True patriotism and heroism in the understanding of L. Tolstoy

The theme of patriotism deeply worried Tolstoy. In his work, he tried to reveal this topic to the maximum. False and true patriotism in the novel "War and Peace" are opposed to each other. False patriots pursuing selfish goals, acting for the sake of their own interests and real defenders of the Fatherland, for whom duty, honor and conscience are above all else. The war tore the masks off people's faces, exposing their essence and turning inside out the soul of everyone.

true patriotism

True patriotism is real actions when, first of all, you think about the people, their fate. When, without hesitation, you give your life for the sake of the Motherland. Tolstoy was convinced that the Russian people were deeply patriotic. He is able to stand up as an invincible wall, protecting his own. The war touched everyone who was at that time and in that place. She did not choose who was rich or poor in front of her. Different segments of the population fell under its millstones. Each, as best he could, by virtue of his abilities, tried to contribute to the overall victory over the enemy.

When the French occupied Smolensk, the peasants burned hay so that it would not get to the enemies. The merchant Ferapontov decided to show his patriotism in his own way. He personally burned down his trading shop so that it would not fall into the hands of the French. Residents of Moscow also did not stand aside. The people did not want to remain under the yoke of impostors. They left their homes, leaving their native city.

With love and pride, Tolstoy describes Russian soldiers. The battles near Smolensk, Shengraben, Austerlitz, the Battle of Borodino are an example worthy of respect. It was in battle that their best qualities were manifested: fortitude, iron character, readiness for self-sacrifice, courage. Everyone realized that another battle could take the life of any of them, but no one was going to retreat or surrender. They did not seek to look like heroes, they did not flaunt their victories. They acted sincerely. In every step, love for the Motherland and Fatherland was felt.

An example of true patriotism was the commander Kutuzov. The tsar himself was in command against his appointment, but Kutuzov managed to justify the trust placed in him. Kutuzov felt and understood the soldiers. He lived by their interests, took care of everyone as if he were his own son. For him, everyone was family and loved.

The most difficult decision in Kutuzov's life during the war was the order to retreat. Not everyone would dare to take on such a responsibility. It was a difficult choice. On the one hand, Moscow, on the other, all of Russia. Retreating from Moscow, he managed to save an army, the number of soldiers of which was significantly inferior to that of Napoleon. Another manifestation of Kutuzov's patriotism is his refusal to fight outside of Russia. He was convinced that the people had fulfilled their civic duty to the Motherland and there was no need to risk their lives once again.

Tolstoy did not ignore the partisans, comparing partisan detachments with a strong club "rising with all its formidable and majestic strength and, without asking anyone's tastes and rules ... nailing the French ... until the whole invasion died."

False patriotism

False patriotism is all saturated with falsehood. The actions of these people are ostentatious, the patriotic words that fly from their lips are empty. Everything they do is for their own benefit, for the sake of their own interests. At a time when real patriots fought for their homeland, false patriots attended social events, went to salons, and spoke the enemy language.

Not only secular society provokes the wrath of Tolstoy. He criticizes the officer corps, who prefers to sit ass in the headquarters, evading combat battles, where blood is shed and people die. Careerists who want to rise up at someone else's expense and get another order for free.

The author sought to emphasize that real patriotism, sincere feelings for the Motherland, are best able to be shown by ordinary people. In moments of common grief, people draw closer. An unknown force wakes up in them, capable of erasing any enemy to smithereens. To convey his theory to the people, Tolstoy tried through Pierre Bezukhov, who realized that real happiness lies in unity with his people. Only when we are united are we invincible.

Introduction

The theme of patriotism in the novel "War and Peace" is one of the central ones. It is no coincidence that almost two volumes of the famous epic are dedicated to her.

Patriotism of the people in the work

What is patriotism according to Tolstoy? This is a natural movement of the soul, which makes a person not think about himself "with the consciousness of a common misfortune." The war of 1812, which affected everyone, showed how much Russians love their Fatherland. Reading the text of the work, we find many examples of this.

So, Smolensk residents burn houses and bread so that the French do not get it. The merchant Ferapontov gives all the goods to the soldiers and sets fire to his property with his own hands. "Get it all, guys! Don't get the devils!" he shouts.

