Tolstoy managed to reflect all aspects of 19th-century Russia in his epic War and Peace. The folk thought in the novel is especially bright. The image of the people in general is one of the basic and semantic. Moreover, it is the national character that is the subject of the image in the novel. And the national character can be understood only from the description of the everyday life of the people, their view of humanity and the world, moral assessments, misconceptions and prejudices.
The image of the people
Tolstoy included in the concept of "people" not only soldiers and men, but also the nobility, which had a similar view of spiritual values ​​and the world. It is this idea that the author laid at the basis of the epic "War and Peace." The popular idea in the novel is therefore embodied through all people united by language, history, culture and territory.
From this point of view, Tolstoy is an innovator, since before him in Russian literature there has always been a clear boundary between the peasant estate and the nobility. In order to illustrate his idea, the writer turned to very harsh times for all of Russia - the Patriotic War of 1812.
The only confrontation is the struggle of the best people of the nobility, united with immigrants from the people, with military and bureaucratic circles, who are unable to perform feats or make sacrifices in order to defend the Fatherland.
Image of the life of ordinary soldiers
The pictures of life of the people in peace and wartime are widely represented in Tolstoy's epic "War and Peace." The popular idea in the novel, however, showed itself most clearly during the Patriotic War, when all the inhabitants of Russia were required to demonstrate perseverance, generosity and patriotism.
Despite this, descriptions of folk scenes appear in the first two volumes of the novel. This is an image of Russian soldiers when they participated in foreign campaigns, performing a duty to the Allies. For ordinary soldiers who have left the people, such campaigns are unclear - why not defend their land?
Terrible pictures are drawn by Tolstoy. The army is starving because the allies it supports do not provide provisions. Unable to look at how soldiers suffer, Officer Denisov decides to seize food from an alien regiment, which adversely affects his career. In this act, the spiritual qualities of the Russian person are manifested.
War and Peace: A Popular Thought in a Novel
As noted above, the fate of the heroes of Tolstoy from among the best nobles is always associated with folk life. Therefore, the "popular thought" passes through the whole work with a red thread. So, Pierre Bezukhov, being captured, learns the truth of life, which reveals to him an ordinary peasant man. And it consists in the fact that a person is unhappy only when there is surplus in his life. Little is needed for happiness.
On the Austerlitz field, Andrei Bolkonsky feels his connection with the people. He grabs the flagpole, not hoping that they will follow him. But the soldiers, seeing the standard bearer, rush into battle. The unity of ordinary soldiers and officers gives the army unprecedented power.
The house in the novel "War and Peace" is of great importance. But this is not about decoration and furniture. The image of the house embodies family values. Moreover, the whole of Russia is home, all the people are one big family. That is why Natasha Rostova throws off her property from the supply and gives them to the wounded.
It is in this unity that Tolstoy sees the true strength of the people. The force that was able to defeat the war of 1812.
Images of people from the people
On the first pages of the novel, the writer creates images of individual soldiers. This is the orderly Denisov Lavrushka with his roguish disposition, and the merry fellow Sidorov, hilariously mimicking the French, and Lazarev, who received the order from Napoleon himself.
However, the house in the novel "War and Peace" occupies a key place, so most heroes from among the common people can be found in descriptions of peacetime. Here another serious problem of the 19th century arises - the hardships of serfdom. Tolstoy depicts how the old Prince Bolkonsky, having decided to punish the barman Philip, who forgot the owner’s order, gave him to the soldiers. But Pierre’s attempt to make life easier for his serfs ended in nothing, since the manager deceived the count.
National labor
Many of the problems characteristic of Tolstoy’s work are raised by the epic “War and Peace”. The theme of labor as one of the main for the writer was no exception. Labor is inextricably linked with folk life. Moreover, Tolstoy uses it to characterize the characters, as he attaches great importance to this. Idleness in the understanding of the writer speaks of a morally weak, insignificant and unworthy person.
But labor is not just service, it is pleasure. So, the traveling Danil, participating in the hunt, surrenders to this business to the end, he shows himself a true connoisseur and, in a fit of excitement, even yells at Count Rostov.
The old valet Tikhon had grown to his position before that he understood his master without words. And the courtyard Anisya is touted by Tolstoy for his housekeeping, playfulness and good nature. For her, the house of the owners is not a foreign and hostile place, but a near and dear one. A woman loves her work.
Russian people and war
However, a quiet life ended, and the war began. All the images in the novel "War and Peace" are transformed. All heroes, both low and high class, are united by a single feeling of “inner warmth of patriotism”. This feeling is becoming a national trait of the Russian people. It made him capable of self-sacrifice. The very sacrifice that decided the outcome of the war and so hit the French soldiers.
Another difference between the Russian troops and the French is that they do not play war. For the Russian people, this is a great tragedy in which there can be nothing good. Unbeknownst to Russian soldiers, the pleasure of the battle or the joy of the impending war. But at the same time, everyone is ready to give his life. There is no cowardice here, the soldiers are ready for death, because their duty is to protect their homeland. Only one who will “spare himself less” can win - this is the opinion of Andrei Bolkonsky.
Peasant moods in the epic
The theme of the people sounds piercingly and vividly in the novel War and Peace. However, Tolstoy is not trying to idealize the people. The writer depicts scenes testifying to the spontaneity and inconsistency of peasant sentiments. A good example of this is the Bogucharovsky revolt, when the peasants, after reading French leaflets, refused to let Princess Mary out of the estate. Men are capable of the same self-interest as nobles like Boris Drubetskoy or Berg, who long for the ranks thanks to the war. The French promised money, and now they have obeyed them. However, when Nikolai Rostov ordered to stop the atrocities and tie up the ringleaders, the peasants dutifully executed his order.
On the other hand, when the French began to advance, the people left their homes, destroying the acquired property so that it would not go to the enemies.
The power of the people
Nevertheless, she revealed the best folk qualities of the epic "War and Peace." The essence of the work is precisely to depict the true power of the Russian people.
In the fight against the French, the Russians, despite everything, were able to maintain high moral qualities. Tolstoy saw the greatness of a nation not in the fact that it could subjugate neighboring peoples with arms, but in the fact that such a nation, even in the worst of times, could preserve justice, humanity and a gracious attitude towards the enemy. An example of this is the episode of the salvation of the French captain Rambal.
Tikhon Scherbaty and Platon Karataev
If we analyze the novel "War and Peace" into chapters, then these two heroes will surely attract attention. Tolstoy, including them in the narrative, wanted to show the interconnected and at the same time opposite sides of the national Russian character. Compare these characters:
Plato Karataev is a benevolent and dreamy soldier who is used to meekly obeying fate.
Tikhon Scherbaty is an intelligent, decisive, courageous and active peasant who will never reconcile with fate and will actively oppose it. He himself went to the soldiers and became famous for having killed more than all the French.
These characters embodied two sides of a Russian character: humility, patience on the one hand, and an irresistible desire to fight on the other.
It is believed that Shcherbatov’s principle was most clearly manifested in the novel, however, Karataev’s wisdom and patience were not left behind.
conclusions
Thus, the people are the main active force in the "War and Peace." According to Tolstoy's philosophy, one person cannot change history, only the strength and desire of the people are capable of this. Therefore, Napoleon, who decided to redraw the world, lost the power of an entire nation.