War and peace historical figures. Personality and History ("War and Peace"). Analysis and conclusion

M.I. Kutuzov Kutuzov in the novel "War and Peace" is often depicted as a person who is, as it were, an observer of ongoing events and wisely evaluates certain facts. Thus, the image of Kutuzov, depicted by Tolstoy, is passive. He is just a tool in the hands of fate. Such Kutuzov "despised the mind and knowledge and knew something else that should have decided the matter."

P.I. Bagration Bagration is one of the few who has qualities that, according to Tolstoy, correspond to the ideal of a people's commander. The military talent of Bagration was also manifested in his moral influence on soldiers and officers. His mere presence on the positions raised their morale.

P.I. Bagration Unlike most other commanders, Bagration is depicted during battles, and not at military councils. Bold and resolute on the battlefield, in secular society he is timid and shy. At a banquet arranged in Moscow in his honor, Bagration was not at ease.

The epic "War and Peace" is the greatest work of Russian and world literature. L. N. Tolstoy painted in it a broad picture of the life of Russian society in the period from 1805 to 1820. In the center of the novel is the defeat by the Russian people in 1812 of Napoleon's hitherto invincible army. Against the background of historical events, a chronicle of the life of three noble families - the Rostovs, Bolkonskys and Bezukhovs is given. But along with fictional characters, real historical figures are depicted - Kutuzov, Napoleon, Alexander I, Speransky and others. Recreating historical events, the author shows the truly national character of the Patriotic War.

Unlike historical figures such as Alexander I, Napoleon, who think only about glory, about power, Kutuzov is able to understand a simple person, and he himself is a simple person by nature. Tolstoy perfectly captured some of the features of the character of the great Russian commander: his deep patriotic feelings, his love for the Russian people and hatred of the enemy, closeness to the soldier. Kutuzov was connected with the people by close spiritual ties, and this was his strength as a commander. At the decisive moments of the entire military campaign of 1812, Kutuzov behaves like a commander, close and understandable to the broad masses of soldiers, he acts like a true Russian patriot. In the novel, Kutuzov is opposed to the German generals, to all these pfuls, Volzogens pursuing selfish goals, he opposes Napoleon in everything. The whole image of Napoleon, the leader of an aggressive, unjust war, was unnatural and deceitful. And the image of Kutuzov is the embodiment of simplicity, goodness and truth. However, the theory of fatalism also affected the interpretation of the image of Kutuzov in the novel. Along with the historically and psychologically correct traits of his character, there are also false traits. Kutuzov was a brilliant commander, he went through an excellent military school under the leadership of Suvorov, all his operations were distinguished by the depth of the strategic plan. The Patriotic War of 1812 was a triumph of his military leadership, which turned out to be higher than Napoleon's military leadership. In his multifaceted military and diplomatic activities, Kutuzov showed a deep and penetrating mind, great experience, and outstanding organizational skills. Meanwhile, L. N. Tolstoy everywhere strives to note that Kutuzov was only a wise observer of events, that he did not interfere with anything, but at the same time did not organize anything. In accordance with his historical views, which were based on the denial of the role of the individual in history and the recognition of the eternal predestination of historical events, the author depicts Kutuzov as a passive contemplator, who was supposedly only an obedient tool in the hands of providence. Therefore, in Tolstoy, Kutuzov “despised the mind and knowledge and knew something else that should have decided the matter.” This is another “old age” and “experience of life”. Prince Andrei, when meeting with him, noted that Kutuzov had only “one ability to calmly contemplate events.” He "does not interfere with anything useful and will not allow anything harmful." According to Tolstoy, Kutuzov led only the morale of the troops. “With many years of military experience, he knew and understood with an old mind that it was impossible for one person to lead hundreds of thousands of people fighting death, and he knew that the fate of the battle was not decided by the orders of the commander in chief, not by the place on which the troops stood, not by the number of guns and killed people , but that elusive force called the spirit of the army, and he followed this force and led it, as far as it was in his power. All this was expressed with the intention of belittling the organizational role of Kutuzov in the Patriotic War. Kutuzov, of course, was well aware that all of the listed elements play their own, depending on the circumstances, a greater or lesser role in the war. Sometimes this is a “place”, sometimes a timely given “order of the commander in chief”, sometimes superiority in weapons. However, Tolstoy's powerful realism often overcomes the fetters of fatalistic philosophy, and Kutuzov appeared on the pages of the novel, full of seething energy, determination, and active intervention in the course of hostilities. This is how we see Kutuzov when, shocked by the story of Prince Andrei about the disasters of Russia, “with an evil expression on his face” he says to the French: “Give time, give time.” Such is Kutuzov at the Battle of Borodino, when the German Wolzogen, with his cold mind and heart, indifferent to the fate of Russia, reports to him on behalf of Barclay de Tolly that all points of the Russian positions are in the hands of the enemy and that the troops are fleeing. And what energy of determination we see, the strength of Kutuzov's brilliant insight at the military council in Fili, when he gives the order to leave Moscow in the name of saving Russia and the Russian army! In these and some other episodes of the novel, we have before us the true commander Kutuzov.