The residents of Moscow are also deeply patriotic. The episode when Napoleon on Poklonnaya Hill is waiting for a deputation with the keys to the city is indicative. But, most of the inhabitants left Moscow. Artisans and merchants left. The nobles also left the city, for whom, before the enemy arrived on Russian soil, French was their native language.

Patriotism in the novel sometimes wakes up even in those from whom it was difficult to expect. So, Princess Katish, who, together with Vasily, is participating in the hunt for the will of Count Bezukhov, declares to Pierre: “Whatever I am, I can’t live under Bonaparte power.”

Even the cutesy gossip Julie Karagina leaves with everyone with the words: “I am not Joan of Arc and not an Amazon.” Moscow. It was impossible to be under the control of the French."

Natasha and Pierre during the war

The writer's favorite characters cannot stay away from the common trouble. Pierre decides to stay in the capital in order to shoot the French emperor "in order to either perish or end the misfortune of all Europe." He saves an unfamiliar girl from a burning garden, pounces with his fists on a French soldier who is trying to remove a necklace from a woman. Pierre finds himself on the battlefield and captured, he was nearly shot by the French and rescued by Russian partisans. It is the war that makes Pierre look at himself and others with different eyes, feel his closeness to the common people.

The feeling of "the need for sacrifice and suffering" during the general misfortune makes Natasha Rostova scream at her mother, who does not want to give her wagons to the wounded. At that moment, Natasha does not think that she can be a dowry. She thinks only that the wounded cannot be left to the French.

True patriots on the battlefield

It is impossible, speaking about the theme of patriotism in "War and Peace", not to mention the direct participants in the battles, generals and ordinary soldiers.

First of all, the reader is attracted by the image of Kutuzov. Like many of Tolstoy's favorite heroes, Kutuzov has a completely unattractive appearance “in a long frock coat on a huge thick body”, “with a stooped back”, “with a leaky, white eye on a swollen face” - this is how the writer of the great commander draws before the battle of Borodino. Tolstoy emphasizes that this man combined physical weakness and spiritual power. It was she, this inner strength, that allowed him to make an unpopular decision - to leave Moscow in order to save the army. It was thanks to her that he had the strength to liberate the Fatherland from the French.

Appear before us images and other heroes. These are real historical figures: generals Raevsky, Yermolov Dokhturov, Bagration. And fictional brave men, including Prince Andrei, Timokhin, Nikolai Rostov and many others whose names are unknown.

The true patriots of the fatherland are shown by the writer and participants in the partisan war. They did not participate in great battles, but destroyed the enemy in the ways available to them. Tikhon Shcherbaty, elder Vasilisa, Denis Davydov. It is their exploits that delight the young Petya Rostov, who joins the partisan detachment.

False patriots in the novel

Tolstoy contrasts true patriots with false patriots, who do not care about the common misfortune, and who are trying to extract their own benefit from it.

So, visitors to the Scherer salon live a normal life. She arranges a reception even on the day of the Battle of Borodino. The patriotism of the mistress of a fashionable salon is manifested only in the fact that she gently scolds those who visit the French theater.

"False patriots" are among the staff officers. Among them is Boris Drubetskoy, who, thanks to his cunning, "managed to stay at the main apartment." Berg, who in a pathetic tone makes a fiery speech in front of Count Rostov, and then begins to bargain with him for a "chiffonier" and a toilet "with an English secret." And, of course, Count Rostopchin, who, with his calls and empty activities, doomed thousands of people to death, and then, having given the son of the merchant Vereshchagin to be torn to pieces by an angry crowd, he flees from Moscow.

Conclusion

In conclusion of the essay on the topic of patriotism in the novel "War and Peace" it must be said that Tolstoy was able to show the reader how a true patriot of his Motherland should behave in the hour of danger threatening her.

Artwork test

The novel "War and Peace" is a great work of Russian and world literature, a grandiose epic, the hero of which is the Russian people, who showed unprecedented heroism and patriotism in the struggle for the freedom and independence of their homeland in the war of 1812.

