An autobiographical work is the tale of a n Tolstoy. Features of the genre of an autobiographical story on the example of the work of L.N.

Born December 29, 1882 (January 10, 1883) in the city of Nikolaevsk, Samara province, now the city of Pugachev, Saratov region, in the family of a landowner. Tolstoy's father is Count Nikolai Alexandrovich Tolstoy, his mother is the children's writer Alexandra Leontievna Bostrom, nee Turgeneva, a cousin of the Decembrist N.I. Turgenev. He was raised by his stepfather Alexei Apollonovich Bostrom, a liberal and heir to the "sixties". Childhood years were spent on the farm Sosnovka near Samara, which belonged to his stepfather. He received his primary education at home under the guidance of a visiting teacher.

Tolstoy's youth

Mother A.N. Tolstoy

Stepfather A.A. Bostrom

In 1897, Tolstoy entered the Syzran real school, and the next year he was transferred to the Samara real school, which he graduated in 1901. In the same year he entered the mechanics department. By this time, his first poems belong, not free from imitation of Nekrasov and Nadson. Tolstoy participates in student strikes and demonstrations. In 1907, shortly before defending his diploma, Tolstoy left the institute, deciding to devote himself to literature.

In 1908 he wrote a book of poetry "Beyond the Blue Rivers" - the result of his first acquaintance with Russian folklore. The first prosaic experiments - "Magpies' tales" also belong to this time.

The early work of Tolstoy was influenced by M. Voloshin, who in those years was friends with him. In 1909 he wrote the first story "Week in Turgenev", which was later included in the book "Trans-Volga". Then two novels were published - "Freaks" and "Lame Master". Tolstoy's works attracted the attention of M. Gorky, who saw in him "... a writer, undoubtedly large, strong ..." Critics also favorably assessed his first publications.

The October Revolution in the fate of the writer

In 1921, the writer moved to Berlin and became a member of the Smenovekhov group "On the Eve" (the social and political movement of the Russian emigre intelligentsia, which abandoned the struggle against Soviet power and went over to its actual recognition). Former immigrant friends turned their backs on A. Tolstoy. In 1922, Tolstoy publishes "An Open Letter to N. V. Tchaikovsky," explaining to him the reasons for his break with the White emigration and recognizing the Soviet regime as the only force capable of saving Russia.

The style of A.N. Tolstoy

Writer at work

Over a decade of intense creative work, the writer develops his own style. Its distinctive features are a heightened plot, a taste for a full-bodied and juicy word, extracted from the depths of folk speech. Finally, the lofty art of analyzing the hero's inner world through a special interpretation of his actions, deeds, what the writer himself calls "the gesture of the word." There is, for example, in "Peter the Great" a scene when the young tsar, having learned about the death of his friend and associate Franz Lefort, immediately leaves Voronezh and, "beckoning the checkpoints", gets to Moscow. The state of the shocked Peter, his mute sobs, is impeccably conveyed: "I stood for a long time, putting my hand on the edge of the coffin ... The shoulders began to move under the green caftan, the back of the head tightened."

In the 1920s, the artist turned to a variety of genre and thematic areas. Whimsically combined XVIII century. ("Count Cagliostro", a cycle of works about Peter I) and the distant future - the era of interplanetary flights ("Aelita", 1922), science fiction utopia (the novel "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin", 1927) and a moral and everyday story from the NEP era ( "Blue Cities", 1925; "Viper", 1928), finally, satire, sometimes turning into an accusatory pamphlet ("The Adventure of Nevzorov, or Ibicus", 1924; a cycle of works about emigrants), and a socio-psychological epic ("Walking in agony ", 1921-1941). No matter what A. Tolstoy writes about, the signs of his unique style remain unshakable: the brilliance of the picturesque nature, the sculptural style of the syllable, which help to recreate the material texture, that freshness and primordiality of being, when what is written seems to disappear, and the reader is immersed in the very thick of a full-blooded and tart life. ...

Return to the USSR

In 1923 A.N. Tolstoy returns to the USSR, where he publishes the last work created abroad - the science fiction novel Aelita and the novel Sisters (1922, 2nd ed. 1925, the first part of the trilogy Walking in the throes). Having experienced the bitterness of temporary rejection from the Motherland, the writer admitted: “Life in exile was the most difficult period of my life. There I understood what it means to be a pariah, a person cut off from his homeland, weightless, ethereal, not needed by anyone, under any circumstances. "

In 1937, Tolstoy visited republican Spain, spoke at international anti-fascist congresses in Paris, London, Madrid.

During the Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War, Alexei Tolstoy continues to work intensively in three directions. These are prose - "Stories of Ivan Sudarev", the idea of ​​a large epic novel about the military feat of the people "The Fire River (On the Right Path)", drama - a dramatic story of two plays about Ivan the Terrible - "The Eagle and the Eagle" and "Difficult Years". He works a lot in the genre of journalism. A remarkable feature of A. Tolstoy's military journalism is the active use of ideas and images of the heroic past of our Motherland, its centuries-old history.

On February 23, 1945, Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy died in Moscow before he could finish his plan as a writer about the feat of the Russian people in the Great Patriotic War.

Personal life

Tolstoy was married four times.

Writer's children

Writer with sons

Awards

In 1941, Tolstoy was awarded the Stalin Prize for the novel "Peter I".

Dilogy "Ivan the Terrible" ("The Eagle and the Eagle", 1941, and "Difficult Years", 1943)

Essays, journalism ("The Stories of Ivan Sudarev", 1942-44)

Children's book "The Golden Key, or The Adventures of Pinocchio" (1936)

Articles about literary creation

Like all the works of L. N. Tolstoy, the trilogy “Childhood. Adolescence. Youth "was, in fact, the embodiment of a large number of ideas and undertakings. In the course of work on the work, the writer carefully honed every phrase, every plot combination, tried to subordinate all artistic means to a clear adherence to a common idea. Everything is important in the text of Tolstoy's works, there are no trifles. Each word is not used by chance, each episode is thought out.

The main goal of L.N. Tolstoy is to show the development of a person as a personality during his childhood, adolescence and youth, that is, in those periods of life when a person most fully feels himself in the world, his indissolubility with it, and then, when the separation of himself begins from the world and understanding its environment. Individual stories make up a trilogy, but the action in them takes place according to the idea, first in the Irtenevs' estate ("Childhood"), then the world expands significantly ("Adolescence"). In the story "Youth" the theme of family, at home sounds many times more muted, giving way to the theme of Nikolenka's relationship with the outside world. It is no coincidence that with the death of the mother in the first part, the harmony of relations in the family is destroyed, in the second, the grandmother dies, taking with her enormous moral strength, and in the third, the dad marries a woman for the second time, whose even smile is always the same. The return of the previous family happiness becomes completely impossible. There is a logical connection between the stories, justified primarily by the logic of the writer: although the formation of a person is divided into certain stages, it is actually continuous.

The first-person narrative in the trilogy establishes a connection between the work and the literary traditions of the time. In addition, it psychologically brings the reader closer to the hero. And finally, such a presentation of events indicates a certain degree of autobiography of the work. However, it cannot be said that autobiography was the most convenient way to embody a certain idea in a work, since it was it, judging by the statements of the writer himself, that did not allow the original idea to be realized. L. "N. Tolstoy conceived the work as a tetralogy, that is, he wanted to show the four stages of the development of the human personality, but the philosophical views of the writer himself at that time did not fit into the framework of the plot. Why, after all, an autobiography? The point is that, as he said NG Chernyshevsky, LN Tolstoy “extremely carefully studied the types of life of the human spirit in itself,” which gave him the opportunity to “paint pictures of the internal movements of a person.” However, it is important that in the trilogy there are actually two main characters: Nikolenka Irteniev and an adult recalling his childhood, adolescence, adolescence. Comparison of the views of a child and an adult individual has always been an object of interests of L. N. Tolstoy. And distance in time is simply necessary: ​​L. N. Tolstoy wrote his works about everything that the moment worried him, which meant that the trilogy should have found a place for an analysis of Russian life in general.