It seems to me that the image of Kutuzov is the most controversial, because in his artistic chapters Tolstoy contradicts his philosophical chapters. In some we see Kutuzov as a passive contemplator, in others as a true patriot, a true commander. But in spite of everything, "War and Peace" is a wonderful work. Tolstoy talks a lot about a person in general, as about a kind of abstraction, devoid of any estate-class, national and temporal signs. And no matter how Tolstoy argues that everything happened by the will of providence, and that the individual plays no role in history, I believe that Kutuzov is indeed a brilliant commander, and his role in the outcome of the Patriotic War is great.

An important place in the plot is occupied by his original historical views and ideas. “War and Peace” is not just a historical novel, it is a novel about History. She - acts, and her actions have a direct impact on the fate of all heroes without exception. She is not a background or an attribute of the plot. History is the main thing that determines the smoothness or swiftness of its movement.

Let us recall the final phrase of the novel: "... in the present case... it is necessary to renounce non-existent freedom and recognize the dependence that we do not feel."

Any historical event is the result of the unconscious, “swarm” action of natural historical forces. A person is denied the role of a subject of social movement. “The subject of history is the life of peoples and mankind,” writes Tolstoy, assigning to her, history, the place of the acting subject and character. Its laws are objective and independent of the will and actions of people. Tolstoy believes: “If there is one free act of a person, then there is not a single historical law and no idea of ​​​​historical events.”

A person can do little. The wisdom of Kutuzov, like the wisdom of Platon Karataev, consists in unconscious obedience to the elements of life. History, according to the writer, acts in the world as a natural force. Its laws, like physical or chemical laws, exist independently of the desire, will and consciousness of thousands and millions of people. That is why, according to Tolstoy, it is impossible to explain anything in history based on these desires and wills. Any social cataclysm, any historical event is the result of the action of an impersonal non-spiritual character, somewhat reminiscent of Shchedrin's "It" from "The History of a City".

Here is how Tolstoy assesses the role of the individual in history: "The historical personality is the essence of the label that history hangs on this or that event." And the logic of these arguments is such that, in the final analysis, not only the concept of free will disappears from history, but also God as its moral principle. On the pages of the novel, she appears as an absolute, impersonal, indifferent force, grinding human lives to powder. Any personal activity is ineffective and dramatic. As if in an ancient proverb about fate, which attracts the obedient, and drags the recalcitrant, it disposes of the human world. Here is what happens to a person, according to the writer: "A person consciously lives for himself, but serves as an unconscious tool for achieving historical universal goals." Therefore, fatalism is inevitable in history when explaining “illogical”, “unreasonable” phenomena. The more we, according to Tolstoy, try to rationally explain these phenomena in history, the more incomprehensible they become for us.

“What is the force that moves the nations?

Private biographical historians and historians of individual peoples understand this power as the power inherent in heroes and rulers. According to their descriptions, events are produced exclusively by the will of Napoleons, Alexanders, or in general those persons who are described by a private historian. The answers given by this kind of historians to the question of the force that drives events are satisfactory, but only as long as there is one historian for each event. Conclusion: the people "create" history.

The life of mankind does not depend on the will and intentions of individuals, therefore a historical event is the result of a coincidence of many causes.

Consider such an important problem of the novel as personality and history. "War and Peace" is a work in the center of which is the fate of two main characters, young Russian nobles. This is Prince Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov. They are close friends. Both heroes are highly educated people, carriers of remarkable human qualities. Andrei and Pierre dream of doing something great and grandiose in their lives for the good of the Fatherland. However, it is precisely with these images and their life development that Tolstoy repeatedly inspires the reader with the futility of all the efforts and hopes of a proud personality to do some “great” deeds - first of all, “make history”, single-handedly influence the course of large-scale events.

