It is widely known that L. N. Tolstoy was not only an outstanding writer, but also a major thinker. Therefore, it is not surprising that he equipped such a small volume of work with a certain philosophical "filling." This article will be devoted to the answer to the question of what the story “After the Ball” by L. N. Tolstoy is directed against.
The answer will suggest two levels: general philosophical and moral (human), but first (very briefly) the plot.
Artwork events
The narration is conducted on behalf of the main character - Ivan Vasilyevich. He tells one story from his personal, direct experience, which makes us take a fresh look at the problem of the relationship between the individual and society, as well as self-improvement.
Dotted, it looks like this: a long time ago, when Ivan Vasilievich was a student, he was very fond of attending balls. At one of these holidays, he met the girl Varia. She was very beautiful. The hero immediately fell in love with her, he danced with her all the time, not missing a single dance.
It turned out that the girl arrived with daddy - Colonel Peter Vladislavovich. Sooner or later, the well-deserved military had to leave the “light” and go about his business. In parting, he danced with his daughter, which enthralled the venerable audience.
The protagonist of the story was in the most benevolent mood that can only be invented, and was imbued with the best colonel to the dashing colonel.
Then the ball ended. Everyone went home. And only young Ivan Vasilievich could not sleep. Indeed, he was in love! Therefore, Ivan Vasilyevich went to wander around the city. Quite by chance, he came to the house of the colonel and his daughter Varya and saw that a Tatar deserter was being let into the field near the house and beat him mercilessly with sticks. And in order to ensure that the torture was arranged in accordance with all the rules, it is the colonel who is recently dancing sweetly with his daughter.
Ivan Vasilievich was so struck by this spectacle that his love completely disappeared and, naturally, he did not feel a gram of sympathy for the colonel anymore.
General philosophical level. Personality and Society
For a long time, probably, since the XVIII century, there are two camps: some people believe that the environment forms a person, and scientists and philosophers, respectively, only need to find a magic formula or create a theory that would allow the ideal person to be reproduced through its patterns. Others rightly believe that the essence of man cannot be calculated. He is the way nature created him or God created. It has some fundamental, irrational, unsystematized element. It is he who makes us human. In other words, some are on the side of society, others are individuals.
Tolstoy in this work takes the side of the latter, therefore one of the possible answers to the question about what the story “After the Ball” is directed against is this: it is directed against the universal averaging of a person and the suppression of an individual person. She herself must decide what is good and what is bad, focusing only on her inner moral feeling, gifted to man by a higher power (nature or God).
A person, according to Leo Tolstoy, should not dance to the tune of the majority, especially if his (majority) moral values are vile and disgusting.
The whole family of the general believes that it is perfectly normal to torment a person after a touching stage at a ball (dancing with a beautiful daughter). To everyone except the young Ivan Vasilievich, this does not seem morally low and unworthy. The question is, who is right - a person or a society? L. N. Tolstoy unequivocally answers - a person. This gives a concretization of the answer to the question of what the story “After the Ball” is directed against.
The moral (human) level. Shamelessness, double-heartedness, callousness - these are the targets of Leo Tolstoy
The Russian classic is not only asked by global philosophical questions in this work (“After the Ball”), but also scourges the specific human vices indicated in the subtitle. For Tolstoy, it is important not so much that the colonel arranges torture over a person, but that he does not find anything reprehensible in this.
For the old warriors, insensitivity to human suffering and grief is absolutely acceptable. “But how can this be,” L. Tolstoy asks himself, “that a few hours ago at the ball he was a man and suddenly turned into a beast?” Honestly, it is difficult to answer this question. The main character also did not succeed, so he could not fall asleep until the very evening of the next day, even when he got drunk.
The reader will ask himself again and again about what the story “After the Ball” is directed against. And he is directed, first of all, against such werewolf people. Tolstoy in him pursues human ruthlessness towards his fellow man.
Writer's Purpose
Probably, ideally, Lev Nikolaevich wanted to at least slightly change the alignment of forces in relation to good and evil in the world, so that people would turn to the light more, to be humane and tolerant to each other and not turn into animals even when the position obliges or allows. It seems that Tolstoy wrote the story “After the Ball” for this very purpose. The minimal goal of a Russian writer was probably to make at least one reader a little better.
This is almost all on the topic of the article. It remains only to answer the question of what is the characteristic of the story "After the Ball." The composition of Lev Nikolaevich is extremely concentrated, if we take into account the ratio of the number of moral dilemmas posed to the main character (and the reader) and the number of letters spent on this task.