Here, the analysis of Russian life is a kind of projection of his own life. To see this, it is necessary to turn to those moments of his life, in which there is a connection with the trilogy and other works of Lev Nikolaevich.

Tolstoy was the fourth child in a large noble family. His mother, nee Princess Volkonskaya, died when Tolstoy was not yet two years old, but according to the stories of family members he had a good idea of ​​"her spiritual appearance": some mother's features (brilliant education, sensitivity to art, a tendency to reflection and even portrait likeness Tolstoy gave Princess Marya Nikolaevna Bolkonskaya ("War and Peace"). Tolstoy's father, a participant in the Patriotic War, remembered by the writer for his good-natured, mocking character, love of reading, for hunting (served as a prototype for Nikolai Rostov), ​​also died early (1837). a distant relative of T. A. Ergolskaya, who had a huge influence on Tolstoy, was studying: “she taught me the spiritual pleasure of love.” Childhood memories have always remained the most joyful for Tolstoy: family legends, the first impressions of the life of a noble estate served as rich material for his works, reflected in the autobiographical story "Childhood".

When Tolstoy was 13 years old, the family moved to Kazan, to the house of PI Yushkova, a relative and guardian of the children. In 1844, Tolstoy entered the Kazan University, the department of oriental languages ​​of the Philosophy Faculty, then transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he studied for less than two years: his classes did not arouse his keen interest and he passionately devoted himself to secular entertainment. In the spring of 1847, having filed a letter of resignation from the university "for health and domestic reasons," Tolstoy left for Yasnaya Polyana with the firm intention to study the entire course of jurisprudence (to pass the exam as an external student), "practical medicine", languages, agriculture, history, geographic statistics, write a thesis and "achieve the highest degree of excellence in music and painting."

After a summer in the countryside, disappointed by the unsuccessful experience of managing on new, favorable conditions for serfdom (this attempt is captured in the story "The Landowner's Morning", 1857), in the fall of 1847, Tolstoy left first for Moscow, then for St. Petersburg to take his candidate exams at the university. His lifestyle during this period often changed: he spent days preparing and taking exams, then he passionately devoted himself to music, then he intended to start an official career, then he dreamed of joining the Horse Guards regiment as a cadet. Religious moods, reaching asceticism, alternated with carousing, cards, trips to the gypsies. In the family he was considered "the most trifling fellow", and he was able to pay off the debts he made then only many years later. However, it was these years that were colored by intense self-analysis and struggle with oneself, which is reflected in the diary that Tolstoy kept throughout his life. It was then that he developed a serious desire to write and the first unfinished art sketches appeared.

In 1851, Nikolai's elder brother, an officer in the army, persuaded Tolstoy to go to the Caucasus together. For almost three years Tolstoy lived in a Cossack village on the banks of the Terek, leaving for Kizlyar, Tiflis, Vladikavkaz and participating in hostilities (first voluntarily, then he was recruited). The Caucasian nature and the patriarchal simplicity of the Cossack life, which amazed Tolstoy in contrast with the life of the noble circle and with the painful reflection of a person in an educated society, provided material for the autobiographical story "Cossacks" (1852-63). Caucasian impressions were also reflected in the stories "The Raid" (1853), "The felling of the forest" (1855), as well as in the later story "Hadji Murad" (1896-1904, published in 1912). Returning to Russia, Tolstoy wrote in his diary that he fell in love with this "wild land, in which so strangely and poetically two very opposite things are combined - war and freedom." In the Caucasus, Tolstoy wrote the story "Childhood" and sent it to the journal "Sovremennik" without disclosing his name (published in 1852 under the initials L.N .; together with the later stories "Adolescence", 1852-54, and "Youth", 1855 -57, compiled an autobiographical trilogy). His literary debut immediately brought real recognition to Tolstoy.

In 1854 Tolstoy was assigned to the Danube Army in Bucharest. Boring staff life soon forced him to transfer to the Crimean army, to besieged Sevastopol, where he commanded a battery on the 4th bastion, showing rare personal courage (awarded the Order of St. Anna and medals). In Crimea, Tolstoy was captured by new impressions and literary plans (he was going to publish a magazine for soldiers, among other things), here he began to write a series of "Sevastopol stories", which were soon published and had great success (even Alexander II read the essay "Sevastopol in December" ). The first works of Tolstoy amazed literary critics with the boldness of psychological analysis and a detailed picture of the "dialectics of the soul" (N. G. Chernyshevsky). Some ideas that appeared in these years make it possible to guess in the young artillery officer the late Tolstoy preacher: he dreamed of "founding a new religion" - "the religion of Christ, but purified of faith and mystery, a practical religion."

In November 1855, Tolstoy arrived in St. Petersburg and immediately entered the "Contemporary" circle (N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Turgenev, A. N. Ostrovsky, I. A. Goncharov, etc.), where he was greeted as a "great hope of Russian literature "(Nekrasov). Tolstoy took part in dinners and readings, in the establishment of the Literary Fund, became involved in the disputes and conflicts of writers, but he felt like a stranger in this environment, which he described in detail later in Confession (1879-82): “These people are sick of me, and I am disgusted with myself. " In the fall of 1856, Tolstoy, having retired, left for Yasnaya Polyana, and at the beginning of 1857 - abroad. He visited France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany (Swiss impressions are reflected in the story "Lucerne"), in the fall he returned to Moscow, then to Yasnaya Polyana.

In 1859, Tolstoy opened a school for peasant children in the village, helped to set up more than 20 schools in the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana, and this occupation so fascinated Tolstoy that in 1860 he went abroad a second time to get acquainted with European schools. Tolstoy traveled a lot, spent a month and a half in London (where he often saw AI Herzen), was in Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, studied popular pedagogical systems, which basically did not satisfy the writer. Tolstoy outlined his own ideas in special articles, arguing that the basis of teaching should be "the freedom of the student" and the rejection of violence in teaching. In 1862 he published the pedagogical journal "Yasnaya Polyana" with books for reading as an appendix, which became in Russia the same classic examples of children's and folk literature as those compiled by him in the early 1870s. "ABC" and "New ABC". In 1862, in the absence of Tolstoy, a search was carried out in Yasnaya Polyana (they were looking for a secret printing house).

However, about the trilogy.

According to the author's idea, "Childhood", "Adolescence" and "Youth", as well as the story "Youth", which, however, was not written, were to compose the novel "Four epochs of development". Showing step by step the formation of Nikolai Irteniev's character, the writer carefully examines how the environment influenced his hero - first a narrow family circle, and then an ever wider circle of his new acquaintances, peers, friends, and rivals. In the very first completed work dedicated to the early and, as Tolstoy argued, the best, most poetic period of human life - childhood, he writes with deep sadness that rigid barriers have been erected between people, separating them into many groups, categories, circles and circles. The reader has no doubts that it will not be easy for the young hero of Tolstoy to find a place and business in a world living according to the laws of alienation. The further course of the narrative confirms this assumption. Adolescence turned out to be especially difficult at times for Irteniev. Drawing this "epoch" in the life of the hero, the writer decided to "show the bad influence" on Irteniev of "the vanity of educators and the clash of interests of the family." In the scenes of Irteniev's university life from the story "Youth", his new acquaintances and friends - students of commoners - are sympathetically depicted, their mental and moral superiority over the hero-aristocrat who professed the code of a secular person is emphasized.

The sincere desire of the young Nekhlyudov, who is the main character in the story "The Morning of the Landowner", to do good to his serfs looks like a naive dream of an undergraduate student who for the first time in his life saw how hard his "baptized property" lives.

At the very beginning of Tolstoy's career as a writer, the theme of disunity of people imperiously invades his work. In the trilogy "Childhood", "Adolescence", "Youth", the ethical inconsistency of the ideals of a secular person, an aristocrat "by inheritance" is clearly revealed. Caucasian war stories of the writer ("Raid", "Cutting the forest", "Demoted") and stories about the Sevastopol defense amazed readers not only with the harsh truth about the war, but also with a bold denunciation of aristocratic officers who appeared in the active army for ranks, rubles and awards ... In "The Landowner's Morning" and "Polikushka" the tragedy of the Russian pre-reform village is shown with such force that for honest people the immorality of serfdom became even more obvious.