How are personality and history related? "War and Peace" is a work in which the author gave his answer to this question. History is made by the people. However, in that “impersonal” interpretation, which is sometimes characteristic of the historical and philosophical reasoning of the author of the novel, the people, willy-nilly, sometimes begin to resemble a bee swarm. Tolstoy himself is hardly entirely consistent in his views. So, in the rearguard battle near Shengraben in 1805, the decisive role was nevertheless played by the actions of one particular person - Captain Tushin (Prince Andrei clearly states this at a meeting with Bagration), and not just a spontaneous "people's" impulse to win. In a similar way, leading the reader to his understanding of the people as the creator of history with the whole logic of the narrative, Tolstoy finally introduces the figure of Tikhon Shcherbaty as a real figure in the partisan war. It would be naive to believe that Tikhon, as a person, is capable of being a leader, since he is a peasant, “from the people”, and Prince Andrei is not capable because he is a nobleman. Finally, the repeated statements of the author of the novel that the commander in the heat of battle cannot know what is happening in another part of the battle, and therefore is allegedly objectively incapable of effectively leading it (hence the behavior of the wise Kutuzov in the novel), testify to some underestimation by Tolstoy of the importance of the professional intuition of talented military leaders.

The image of Prince Andrei helps us to better understand how personality and history are connected ("War and Peace"). This image is tragic. The example of the dizzying rise of a simple officer Bonaparte prompted Bolkonsky to dream that he would have “his own Toulon” in his life. But near Austerlitz, Andrei Bolkonsky, instead of great achievements, almost dies; his feat is futile. Soon he loses his wife who died from childbirth. Having gained new strength, Bolkonsky did not devote himself to raising his son - he again makes a mistake, intending to prove himself in state activity and becoming close to Speransky. When he then tries to find himself in love with Natasha Rostova, that is, to leave for family life, an impulse to that true vocation, for which, according to Tolstoyan logic, man was created, seemed to dawn in his soul. However, due to Natasha's infatuation with Anatole Kuragin, their engagement with Andrei collapses. So, in the short life of Prince Andrei, full of failures and disappointments, disaster follows disaster.

In 1812, this man no longer goes to fight the French who attacked Russia as a noble ambitious man - he returns to military service from completely different, new considerations for himself. Before the battle of Borodino, Tolstoy forces Colonel Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov, who has come to the army, to see each other for the last time. In their conversation, through the lips of Prince Andrei, Tolstoy's favorite thoughts about the causes of military victories and defeats are expressed.

However, Tolstoy does not give the hero the opportunity to actively intervene in events. In a people's war, the people act, the people will win, and the personal participation in this of an individual, even the most courageous and most outstanding, does not change anything in the course of affairs. Bolkonsky dies without entering the battle. True, his heroic nature manifested itself at the time of the mortal wound. As a commander, he remains an example for his subordinates to the end.

And what about Pierre Bezukhov? How are his personality and history ("War and Peace") connected? Pierre Bezukhov in his youth participates in the violent antics of the noble youth of the 1800s, about which L.N. Tolstoy recalled in The Two Hussars. Some of them are portrayed by the writer in the first volume of War and Peace. In the future, Pierre will have to break up sharply with both friends and even shoot with Dolokhov, who will start an affair with his wife.

Pierre Bezukhov is a hero whose personality undergoes an impressive moral development on the pages of the novel. Like Prince Andrei, he hopes to accomplish something great in life. However, he is a more passive and contemplative nature than Bolkonsky, and does not take energetic actions aimed at realizing such hopes. After the short-term riots of youth, an extremely unsuccessful marriage follows, a passion for Freemasonry. Finally, in Volume III, Pierre, a purely civilian person, out of a sudden inner impulse, goes to the army preparing for the great battle on the Borodino field, and by the will of circumstances fights courageously in the very center - on the Rayevsky battery. He unexpectedly found a place in the public cause (at the same time, this plot “trick” invented by Tolstoy allows the author to “see” the most important part of the battle through the eyes of one of the main characters.)

But dreams of a personal feat, a great accomplishment, and Pierre are pushed to false (in Tolstoy's understanding) impulses. So, Pierre remains in Moscow given to the French in order to kill Napoleon and thus stop the war. Only after meeting in French captivity with Karataev, Pierre will understand that Bonaparte is by no means the maker of history, and therefore his death would not have changed anything in the course of events. The "natural" Platon Karataev, who was clearly aware of the modest essence of his human role on earth, as if in time turned Pierre's soul upside down. As a result, he, having been in Moscow on the verge of death (the frenzied French wanted to shoot him on suspicion of "arson"), did not come to a tragic ending - unlike his friend Prince Andrei. Subsequently, Pierre became the husband of Natasha, the former bride of a deceased friend. Their happy family is shown in the epilogue to the novel, as is another prosperous noble family - the sisters of Prince Andrei Marya and Nikolai Rostov.

However, in the same epilogue, Tolstoy considered it necessary to remind the reader that Pierre, a family man, is now again eager for "great" deeds. He is fascinated by the compilation of a secret society (an obvious allusion to the Decembrists). If we transfer the collision to the plane of reality, one could state that his happy family will soon face severe trials, and he personally will face a complete collapse. But, of course, this is only a hypothetical “continuation”, and it is absent from the existing novel plot, which ends with the calm conversations of two kindred noble families who have gathered together in the Bald Mountains, the Bolkonsky estate.

