bezukhov.

The other is higher Russian society of that time. The book gives a very interesting, in-depth look at this unusual society, which by today's standards is somewhat modeled, thus similar to other European societies (French, British, etc.). Tolstoy also imagines life a little rural Russia, the relationship between nobles and serfs, although it does not spend as much effort on this topic as in Anna Karenina.

The characters in the book are diverse and represent different ideas that Lev Nikolaevich tries to infuse into his narrative. All of them, without exception, are extremely believable, well-developed, and lively. I can't think of other authors who know how to present and develop their characters like Tolstoy.

Opposition

The novel is built on antithesis, which becomes the main device here. artistic expression text. The dialogue of contrasts continues throughout the plot. The name has a deep philosophical meaning. Much broader than it might seem to the person who first opened this book. Peace is not just peace, the antithesis of battles and battles. This is life, people, society, views, ideals. As well as internal harmony, which the heroes strive for throughout the entire plot, and receive through internal struggle, suffering. And war is these confrontations. The name connects all events with invisible threads, individuals, entire families, creating a single narrative outline.

In Russian folklore there is a truth: “Every cloud has a silver lining.” And L.N. Tolstoy: “There is no peace without war.”