In the trilogy, each chapter contains a certain thought, an episode from a person's life. Therefore, the structure within the chapters is subordinated to internal development, the transfer of the hero's state. Long Tolstoyan phrases, layer by layer, level by level, build a tower of human sensations and experiences. LN Tolstoy shows his heroes in those conditions and in those circumstances where their personality can manifest itself most vividly. The hero of the trilogy finds himself in the face of death, and here all the conventions no longer matter. The relationship of the hero with ordinary people is shown, that is, the person is, as it were, tested by the “nationality”. Small but incredibly bright inclusions in the fabric of the narrative are interwoven with moments in which we are talking about things that go beyond the child's understanding, which can only be known to the hero from the stories of other people, for example, war. Contact with something unknown, as a rule, turns into almost a tragedy for the child, and memories of such moments come to mind, especially in moments of despair. For example, after a quarrel with St. Jerme, Nikolenka begins to sincerely consider herself illegitimate, recalling snatches of other people's conversations.

Of course, L.N. Tolstoy skillfully uses such traditional techniques for Russian literature to present the characteristics of a person, as a description of a portrait of a hero, an image of his gesture, and demeanor, since all these are external manifestations of the inner world. The speech characteristics of the heroes of the trilogy are extremely important. Refined French is good for people of somme il faut, a mixture of German and broken Russian characterizes Karl Ivanovich. It is also not surprising that the sincere story of a German is written in Russian with some splashes of German phrases.

So, we see that Leo Tolstoy's trilogy “Childhood. Adolescence. Youth "is built on a constant comparison of the inner and outer world of a person. The autobiography of the trilogy is on the face.

The main goal of the writer, of course, was the analysis of what constitutes the essence of each person. And in the skill of carrying out such an analysis, in my opinion, L. N. Tolstoy knows no equal.

Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy, whose biography will be considered in this article, is a writer of a bright and multifaceted talent. He has written novels about the historical past of Russia and the present, plays and stories, political pamphlets and scripts, fairy tales for children and an autobiographical story. It will be useful for everyone to learn about the fate of this wonderful person.

Origin

The biography of Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy began back in 1883. He was born on December 29 in Nikolaevsk, in the Samara province. The future writer was brought up in the family of a landowner. His stepfather - A. Bostrom - was the heir of the sixties and a liberal. Tolstoy's mother, Alexandra Leontievna, went to him from her legal husband. She was an educated woman of noble birth. Her maiden name is Turgenev, she was the grand-niece of the Decembrist Nikolai Turgenev. The native father of the writer was Count Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tolstoy. However, some attribute paternity to the boy's stepfather - Alexei Apollonovich Bostrom. This moment in the origin of Alexei Nikolaevich is still a mystery to biographers.

Childhood

The boy's early years were spent in Sosnovka, a farm that belonged to his stepfather. The future writer received his primary education at home, studying under the guidance of a visiting teacher. Further, the biography of Alexei Tolstoy continued in Samara, where he moved with his parents in 1897. There the boy entered a real school and graduated in 1901. He then moved to St. Petersburg to continue his education. There Alexey Nikolaevich entered the Technological Institute at the Department of Mechanics. His first poetic experiments, created under the influence of the work of Nadson and Nekrasov, date back to the same time.

Early creativity

Writing fascinated the young man so much that in 1907, before defending his diploma, he left the institute and decided to devote himself entirely to literary creation. A short biography of Alexei Tolstoy says that in 1908 he composed a book of poetry entitled Beyond the Blue Rivers, which was the result of his acquaintance with Russian folklore. A year later, he wrote his first story - "A week in Turgenev". Then two novels of the writer saw the light - "The Lame Master" and "Freaks". M. Gorky himself drew attention to the works of Alexei Tolstoy. He described them as the creations of an undoubtedly great and powerful writer. Critics have also shown favor with the author's first publications.

War years

The biography of Alexei Tolstoy during the First World War deserves special attention. The writer worked as a war correspondent for the publication "Russian Vedomosti", was at the front, visited France and England. At this time, he wrote a number of stories and essays about the war: "On the Mountain", "The Beautiful Lady", "Under the Water". Aleksey Nikolaevich also turned to drama and composed two plays - "Killer Whale" and "Unclean Power". The events of the February revolution aroused the writer's interest in the problems of Russian statehood. He became seriously interested in the history of the times of Peter the Great. The writer spent many days in the archives, trying to get into the essence of that difficult time.

Alexei Nikolaevich took the October Revolution with hostility. During the general turmoil, his brothers were killed and other relatives were shot, some died of disease and hunger. The writer blamed the Bolsheviks for everything. He still continued to work, historical themes appeared in his work (stories "The Day of Peter", "Obsession"), but in 1918 he moved with his family to Odessa, and from there he emigrated abroad.

Emigration

The biography of Alexei Tolstoy continued in Paris. The writer spoke of this period as the most difficult part of his life. Far from his homeland, he had a hard time. Household disorder was aggravated by the fact that Tolstoy could not find like-minded people in the emigre environment. Nobody shared his boundless faith in the Russian people. Overcoming the oppressive longing for the Motherland, Aleksey Nikolaevich composed several works, imbued with memories of a sweet childhood. In 1920 he wrote the story "Nikita's Childhood", and two years later he published the book "The Adventures of Nikita Roshchin." In 1921, Tolstoy moved to Berlin. Here he joined the Smenovekhov group "On the Eve". This social and political association of Russian émigrés abandoned the struggle against the power of the Soviets and moved on to its actual recognition. As a result, former friends in exile turned away from Alexei Nikolaevich. In 1922 Gorky visited Berlin. The writer established close friendly relations with him. Under the influence of Alexei Maksimovich, the writer in 1922 published an Open Letter to N. V. Tchaikovsky, in which he explained the reasons for his break with the White emigration and unconditionally recognized Soviet power. During his life abroad, Tolstoy wrote many prose works: "The manuscript found under the bed", "Black Friday", the novel "Aelita" and the first part of the trilogy "Walking in agony" - "Sisters".

Homecoming

The biography of Tolstoy Alexei Nikolaevich in 1923 made a new fateful round - the writer returned to Russia. In his homeland in subsequent years, along with countless stories and stories, he wrote the second and third parts of "Walking in agony": "The Eighteenth Year" and "Gloomy Morning". Then the writer created an openly unsuccessful loyal story "Bread", in which he glorified the defense of Tsaritsyn under the leadership of Stalin, and the pompous play "The Way to Victory". However, a really brilliant idea soon comes to Aleksey Nikolaevich's mind. He begins to compose the historical novel "Peter the First", in which he in every possible way approves of the work of the great reformer. Stalin's harsh methods were assumed to be deeply rooted in Russian history. This gesture was appreciated by the authorities. Alexei Tolstoy, whose brief biography is given in this article, was showered with all sorts of favors and earned the nickname "Comrade Count". The novel "Peter the First" was created by the writer for almost sixteen years, and it remained unfinished.

The Great Patriotic War

Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy, whose biography is interesting and instructive, during the years of the Great Patriotic War, often spoke with stories, essays, articles, the main characters of which were ordinary people who managed to show themselves in difficult trials. During the war years he managed to brilliantly show his publicistic gift. Alexei Nikolaevich wrote over sixty patriotic articles, including the famous essay titled "Motherland" (in 1941, November 7). In addition, he composed a cycle of front-line essays "The Stories of Ivan Sudarev" and the dramatic dilogy "Ivan the Terrible". In his works, Alexei Tolstoy strove to convey the indestructible spirit of his compatriots. "Russian character" is a story that makes readers think about those who managed to give their lives for the freedom of the Fatherland. Subsequently, the writer wanted to compose a novel about the feat of the Russian people during the Great Patriotic War, but this plan remained unfulfilled.

last years of life

Guests always came to the hospitable and open house of the writer. Interesting people gathered here: musicians, actors, writers. Alexei Tolstoy, whose Russian character did not allow him to shut himself up within four walls and devote himself entirely to creativity, knew how to live in grand style and generously shared the benefits he received with friends. The writer was married several times, women loved him for his unusually light disposition and breadth of nature.