The huge life material of this novel is united by a single idea, "I tried to write the history of the people," says Tolstoy. The people, according to Tolstoy, are not only peasants, but also nobles, those people who are worried about the fate of the country, who are in the whirlpool of great events. A colossal wave of anger rose among the people after the French attack. All Russian people, with the exception of a small handful of court aristocrats, could not imagine how they could live under the rule of the French. Every Russian acted as he found it possible for himself. Who attacked the active army, who went to partisan detachments. People like Pierre Bezukhov gave part of their money to equip the militias. Many, like the Smolensk merchant Ferapontov, burned shops and their property so that nothing was left for the enemies. And many simply gathered and left their native places, destroying everything after themselves.

Tolstoy notes in the Russian people a simple, sometimes incomprehensible feeling of patriotism, which was expressed not in loud phrases about love for the fatherland, but in decisive actions. Residents of Moscow left the ancient capital without any call. Tolstoy emphasizes that for Muscovites there could be no question of what would be good or bad under French rule in Moscow. It was simply impossible to live like this, as it was the worst of all.

The same thing happens in other cities and villages of the Russian land. On the territory where the enemy had already entered, he saw the hatred and genuine indignation of the people. The peasants refused to sell food and hay to the French. A partisan movement sprang up spontaneously, without any order from above. According to Tolstoy's figurative expression, "the partisans picked up fallen leaves that fell from the common tree of the French army, and sometimes shook this tree."

Not only the common people, but also the advanced layers of the nobility and intelligentsia were imbued with bitterness towards the enemy. No wonder Prince Andrei says that they smashed his house, and now they are going to ruin Moscow, insulting it every second ”And therefore, according to his concepts, they are not only enemies, but also criminals. Prince Andrei honestly fulfills his duty by joining the army at the very beginning of the war, although before that he had decided that he would never be a military man again. He did not stay at the headquarters, as he was offered, but goes to the forefront of events. The heroism and genuine love of Russians for their homeland was especially clearly manifested in the battle of Borodino. On the eve of the battles, Andrei Bolkonsky says: “The battle will be won by the one who firmly decided to win it ... and who will fight harder ... Tomorrow, no matter what, we will win the battle.”

Defending their home, their family, their homeland, the right to life, the Russian people showed amazing fortitude and self-sacrifice, showed miracles of courage. They aroused surprise in Napoleon, who had been invincible so far, and then fear. It is impossible not to be proud of the Russian people. And there is no doubt that such a people has a great future.

- this is a work on which the author worked for about seven years in order to reveal in it various problems of Russian reality. The author reveals all topics against the backdrop of a terrible event that remains on the pages of our history and this is the war of 1812. This time was a great test for every Russian person who did not stand aside. Patriotic feelings began to play in everyone and everyone stood up to defend their land.

The patriotic theme in the novel War and Peace is revealed very well, about which, arguing, we will write our essay. Studying the writer's work, we saw descriptions of battle scenes, including a description of the Battle of Borodino. They are attended by the defenders of the fatherland, the common people, in which the author saw a hidden note of patriotism. Just without the common people, we would hardly have emerged victorious in this war. But the danger that hung over the country united everyone. A single patriotic impulse erased all borders and all differences. There are no peasants and serfs, aristocrats or common people here. There are patriots in the unity of their desires. It was impossible to give the country to the enemy. Therefore, an inner fire flared up in every person, thanks to which the Russian army won.

Here are ordinary men who put on soldier's greatcoats and went to Napoleon. These are the patriots in the Tushin battery, officers, ordinary soldiers, Kutuzov himself, who is shown by Tolstoy as a representative of the people's war. We see the patriotic spirit in Pierre Bezukhov, in Andrei Bolkonsky, in the Rostov family and in others like them. The writer attributes a huge role to the Vlas and Karpas, who burned hay, and did not leave it or sell it to the enemy. The people, having united with the Russian army, defeated and defeated the French army, which terrified the whole of Europe. And the patriotic spirit, unity, purposefulness and desire to win turned out to be the strongest. This is evidenced by the raised theme of patriotism in the novel War and Peace.

