Consider how the people depicted in the novel "War and Peace" by L. N. Tolstoy. The author finished work on his work in 1867. Speaking of him, he admitted that he loved in his novel "a popular thought."
The world of the peasantry in the work
The people in the novel "War and Peace" are widely represented. The peasantry is described in detail by the author. In the image of Tolstoy, the world of the peasantry is self-sufficient and harmonious. The writer did not consider that his representatives needed intellectual influence. Hero nobles do not even think about the need to "develop" the peasants. On the contrary, it is the latter who often find themselves closer to understanding the meaning of life. Lev Nikolaevich depicts the complex spiritual world of the representatives of the nobility and the ingenuous spirituality of the Russian peasant as different, but at the same time complementary principles of the existence of our country. The ability to establish contact with the people is an indicator of the moral health of the nobles in the novel.
Fluctuation of boundaries between estates
Repeatedly Tolstoy emphasizes the fragility of the boundaries between the estates. Human, general makes them "transparent." The people in the novel "War and Peace" often come together, interacting with the upper strata of society. Hunter Danilo, for example, is full of "contempt for everything" and "independence." This hunter allows himself to look at barin Nikolai Rostov "contemptuously." However, this was not offensive to Nikolai. He understood that this man still belonged to him. All are equal during the hunt, all obey the order once established. Only in the heat of the hunt can Danilo Ilya Andreevich, who missed the wolf, scold, even sweep at him with an arapnik. Such behavior of the serf in normal conditions is impossible in relation to the master.
We give another example of how the nobility and people interact in the novel "War and Peace." An important stage in the spiritual life of one of the main characters, Pierre Bezukhov, was a meeting in a prison hut with Platon Karataev. It was this peasant soldier who returned the lost faith in life to him. For Pierre, the main moral criterion in the epilogue of the novel becomes possible attitude to his work Karataev. And he concludes that he probably would not have understood his social activities, but he would probably have approved family life, because he loved “goodness” in everything.
Image of peasant riot
The theme of the people in the novel "War and Peace" is diverse. Tolstoy, depicting the revolt of the Bogucharov peasants, expressed his own attitude to the conservative strata of the patriarchal-communal world, which was used to resisting any changes. In Bogucharov, the spontaneity of public life is much more noticeable than in other areas, since there were very few landowners, literate and domestic. The peasants live here in a small closed community. They are virtually isolated from the whole world. Peasants for no apparent reason suddenly begin to move in a certain direction, obeying the incomprehensible laws of life. Tolstoy emphasizes that in the life of the peasants from Bogucharovo there were stronger and more noticeable than in other places the mysterious streams of life of the Russian people, the meaning and reasons of which are inexplicable to contemporaries. Through the image of rebellion, the theme of the people in the novel "War and Peace" is revealed from a new perspective.
The cause of the revolt of the peasants
The general mood, the element of rebellion subjugates completely every peasant. A general impulse was captured even by the headman Dron. The failure ended Princess Mary's attempt to distribute the master’s bread to the peasants. Only Rostov’s “unreasonable animal malice”, his “unreasonable act”, could sober up this indignant crowd. The men submitted obediently to brute force, admitting that "out of stupidity" they rebelled. In the work, Lev Nikolaevich showed not only the external causes of rebellion (“relations with the French” and rumors of “will”, which the gentlemen took away). The hidden underlying socio-historical reason for this event was an internal “force” that gradually accumulated and, like lava, escaped from a boiling volcano. That is why ordinary people revolted in the novel "War and Peace."
The image of Tikhon Scherbaty
The image of Tikhon Scherbaty is an important detail of the fresco about the people's war that Tolstoy created. Tikhon attacked the French only from his entire village. On his own initiative, he joined Denisov's "party" and soon became one of the most necessary people in it, showing great ability and a desire for guerrilla warfare. Through his image, common people are also analyzed in the novel War and Peace.
Tikhon in a partisan detachment occupied a special place. He did all the dirty work, was the most courageous and helpful person. Tikhon, in addition, played the role of a jester and willingly succumbed to this order himself. In his behavior and appearance, the writer sharpened the features of the holy fool. Shcherbaty had a face pitted with wrinkles and smallpox, with narrow small eyes.
Tikhon's attitude towards the killing of the French
Tikhon is a cold-blooded merciless warrior. He submits, killing the French, only to the instinct of extermination of the enemy, and treats them almost like inanimate objects. Tikhon recalls its predator cruelty. It is no coincidence that the author compares him with a wolf: A chipped one with an ax owned like a wolf his teeth.
The image of Plato Karataev
One of the key images of the work is the image of Plato Karataev. It is especially important when revealing the theme: “The people in the novel“ War and Peace. ”It is impossible to write an essay on this topic without mentioning this character. This is a peasant who was cut off from his usual way of life and placed in new conditions (French captivity, army) in which his spirituality manifested itself especially vividly. The hero lives in harmony with the whole world. He treats with love for all people. Plato deeply feels life, directly and vividly perceives people. In the image of Tolstoy Karataev is an example of a "natural" person who came out of the people a, the embodiment of popular morality, in many ways instinctive.
This hero, personifying the Russian people in the novel "War and Peace," is shown in the work mainly through his perception of Bezukhov. Pierre notes that the very presence in the hut of this man created a sense of comfort for the prisoners. Bezukhov was interested in how Plato took off his shoes and settled in his corner, because something “round”, “soothing” and “pleasant” was felt even in this.
Karataev looked very youthful, although he was over 50 years old. He seemed to be a healthy and physically strong person. Especially striking was the "young" expression on Plato's face , which had the appearance of "youth" and "innocence." Karataev was doing something all the time that probably became a habit of this hero. Once captured, he did not seem to feel what illness and fatigue were, he felt in the hut as at home.
Karataev’s return to peasant life in unusual conditions
Outside of the usual conditions, outside of everything that pressed him, Karataev naturally and imperceptibly returned to the serfdom of life. He discarded all that was alien, which was imposed on him by force from the outside. For Plato, representing the people in Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace, peasant life is especially attractive: expensive memories, as well as ideas about good looks, are associated with it. Therefore, he spoke mainly about the events of the "Christian" life, as he called it.
Plato died naturally, experiencing tenderness and "quiet delight" before the mystery of death. He did not perceive it as torment or punishment, therefore there was no suffering on his face: it was illuminated by the expression of "silent solemnity."
The image of Plato Karataev is the image of a righteous man from the peasants, who not only lived with people and the world in harmony, admiring the manifestations of life, but was also able to resurrect Pierre Bezukhov, who came to a spiritual impasse. For Pierre, he forever remained the personification of "simplicity and truth."
"The Thought of the People" in the novel
"The Thought of the People" is the main idea of ​​the work "War and Peace." Lev Nikolaevich knew that the simple life of the Russian people with its "private" interests, destinies, joys, proceeds regardless of meetings with Alexander Napoleon, state plans of Speransky or the diplomatic game. Only those historical events that set the masses in motion, concern national destinies, are capable of changing, always beneficially, albeit dramatically, an individual person. It was the patriotism of the people (in the novel "War and Peace" Tolstoy describes his patriotic feelings) that led to the victory of the Russians over the French.