The biography of Alexei Tolstoy ended in 1945, on February 23, in Moscow. He did not live to see the Victory for only a few months. The writer was buried with great honors at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

Tolstoy Alexey Konstantinovich. Childhood

It is well known that Alexei Tolstoy is not the only one who has declared himself in Russian literature. A brief biography of one of them has been outlined above, but another well-known Russian writer deserves no less attention. Tolstoy Konstantin Alekseevich was born on September 28, 1878 in the village of Krasny Rog, Chernigov province. His father was Count Tolstoy Konstantin Petrovich, and his mother was the illegitimate daughter of Count Razumovsky, Anna Alekseevna Perovskaya. For unknown reasons, the woman broke up with her husband immediately after the birth of the boy and, instead of her own dad, the future writer was brought up by her maternal uncle, A.A. Perovsky. This man became famous in Russian literature under the pseudonym Anthony Pogorelsky.

Alexey spent his early years in Ukraine, on his uncle's estate - the village of Pogoreltsy. From the age of ten, the boy was constantly taken abroad. The future writer was a member of the close circle of the heir to the throne, the future emperor Alexander II.

Career and creativity

Having matured, Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy made a successful civilian career. First (in 1934) he was assigned to the "students" of the Moscow archive at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then he served in the Russian diplomatic mission in Germany, and in 1940 he entered the service in St. Petersburg at the court, where in 1943 he received the rank of chamber junker ...

A short biography of Alexei Tolstoy cannot reveal all the significant events in his life. It is known that in the 1830-1840s he composed two fantastic works in French: the stories "Meeting in Three Hundred Years" and "The Ghoul's Family". In 1941, in May, the writer first published his book - the fantastic story "The Ghoul". Belinsky reacted very favorably to this work and saw in it glimpses of remarkable talent.

Personal life

The biography of Tolstoy Alexei Konstantinovich in 1850 was marked by an important event - he fell in love with Colonel Miller's wife Sofya Andreevna. This marriage was officially registered only in 1863, as the relatives of the lovers prevented it. On the one hand, Sophia Andreevna's ex-husband did not give a divorce in any way, and on the other hand, the writer's mother in every possible way hindered her son's relationship.

Alexey Tolstoy, whose work and life are covered in this article, retired in 1861. He settled near St. Petersburg, on the banks of the Tesna River in the estate "Pustynka", and only occasionally visited the capital. In the next decade of his life (1860-1870), he often traveled abroad and traveled to England, France, Germany, Italy. The writer did not abandon his creativity and was constantly published in the magazines Vestnik Evropy, Russkiy Vestnik and Sovremennik. In 1867, Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy published a collection of his poems. The biography of this man was full of interesting events. He left his mark on Russian literature.

Demise

The writer died in 1975, on September 28, during another attack of a severe headache. The biography of Tolstoy Konstantin Alekseevich ended because he injected himself with too much morphine, which was prescribed to him by a doctor. The estate museum of this remarkable man is located in Krasniy Rog (Bryansk region). The writer spent his childhood here and returned here several times. In this estate, Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, whose biography is interesting to many, found himself a last refuge. The writer did not leave children behind. He raised only his adopted daughter - Bakhmeteva Sofya Petrovna.

Tolstoy Alexey Konstantinovich. Creative heritage

The works of Alexei Tolstoy were distinguished by a noticeable originality. The writer created many satirical poems and ballads. He is also the author of the famous historical novel "Prince of Silver". The creative biography of Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy is also associated with the writing of a dramatic trilogy about Ivan the Terrible. In addition, lyric poems belong to the pen of this wonderful author. It is enough to recall the lines from the popular romance "Amid the Noisy Ball ..." to appreciate the full power of Alexei Konstantinovich's literary talent. Tolstoy was still a good playwright. In 1898, the opening of the Moscow Art Theater was marked by the staging of his historical drama Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich.

And one cannot ignore the comic talent of this wonderful writer. Alexey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, whose biography is very rich, along with the Zhemchuzhny brothers, created the immortal image of Kozma Prutkov. More than half of the writings of this funny character belong to his authorship.

Now you know the biographies of two outstanding Russian writers. Tolstoy is a surname that is forever entrenched in Russian literature as a symbol of the highest literary talent, which is not given to everyone to surpass.

The story "Childhood" by L.N. Tolstoy (psychology of childhood, autobiographical prose)

Introduction

The life of L.N. Tolstoy

1 Childhood and adolescence

2 Youth and life in the Caucasus

The story of JI.H. Tolstoy's "Childhood"

Conclusion

Introduction

The theme of childhood is deeply organic for Tolstoy's work and expresses the characteristic features of his views on man and society. It is no coincidence that Tolstoy dedicated his first work of fiction to this topic. The leading, fundamental principle in the spiritual development of Nikolenka Irteniev is his striving for good, for truth, for truth, for love, for beauty. The original source of these high spiritual aspirations of his is the image of his mother, who personified for him all the most beautiful. A simple Russian woman Natalya Savishna played an important role in the spiritual development of Nikolenka.

In his story, Tolstoy calls childhood the happiest time in human life. What time can be better than when the two best virtues - innocent gaiety and the boundless need for love - were the only motives in life? " and those closest to him, disappointments in himself.

The relevance of this study is determined by the peculiarities of the modern stage of the study of Tolstoy's creative heritage on the basis of the Complete Works of L.N. Tolstoy in one hundred volumes.

The published volumes, including the early works of the writer, introduced into the scientific circulation newly verified texts and rough editions and versions of Tolstoy's stories "Childhood", "Adolescence", "Youth", gave a new textological substantiation of the history of their trilogy.

The question of the artistic specifics of the story "Childhood", its genre features, and finally, how the writer managed to create such a capacious image of childhood in terms of the degree of artistic generalization, requires a more detailed consideration.

The history of the study of the story by L.N. Tolstoy is long and includes many authoritative names (N.G. Chernyshevsky, N.H. Gusev, B.M. L.D. Gromova-Opulskaya), its artistic perfection and depth of ideological content are convincingly proved. However, the task was not set to analyze the story in a literary context, in a series of contemporary stories about childhood. This approach, of course, limited the possibilities of the historical, literary and artistic analysis of Tolstoy's masterpiece.

In accordance with this, the object of research is the psychology of childhood.

The subject of the research is the story "Childhood".

The purpose of the course work: to understand the role of the method "dialectic of the soul" in the work "Childhood".

Coursework objectives:

consider the life of L.N. Tolstoy;

analyze the literary text;

to determine the qualitative characteristics of the method of "dialectics of the soul" in the work of L.N. Tolstoy;

to analyze the role of the “dialectic of the soul” as the main method used by L.N. Tolstoy to reveal the character of the main character Nikolenka in the story "Childhood".

The theoretical significance of the undertaken research is seen in the use of various literary methods, which made it possible to fully and widely present the problem under study.

The methodological basis of the work is a complex of mutually complementary approaches and methods: system-typological and comparative-comparative methods of literary analysis.

1. Life of L.N. Tolstoy

1 Childhood and adolescence

thick art writer childhood

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy was born on August 28 (September 9, new style), 1828 in the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Tula province in one of the most distinguished Russian noble families.

The Tolstoy family existed in Russia for six hundred years. Leo Tolstoy's great-grandfather, Andrei Ivanovich, was the grandson of Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy, one of the main instigators of the rifle revolt under Princess Sophia. After the fall of Sophia, he went over to the side of Peter. P.A. Tolstoy in 1701, during a period of sharp aggravation of Russian-Turkish relations, was appointed by Peter I to the important and difficult post of envoy in Constantinople. He twice had to sit in the Seven-Tower Castle, depicted on the Tolstoy family coat of arms in honor of the special diplomatic merits of the noble ancestor. In 1717 P.A. Tolstoy rendered the tsar a particularly important service by persuading Tsarevich Alexei to return to Russia from Naples. For participation in the investigation, trial and secret execution of the rebellious Peter Tsarevich P.A. Tolstoy was awarded estates and placed at the head of the Secret Government Chancellery.