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy is a genius of world literature, a profound thinker, who already during his lifetime became a correspondence spiritual mentor of people in various parts of the world. His prose and dramaturgy, his philosophical journalism, in general his verbal and textual heritage constitute the greatest national spiritual heritage of Russia. In prose, Tolstoy created a powerful and fruitful tradition, which was continued to some extent in the 20th century. writers such as M.A. Sholokhov, A.A. Fadeev. S.N. Sergeev-Tsensky, K. S. Simonov. A.I. Solzhenitsyn and others.

On the throne was an eternal worker
A.S. Pushkin

I The ideological concept of the novel.
II Formation of the personality of Peter I.
1) The formation of the character of Peter I under the influence of historical events.
2) Intervention of Peter I in the historical process.
3) The era that forms the historical figure.
III Historical and cultural value of the novel.
The creation of the novel "Peter the Great" was preceded by a long work by A.N. Tolstoy on a number of works about the Petrine era. In 1917 - 1918 the stories "Delusion" and "Peter's Day" were written, in 1928 - 1929 he wrote the historical play "On the Rack". In 1929, Tolstoy began work on the novel "Peter the Great", the third book, unfinished due to the death of the writer, is dated 1945. The ideological idea of ​​the novel found its expression in the construction of the work. When creating the novel, A.N. Tolstoy least of all wanted it to turn into a historical chronicle of the reign of a progressive tsar. Tolstoy wrote: "A historical novel cannot be written in the form of a chronicle, in the form of history. First of all, a composition is needed ..., the establishment of a center ... of vision. In my novel, the center is the figure of Peter I." The writer considered one of the tasks of the novel an attempt to depict the formation of a person in history, in an era. The entire course of the narrative was to prove the mutual influence of the individual and the era, to emphasize the progressive significance of Peter's transformations, their regularity and necessity. He considered another task to be "identification of the driving forces of the era" - the solution of the problem of the people. In the center of the narrative of the novel is Peter. Tolstoy shows the process of formation of the personality of Peter, the formation of his character under the influence of historical circumstances. Tolstoy wrote: "Personality is a function of the era, it grows on fertile soil, but, in turn, a large, big personality begins to move the events of the era." The image of Peter in the image of Tolstoy is very multifaceted and complex, shown in constant dynamics, in development. At the beginning of the novel, Peter is a lanky and angular boy who fiercely defends his right to the throne. Then we see how a statesman grows out of a young man, a shrewd diplomat, an experienced, fearless commander. Life becomes Peter's teacher. The Azov campaign leads him to the idea of ​​the need to create a fleet, the "Narva embarrassment" to the reorganization of the army. On the pages of the novel, Tolstoy depicts the most important events in the life of the country: the uprising of the archers, the reign of Sophia, the Crimean campaigns of Golitsyn, the Azov campaigns of Peter, the Streltsy rebellion, the war with the Swedes, the construction of St. Petersburg. Tolstoy selects these events to show how they influence the formation of Peter's personality. But not only circumstances affect Peter, he actively intervenes in life, changes it, defying age-old foundations, orders "nobility to be considered according to suitability." How many "chicks of Petrov's nest" this decree united and rallied around him, how many talented people he gave the opportunity to develop their abilities! Using the technique of contrast, opposing the scenes with Peter to the scenes with Sophia, Ivan and Golitsyn, Tolstoy assesses the general nature of Peter's intervention in the historical process and proves that only Peter can lead the transformation. But the novel does not become a biography of Peter I. Also important to Tolstoy is the era that forms the historical figure. He creates a multifaceted composition, shows the life of the most diverse segments of the population of Russia: peasants, soldiers, merchants, boyars, nobles. The action takes place in various places: in the Kremlin, in the hut of Ivashka Brovkin, in the German settlement, Moscow, Azov, Arkhangelsk, Narva. The era of Peter is also created by the image of his associates, real and fictional: Alexander Menshikov, Nikita Demidov, Brovkin, who came up from the bottom and fought with honor for the cause of Peter and Russia. Among the associates of Peter there are many descendants of noble families: Romodanovsky, Sheremetiev, Repnin, who serve the young tsar and his new goals not out of fear, but out of conscience. Roman A.N. Tolstoy's "Peter the Great" is valuable for us not only as a historical work, Tolstoy used archival documents, but as a cultural heritage. There are many folklore images and motifs in the novel, folk songs, proverbs, sayings, jokes are used. Tolstoy did not have time to complete his work, the novel remained unfinished. But images of that era emerge from its pages and its central image is Peter the Great, a reformer and statesman who is vitally connected with his state and era.