The Patriotic Theme in Leo Tolstoy's Novel "War and Peace"

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True and false in L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace" True heroes and patriots in the novel "War and Peace" by L. N. Tolstoy The writing. "People's Thought" in Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace"

Patriotism, according to L. N. Tolstoy, is not loud words, not noisy activity and fussiness, but a simple and natural feeling of "the need for sacrifice and compassion in the consciousness of a common misfortune." This feeling is common to Natasha and Pierre, it possessed Petya Rostov when he rejoiced that he was in Moscow, where there would soon be a battle; the same feeling attracted the crowd to the house of Count Rostopchin, who had deceived her, because people from the crowd wanted to fight Napoleon. At the heart of all these actions, for all their differences, there was one feeling - patriotism.

No one forced the Muscovites to leave, on the contrary, Count Rostopchin persuaded them to stay and called those who left the city cowards. But they went, “because for the Russian people there could be no question: will it be good or bad under the control of the French in Moscow? It was impossible to be under the French: it was the worst of all ... "

As it turned out, the author writes, under tragic circumstances, people still turn out to be better than one might think: “I will not submit to Napoleon,” said those from whom no one expected such behavior. And when Napoleon stood on Poklonnaya Hill on September 2, 1812, waiting for the deputation of the boyars with the keys to Moscow, he could not imagine that it was empty.

No, my Moscow did not go To him with a guilty head. Not a holiday, not an accepting gift, She was preparing a fire for an impatient hero... —

so wrote A. S. Pushkin.

On the way to the Borodino field, where the decisive battle was being prepared, Pierre Bezukhov saw and heard a lot. The words were simple and understandable, they were spoken by the militia: “They want to pile on all the people ...”

Tolstoy believes that patriotism is a natural feeling of people living the life of their people. Therefore, he refuses it to Berg, Kuragin, Rostopchin.

Natasha cannot and does not want to understand a mother who “at such a moment” thinks about property and forbids unloading the carts on which she wants to take “the remaining good” out of Moscow. The daughter thinks of the wounded, who cannot be left to the French. It was "wild and unnatural" to think of oneself. “The countess understood this and was ashamed,” writes Tolstoy.

The description of the Battle of Borodino, which occupies twenty chapters of the third volume of the novel, is the center of the work, a decisive moment in the life of the whole country and many heroes of the book. Here all paths will cross, here each character will be revealed in a new way, and here an enormous force will appear: the people, “men in white shirts” – the force that won the war. On the faces of the people that Pierre saw, there was "an expression of consciousness of the solemnity of the coming minute", there was "a hidden warmth of patriotism ... which explained why these people calmly and, as it were, thoughtlessly prepared for death."

What determined this victory? Tolstoy believes: not command orders, not plans, but many simple, natural actions of individuals: the fact that the peasants Karp and Vlas did not bring hay to Moscow for good money, but burned it, that the partisans destroyed Napoleon's great army in parts, that there were hundreds of partisan detachments "of various sizes and characters ..."

Tolstoy quite accurately understood the meaning of that feeling under the influence of which the guerrilla war began: the patriotism of the people. Growing out of this feeling, “the cudgel of the people’s war rose with all its formidable and majestic strength and, without understanding anything, rose, fell and nailed the French until the entire invasion perished.” Is this not a great feeling of patriotism shown by the people in the Patriotic War of 1812?

L. N. Tolstoy opened to readers so many springs of human behavior, in particular patriotism, which today is simply not talked about or spoken about shamefully. But this is a proud feeling that allows a person to feel his involvement in time, events, life, to determine his position in it. material from the site

It would seem that what is common between the time, about which L. N. Tolstoy wrote, and ours, between the war of 1812 and 1941? In 1812 there were no bombs, no planes, there were no horrors and atrocities of Majdanek, Buchenwald, Mauthausen - death camps. But why, then, in the dugouts and hospitals of the forty-first, with blockade oil lamps, people read "War and Peace" as the most "today's" book for them, why was Lermontov's "Borodino" the favorite poem - from a first-grader to a general for the long four years of the war?

LN Tolstoy also wrote about us, because he knew something about a person that was enough for more than a hundred years. And when the Great Patriotic War began, it turned out that Tolstoy said something very important about every person, and people rushed to him. We still have to draw and draw from the inexhaustible source of his book spiritual strength, steadfastness and that complex feeling that is called patriotism.

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