On the day of the coronation of Catherine I, he received the title of count, since, together with Menshikov, he energetically contributed to her accession to the throne. But under Peter II, the son of Tsarevich Alexei, P.A. Tolstoy fell into disgrace and, at the age of 82, was exiled to the Solovetsky Monastery, where he soon died. Only in 1760, during the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the count's dignity was returned to the offspring of Pyotr Andreyevich.

The writer's grandfather, Ilya Andreevich Tolstoy, was a cheerful, trusting, but disorderly man. He squandered all his fortune and was forced, with the help of influential relatives, to procure the post of governor in Kazan. The patronage of the almighty Minister of War Nikolai Ivanovich Gorchakov, to whose daughter Pelageya Nikolaevna he was married, helped. As the eldest of the Gorchakov family, Lev Nikolaevich's grandmother enjoyed their special respect and honor (Lev Tolstoy himself would later try to restore these ties, seeking the post of adjutant under the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov-Sevastopol).

In the family of I.A. Tolstoy lived a pupil, a distant relative of P.N. Gorchakova Tatyana Aleksandrovna Ergolskaya and was secretly in love with his son Nikolai Ilyich. In 1812, as a seventeen-year-old boy, Nikolai Ilyich, despite the horror, fear and useless persuasion of his parents, decided to serve in military service as an adjutant to Prince Andrei Ivanovich Gorchakov, participated in the military campaigns of 1813-1814, was captured by the French and in 1815 was released Russian troops who entered Paris.

After World War II, he retired, came to Kazan, but the death of his father left him a beggar with his old mother, sister and cousin T.A., accustomed to luxury. Ergolskaya in her arms. It was then at the family council that a decision was made: Pelageya Nikolaevna blessed her son to marry the rich and noble Princess Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya, and her cousin made this decision with Christian humility. So the Tolstoyes moved to the princess's estate - Yasnaya Polyana.

The legend was surrounded in family memories of the image of Tolstoy's great-grandfather on the mother of Sergei Fedorovich Volkonsky. As a major general, he participated in the Seven Years' War. His yearning wife once dreamed that a voice was commanding her to send her husband an icon on the wearable. The icon was immediately delivered through Field Marshal Apraksin. And in battle, an enemy bullet hits Sergei Fyodorovich in the chest, but the icon saves his life. Since then, the icon as a sacred relic was kept by L. Tolstoy's grandfather, Nikolai Sergeevich. The writer will take advantage of the family tradition in War and Peace, where Princess Marya begs Andrei, who is leaving for the war, to put on a small icon: “Think what you want,” she says, “but do it for me. Please do it! His father is still my father,” our grandfather, wore in all wars ... ".

Nikolai Sergeevich Volkonsky, the writer's grandfather, was a statesman close to Empress Catherine II. But, faced with her favorite Potemkin, the proud prince paid with his court career and was exiled by the governor to Arkhangelsk. Having retired, he married Princess Ekaterina Dmitrievna Trubetskoy and settled in the Yasnaya Polyana estate. Ekaterina Dmitrievna died early, leaving him his only daughter, Maria. With his beloved daughter and her French companion, the disgraced prince lived in Yasnaya Polyana until 1821 and was buried in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The peasants and courtyards respected their important and sensible master, who cared about their welfare. He built a rich manor house on the estate, laid out a park, dug a large pond in Yasnaya Polyana.

In 1822, the orphaned Yasnaya Polyana came to life, a new owner, Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, settled in it. At first, his family life was happy. Medium height, lively, with a friendly face and always sad eyes, N.I. Tolstoy spent his life in housekeeping, in rifle and hound hunting, in litigation inherited from his disorderly father. Children went: in 1823, the first-born Nikolai, then Sergei (1826), Dmitry (1827), Leo and, finally, the long-awaited daughter Maria (1830). However, her birth turned out to be for N.I. Tolstoy with inconsolable grief: during childbirth, Maria Nikolaevna died, and the Tolstoy family was orphaned.

Levushka was not even two years old then, when he lost his mother, but according to the stories of close people, Tolstoy carefully preserved her spiritual image all his life. "She seemed to me to be such a tall, pure, spiritual being that often ... I prayed to her soul, asking her to help me, and this prayer has always helped a lot." Tolstoy's beloved brother Nikolenka was very similar to his mother: "indifference to the judgments of other people and modesty, reaching the point that they tried to hide the mental, educational and moral advantages they had over other people. They seemed to be ashamed of these advantages." And one more amazing feature attracted Tolstoy in these dear creatures - they never condemned anyone. Once, in the "Lives of the Saints" by Demetrius of Rostov, Tolstoy read a story about a monk who had many shortcomings, but after his death ended up among the saints. He deserved this by the fact that in his entire life he never condemned anyone. The servants recalled that when faced with injustice, Maria Nikolaevna used to "blush all over, even cry, but never say a rude word."

The mother was replaced by an extraordinary woman for the children, aunt Tatyana Aleksandrovna Ergolskaya, who was a person of a decisive and selfless character. She, according to L. Tolstoy, still loved her father, "but did not marry him because she did not want to spoil her pure, poetic relationship with him and with us." Tatyana Aleksandrovna had the greatest influence on the life of L. Tolstoy: “This influence was, firstly, in the fact that as a child she taught me the spiritual pleasure of love. She did not teach me this with words, but with her whole being infected me with love. I saw, felt how good it was for her to love, and understood the happiness of love. "

Until the age of five L.N. Tolstoy was brought up with girls - his sister Masha and the adopted daughter of the Tolstoy Dunechka. The children had a favorite game of "cutie". The impressionable and sensitive Leva-Reva was almost always the "cutie" who played the role of the child. The girls caressed him, treated him, put him to bed, and he obeyed meekly. When the boy was five years old, he was transferred to the nursery, to the brothers.

As a child, Tolstoy was surrounded by a warm, family atmosphere. Here they valued family feelings and willingly gave shelter to loved ones. In the Tolstoy family, for example, lived the sister of her father, Alexandra Ilinichna, who experienced a difficult drama in her youth: her husband had gone mad. She was, according to the memoirs of Tolstoy, "a truly religious woman." "Her favorite activities" are "reading the lives of the saints, talking with pilgrims, holy fools, monks and nuns, some of whom have always lived in our house, and some only visited my aunt." Alexandra Ilyinichna "lived a truly Christian life, trying not only to avoid all luxury and services, but trying, as much as possible, to serve others. She never had money, because she gave out to those who asked everything that she had."

As a boy, Tolstoy looked closely at believers from the people, pilgrims, pilgrims, holy fools. "... I am glad," wrote Tolstoy, "that from childhood I unconsciously learned to understand the height of their exploit." And most importantly, these people were part of the Tolstoy family as an integral part of it, pushing apart the close family boundaries and spreading the kindred feelings of children not only to "close ones", but also to "distant ones" - to the whole world.

“I remember how beautiful some of the mummers seemed to me and how beautiful Masha the Turkish woman was. Sometimes my aunt dressed us up too,” Tolstoy recalled the Christmastime amusements in which the gentlemen and courtyards took part together. On Christmastide, unexpected guests, friends of my father, also came to Yasnaya Polyana. So, once the whole family of the Islenevs appeared - a father with three sons and three daughters. We rode forty versts in troikas across the snow-covered plains, secretly changed clothes with the peasants in the village and appeared as mummers in the Yasnaya Polyana house.

From childhood, "people's thought" was ripening in Tolstoy's soul. "... All the faces around my childhood - from my father to the coachmen - seem to me to be exceptionally good people," Tolstoy said. "Probably, my pure, loving feeling, like a bright ray, revealed to me in people (they always exist) their best properties , and the fact that all these people seemed to me exceptionally good was much closer to the truth than when I saw only their shortcomings. "

In January 1837, the Tolstoy family went to Moscow: it was time to prepare their eldest son, Nikolenka, for entering the university. In Tolstoy's mind, these changes coincided with a tragic event: on June 21, 1837, his father, who had gone there on personal business, suddenly died in Tula. He was buried in Yasnaya Polyana by his sister Alexandra Ilinichna and his elder brother Nikolai.

For the first time, nine-year-old Lyovushka experienced a sense of horror at the mystery of life and death. The father did not die at home, and the boy could not believe for a long time that he was not. He was looking for his father while walking among strangers in Moscow and often deceived himself, meeting his own face in the stream of passers-by. The childhood feeling of irreparable loss soon grew into a feeling of hope and disbelief in death. The grandmother could not come to terms with what had happened. In the evenings, she opened the door to the next room and assured everyone that she saw him. But, convinced of the illusion of her hallucinations, she fell into hysterics, tortured herself and those around her, especially children, and, nine months later, she could not stand the misfortune that befell her and died. "Round orphans," lamented compassionate acquaintances when meeting with the Tolstoy brothers, "recently my father died, and now my grandmother."

The orphaned children were separated: the older ones remained in Moscow, the younger ones, together with Levushka, returned to Yasnaya Polyana under the affectionate care of T.A. Ergolskaya and Alexandra Ilinichna, as well as the German tutor Fyodor Ivanovich Ressel, almost a native person in a kind Russian family.

In the summer of 1841, Alexandra Ilinichna died suddenly during a pilgrimage to Optina Pustyn. The elder Nikolenka turned for help to his last aunt, father's sister Pelageya Ilyinichna Yushkova, who lived in Kazan. She immediately arrived, collected the necessary property in Yasnaya Polyana and, taking the children, took them to Kazan. At Kazan University from Moscow he transferred to the second year of the mathematical department of the Faculty of Philosophy and Nikolenka - the second after the aunt's guardian of the orphaned family. It was hard for T.A. Ergolskaya, remaining the keeper of the suddenly empty Yasnaya Polyana nest. Lyovushka also missed her: the only consolation was the summer months, when Pelageya Ilyinichna brought children growing up to the village for the holidays every year.

2 Youth and life in the Caucasus

In 1843, Sergei and Dmitry followed Nikolenka into the Mathematics Department of the Philosophy Faculty of Kazan University. Only Lyovushka did not like mathematics. In 1842-1844, he stubbornly prepared for the Faculty of Oriental Languages: in addition to knowing the basic subjects of the gymnasium course, he required special training in the Tatar, Turkish and Arabic languages. In 1844, Tolstoy not without difficulty passed the rigorous entrance examinations and was enrolled as a student of the "oriental" faculty, but he was irresponsible to his studies at the university. At this time, he became friends with aristocratic noble children, was a regular at balls, amateur entertainments of the Kazan "high" society and professed the ideals of "comme il faut" - a secular young man, above all putting graceful aristocratic manners and despising "noncomilfoot" people.

Subsequently, Tolstoy recalled with shame these hobbies, which led him to fail in the first year exams. Under the patronage of his aunt, daughter of the former Kazan governor, he managed to transfer to the law faculty of the university. Here Professor D.I. Meyer. He offers him work on a comparative study of the famous "Instruction" of Catherine II and the treatise of the French philosopher and writer Montesquieu "On the spirit of laws." With passion and perseverance, in general characteristic of him, Tolstoy devoted himself to this study. From Montesquieu, his attention switches to the works of Rousseau, which captivated the determined young man so much that, after a short reflection, he "left the university precisely because he wanted to study."

He leaves Kazan, leaves for Yasnaya Polyana, which he inherited after the young Tolstoy brothers shared the rich inheritance of the Volkonsky princes among themselves. Tolstoy studies all twenty volumes of Rousseau's Complete Works and comes to the idea of ​​correcting the world around him through self-improvement. Rousseau convinces the young thinker that it is not being that determines consciousness, but that consciousness forms being. The main stimulus for changing life is introspection, the transformation of each of his own personality.

Tolstoy is carried away by the idea of ​​the moral rebirth of humanity, which he begins with himself: he keeps a diary, where, following Rousseau, he analyzes the negative aspects of his character with utmost sincerity and directness. The young man does not spare himself, he pursues not only his shameful actions, but also thoughts unworthy of a highly moral person. This is how the unparalleled spiritual labor begins, which Tolstoy will be engaged in all his life. Tolstoy's diaries are a kind of rough drafts of his writer's ideas: they carry out stubborn self-knowledge and introspection every day, accumulating material for works of art.

Tolstoy's diaries need to be able to read and understand correctly. In them, the writer pays main attention to vices and shortcomings, not only real, but sometimes imaginary. In the diaries, painful mental work of self-purification is carried out: like Rousseau, Tolstoy is convinced that comprehension of his weaknesses is at the same time a liberation from them, a constant elevation above them. At the same time, from the very beginning, there is a significant difference between Tolstoy and Rousseau. Rousseau thinks about himself all the time, rushes about with his vices and, in the end, becomes an involuntary prisoner of his "I". Tolstoy's introspection, on the other hand, is open to others. The young man remembers that he has 530 souls of serfs at his disposal. "Isn't it a sin to leave them to the mercy of rude elders and managers because of plans of pleasure and ambition ... I feel capable of being a good master; and in order to be one, as I mean by this word, one does not need a Ph.D. degree, no ranks ... "

And Tolstoy is really trying, to the best of his still naive ideas about the peasant, to somehow change the life of the people. Failures on this path will then be reflected in the unfinished story "The Morning of the Landowner". But for us it is not so much the result that is important for us as the direction of the search. Unlike Rousseau, Tolstoy is convinced that on the path of endless opportunities for moral growth given to a person, "a terrible brake is put - love for oneself, or rather the memory of oneself, which produces impotence. But as soon as a person breaks out of this brake, he receives omnipotence." ...

It was very difficult to overcome, to get rid of this "terrible brake" in my youth. Tolstoy rushes about, goes to extremes. Having failed in economic reforms, he went to St. Petersburg, successfully passed two candidate exams at the law faculty of the university, but gave up what he had begun. In 1850, he was assigned to serve in the office of the Tula provincial government, but the service did not satisfy him either.

In the summer of 1851, Nikolenka came on leave from his officer service in the Caucasus and decided to save his brother from mental confusion at once, drastically changing his life. He takes Tolstoy with him to the Caucasus.

The brothers arrived in the village of Starogladkovskaya, where Tolstoy first encountered the world of the free Cossacks, which fascinated and conquered him. The Cossack village, which did not know serfdom, lived a full-blooded communal life.

He admired the proud and independent characters of the Cossacks, became close friends with one of them - Epishka, a passionate hunter and peasant wise man. At times he was overwhelmed by the desire to give up everything and live like them, a simple, natural life. But some obstacle stood in the way of this unity. The Cossacks looked at the young cadet as a man from an alien world of "masters" and were wary of him. Epishka condescendingly listened to Tolstoy's arguments about moral self-improvement, seeing in them the master's whim and unnecessary "intellectuality" for a simple life. Tolstoy later told his readers how difficult it is for a man of civilization to return back to patriarchal simplicity in his story "Cossacks", the idea of ​​which arose and matured in the Caucasus.

3 The second birth of L.N. Tolstoy

Tolstoy's conscious life - if we assume that it began at the age of 18 - is divided into two equal halves of 32 years each, of which the second differs from the first as day from night. We are talking about a change, which is at the same time spiritual enlightenment - about a radical change in the moral foundations of life.

Although stories and stories brought fame to Tolstoy, and large fees strengthened his fortune, nevertheless, his literary faith began to be undermined. He saw that writers do not play their own role: they teach, not knowing what to teach, and constantly argue among themselves about whose truth is higher, in their work they are driven by selfish motives to a greater extent than ordinary people who do not pretend to the role of mentors in society. Nothing brought Tolstoy complete satisfaction. The frustrations that accompanied each of his activities became a source of growing inner turmoil, from which nothing could save. The growing spiritual crisis led to a sharp and irreversible upheaval in Tolstoy's worldview. This coup was the beginning of the second half of life.

The second half of L.N. Tolstoy was the first to be denied. He came to the conclusion that he, like most people, lived a life devoid of meaning - he lived for himself. Everything that he valued - pleasure, fame, wealth - is subject to decay and oblivion.

Tolstoy has awakened to a new life. Heart, mind and will, he accepted the program of Christ and devoted his energies entirely to following it, justifying and preaching it.

Spiritual renewal of the personality is one of the central themes of Tolstoy's last novel Resurrection (1899), written by him at a time when he fully became a Christian and non-resistance. The protagonist, Prince Nekhlyudov, turns out to be a jury in the case of a girl accused of murder, in which he recognizes Katyusha Maslova - the maid of his aunts who had once been seduced by him and abandoned. This fact turned Nekhlyudov's life upside down. He saw his own guilt in the fall of Katyusha Maslova and the guilt of his class in the fall of millions of such Katyushas. God who lived in him woke up in his mind , and Nekhlyudov acquired that point of view, which allowed him to take a fresh look at his life and those around him and to reveal its complete inner falsity. Shaken, Nekhlyudov broke with his surroundings and followed Maslova to hard labor. Nekhlyudov's abrupt transformation from a gentleman, a frivolous burner of life into a sincere Christian began in the form of deep repentance, an awakened conscience, and was accompanied by intense mental work. In addition, in the personality of Nekhlyudov, Tolstoy identifies at least two prerequisites that favored such a transformation - a sharp, inquisitive mind, sensitively fixing lies and hypocrisy in human relations, as well as a pronounced tendency to change. The second is especially important: Each person carries in himself the rudiments of all human properties and sometimes manifests some, sometimes others and is often completely different from himself, remaining everything between one and himself. For some people, these changes are especially dramatic. And Nekhlyudov belonged to such people.

If we transfer Tolstoy's analysis of Nekhlyudov's spiritual revolution to Tolstoy himself, then we can see a lot of similarities. Tolstoy was also highly characterized by a tendency to abrupt changes, he tried himself in different fields. In his own life, he experienced all the basic motives associated with worldly ideas about happiness, and came to the conclusion that they do not bring peace to the soul. It was this fullness of experience, which did not leave the illusion that something new could give meaning to life, that became an important prerequisite for a spiritual revolution.

In order for a life choice to receive a worthy status, in the eyes of Tolstoy it had to be justified before reason. With such a constant wakefulness of the mind, there were few loopholes for deception and self-deception, covering up the initial immorality, inhumanity of the so-called civilized forms of life. In their exposure, Tolstoy was merciless.

Also, an external impetus to the spiritual transformation of Tolstoy could serve as a 50-year line of life. The 50th anniversary is a special age in the life of every person, a reminder that life has an end. And it reminded Tolstoy of the same thing. The problem of death worried Tolstoy before. Tolstoy was always puzzled by death, especially death in the form of lawful murders. Previously, it was a side theme, now it has become the main one, now death was perceived as an imminent and inevitable end. Faced with the need to find out his personal attitude towards death, Tolstoy discovered that his life, his values ​​did not withstand the test of death. I could not give any reasonable meaning to any act or my whole life. I was only amazed at how I could not have understood this at the very beginning. All this has been known to everyone for so long. Not today, tomorrow will come sickness, death (and have already come) on loved ones, on me, and nothing will remain but stench and worms. My deeds, whatever they may be, will all be forgotten - sooner, later, and I will not be there either. So what to bother with? ... These words of Tolstoy from Confessions reveal both the nature and the immediate source of his spiritual illness, which could be designated as a panic before death. He clearly understood that only such a life can be considered meaningful, which is able to assert itself in the face of inevitable death, to withstand the test of the question: Why bother, why live at all, if everything is swallowed up by death? ... Tolstoy set himself the goal of finding something that is not subject to death.

4 The departure and death of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

In the last years of his life, Tolstoy bore the heavy cross of intense mental work. Realizing that "faith without work is dead," he tried to reconcile his teaching with the way of life that he himself led and which his family adhered to. In his diary dated July 2, 1908, he wrote: "I had doubts about whether I was doing well, that I was silent, and whether it would be even better for me to leave, hide. I do not do this mainly because it is for myself, in order to; get rid of life poisoned from all sides. And I believe that it is this transfer of this life that I need. " Once, returning from a lonely walk in the woods, Tolstoy with a joyful, inspired face turned to his friend V.G. Chertkov: "And I thought a lot and very well. And it became so clear to me that when you stand at a crossroads and do not know what to do, then you should always give preference to the decision in which there is more self-denial." his relatives would be delivered by his departure from Yasnaya Polyana, and for the sake of love for his wife and children who did not fully share his religious beliefs, Tolstoy humbled himself, sacrificed personal needs and desires. It was selflessness that made him patiently endure that Yasnaya Polyana way of life, which was in many ways at odds with his beliefs. We must also pay tribute to Tolstoy's wife Sofya Andreevna, who with understanding and patience tried to relate to his spiritual quest and, to the best of her strength, tried to soften the acuteness of his feelings.

But the faster his days went towards the end, the more painfully he realized all the injustice, the whole sin of a lordly life amid the poverty that surrounded Yasnaya Polyana. He suffered from the consciousness of a false position in front of the peasants, in which his external conditions of life were placed. He knew that most of his students and followers condemned the "lordly" way of life of their teacher. On October 21, 1910, Tolstoy told his friend, the peasant M.P. Novikov: “I never hid from you that I was boiling in this house like hell, and I always thought and wanted to go somewhere in the forest, in the hut, or in the village to a bean, where we would help each other. But God did not give me the strength to break with my family, my weakness, maybe a sin, but for my personal pleasure I could not make others suffer, even family ones. "

Tolstoy gave up all property for himself as early as 1894, acting as if he had died, and left the ownership of all property to his wife and children. Now he was tormented by the question whether he had made a mistake by transferring the land to the heirs, and not to the local peasants. Contemporaries recalled how Tolstoy sobbed bitterly when he accidentally stumbled upon a horse ranger who was dragging an old peasant from Yasnaya Polyana caught in the master's forest, whom he knew and respected well.

Lev Nikolaevich's relations with his family became especially aggravated when the writer officially refused royalties for all his works written by him after a spiritual break.

All this made Tolstoy more and more inclined to leave. Finally, on the night of October 27-28, 1910, he secretly left Yasnaya Polyana, accompanied by his devoted daughter Alexandra Lvovna and Doctor Dusan Makovitsky. On the way, he caught a cold and fell ill with pneumonia. I had to get off the train and stop at the Astapovo station of the Ryazan railway. Tolstoy's position worsened with each passing hour. In response to the troubles of the arriving relatives, the dying Tolstoy said: "No, no. Only one thing I advise you to remember that there are many people in the world besides Leo Tolstoy, and you are looking at one Leo."

"Truth ... I love a lot ... how they ..." - these were his last words of the writer, spoken on November 7 (20), 1910.

Here is what V.G. Chertkov wrote about Tolstoy's departure: “Everything for Tolstoy was original and unexpected. Such was the situation of his death. Under the circumstances in which he was placed and with that amazing sensitivity and responsiveness to the impressions received, which distinguished his exceptional nature - nothing else could and should not have happened, like exactly what happened. What happened was exactly what corresponded to both the external circumstances and the inner spiritual appearance of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Any other outcome of his family relations, any other conditions of his death, no matter how they corresponded to one or another traditional template, would in this case be a lie and falsehood. how he lived - truthfully, sincerely and simply. And a better, more suitable end for his life could not have been invented; m and inevitable. "

2. The story of L.N. Tolstoy's "Childhood"

1 Analysis of literary text

The story "Childhood" is the first part of the autobiographical trilogy of the Russian realist writer L.N. Tolstoy. This work is about the happiest time of human life, about how a person enters the world and how this world meets him - with extraordinary joys and endless anxieties.

The main character of the work, Nikolenka Irteniev, like any child, looks with curiosity at the world around him, studies it, much is revealed to him for the first time. The author endowed his hero with a restless conscience and constant emotional anxiety. Knowing the world, he seeks to understand the actions of others and in himself. The very first episode shows how complex the spiritual world of this ten-year-old boy is.

The story begins with an insignificant, trifling incident in the children's room. The teacher Karl Ivanovich woke Nikolenka by hitting the fly just above his head with a sugar-paper firecracker on a stick. But he did it so awkwardly that he touched the small icon that was hanging on the headboard, and the killed fly fell on Nikolenka's face. This awkward act immediately angered the boy. He begins to think about why Karl Ivanovich did it. Why did he kill a fly over his bed, and not over the bed of his brother Volodya? Is it really just because Nikolenka is the youngest, everyone will torment him and offend him with impunity? Upset, Nikolenka decides that Karl Ivanovich has been thinking about this all his life, how to make trouble for him, that Karl Ivanovich is an evil, "disgusting person." But only a few minutes pass, and Karl Ivanovich comes up to Nikolenka's bed and begins, laughing, tickling his heels, affectionately saying in German: "Well, well, you lazy person!" And new feelings are already crowding in the boy's soul. "How kind he is and how he loves us," thinks Nikolenka. He becomes annoyed both with himself and with Karl Ivanovich, he wants to laugh and cry at the same time. He is ashamed, he cannot understand how a few minutes ago he could "dislike Karl Ivanitch and find his dressing gown, hat and tassel disgusting." Now all this seemed to Nikolenka "extremely sweet, and even the tassel seemed a clear proof of his kindness." Feeling deeply, the boy began to cry. And the kind face of the teacher, bending over him, the sympathy with which he tried to guess the cause of the children's tears, "made them flow even more abundantly."

In the classroom Karl Ivanovich was "a completely different person: he was a mentor." His voice became stern and no longer had that expression of kindness that moved Nikolenka to tears. The boy is attentively examining the classroom, in which there are many things of Karl Ivanovich, and they can say a lot about their master. Nikolenka sees Karl Ivanitch himself in a long wadded robe and in a red cap, from under which sparse gray hair can be seen. The teacher sits at a table on which stands "a circle made of cardon inserted into a wooden leg" (this circle was "invented and made by Karl Ivanitch himself in order to protect his weak eyes from bright light"). Beside him lie a watch, a checkered handkerchief, a black round snuffbox, a green spectacle case, and tongs on a tray. All things are decorously and neatly in their places. Therefore, Nikolenka comes to the conclusion that "Karl Ivanovich has a clear conscience and a calm soul."

Sometimes Nikolenka would find Karl Ivanitch in moments when his "blue, half-closed eyes looked with a peculiar expression, and his lips smiled sadly." And then the boy thought: “Poor, poor old man! There are so many of us, we play, we have fun, but he is alone, and no one will caress him ... ". He ran up, took his hand and said: "Dear Karl Ivanovich!" These sincere words have always deeply touched the teacher. But there were moments when Nikolenka, lost in thought, did not hear the teacher's words, and thus offend him.

This chapter alone, in which the hero recalls his attitude towards the teacher Karl Ivanovich, shows that Nikolenka Irteniev's childhood years were not careless. He constantly observed, reflected, learned to analyze. But most importantly, from childhood, the desire for goodness, truth, truth, love and beauty was laid in him.

2 The role of the “dialectic of the soul” as the main artistic method used by L.N. Tolstoy to reveal the character of the main character Nikolenka in the story "Childhood"

The story "Childhood" was published in the most advanced magazine of that time - in "Sovremennik" in 1852. The editor of this magazine, the great poet N.A. Nekrasov noted that the author of the story has a talent, that the story is distinguished by its simplicity and truthfulness of content.

According to Tolstoy, each of the epochs of human life is characterized by certain features. In the pristine spiritual purity, in the spontaneity and freshness of feelings, in the credulity of an inexperienced heart, Tolstoy sees the happiness of childhood.

The embodiment of the truth of life in the artistic word - this is the task of creativity that is common for Tolstoy, which he solved all his life and which became easier over the years and experience - can only be more familiar. When he wrote Childhood, it was unusually difficult. Characters in the story: mom, dad, old teacher Karl Ivanovich, brother Volodya, sister Lyubochka, Katenka - the daughter of the governess Mimi, a servant. The main character of the story is Nikolenka Irteniev - a boy from a noble family, he lives and is brought up according to the established rules, is friends with children from the same families. He loves and is proud of his parents. But Nikolenka's childhood years were restless. He experienced many disappointments in the people around him, including those closest to him.

As a child, Nikolenka especially strived for goodness, truth, love and beauty. And the source of all the most beautiful in these years for him was his mother. With what love he recalls the sounds of her voice, which were "so sweet and welcoming", the gentle touch of her hands, "a sad, charming smile." Nikolenka's love for his mother and love for God “somehow strangely merged into one feeling,” and this made him feel “light, light and gratifying,” and he began to dream that “God would give happiness to everyone, so that everyone was happy...".

A simple Russian woman, Natalya Savishna, played an important role in the boy's spiritual development. “Her whole life was pure, disinterested love and selflessness,” she instilled in Nikolenka the idea that kindness is one of the main qualities in human life. Nikolenka's childhood years lived in contentment and luxury at the expense of the labors of the serfs. He was brought up in the belief that he was a master, master. Servants and peasants respectfully call him by name and patronymic. Even the old, honored housekeeper Natalya Savishna, who enjoyed the honor in the house, whom Nikolenka loved, does not dare, in his opinion, not only punish him for his prank, but also tell him "you." “Like Natalya Savishna, just Natalya, you tell me, and she also hits me in the face with a wet tablecloth, like a yard boy. No, this is awful! " - he said with indignation and malice.

Nikolenka acutely senses falsehood and deception, punishes herself for noticing these qualities in herself. One day he wrote poems for his grandmother's birthday, in which there was a line saying that he loves his grandmother like his own mother. His mother had already died by that time, and Nikolenka reasoned as follows: if this line is sincere, it means that he has ceased to love his mother; and if he loves his mother as before, it means that he made a lie in relation to his grandmother. The boy is very tormented by this.

An important place in the story is occupied by the description of the feeling of love for people, and this ability of the child to love others delights Tolstoy. But the author at the same time shows how the world of big people, the world of adults, destroys this feeling. Nikolenka was attached to the boy Seryozha Ivin, but he did not dare to tell him about his affection, did not dare to take his hand, to say how glad he was to see him, “he didn’t even dare to call him Seryozha, but certainly Sergei”, because “every expression sensitivity was proved by childishness and the fact that the one who allowed himself it was still a boy. " Growing up, the hero more than once regretted that in childhood, "without having gone through those bitter trials that bring adults to caution and coldness in relationships," he deprived himself of "the pure pleasures of tender childish affection for only a strange desire to imitate the big ones." ...

Nikolenka's attitude to Ilenka Grap reveals another trait in his character, which also reflects the bad influence of the "big" world on him. Ilenka Grap was from a poor family, he became the subject of ridicule and mockery from the boys of Nikolenka Irteniev's circle, and Nikolenka also participated in this. But right there, as always, I felt a sense of shame and remorse. Nikolenka Irteniev often deeply regrets her bad deeds and is acutely worried about her failures. This characterizes him as a thinking person, able to analyze his behavior and a person starting to grow up.

There is a lot of autobiography in the story "Childhood": individual thoughts, feelings, experiences and moods of the protagonist - Nikolenka Irteniev, many events in his life: children's games, hunting, a trip to Moscow, classes in the classroom, reading poetry. Many of the characters in the story resemble the people who surrounded Tolstoy in childhood. But the story is not only an autobiography of the writer. This is a work of fiction, which summarizes what the writer saw and heard - it depicts the life of a child of an old noble family of the first half of the 19th century.

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy writes in his diary about this story: "my intention was to describe the story not of my own, but of my childhood friends." The exceptional observation, truthfulness in the depiction of feelings and events, characteristic of Tolstoy, manifested itself already in this first work of him.

But the mood changes quickly. With amazing truth Tolstoy betrays these childish, direct, naive and sincere experiences, reveals the child's world, full of joys and sorrows, and tender feelings of a child for his mother, and love for everything around him. Tolstoy portrays everything kind, good, than childhood is dear to him in Nikolenka's feelings.

Using the means of Tolstoy's pictorial expressiveness, one can understand the motives of Nikolenka's behavior.

In the scene "The Hunt", the analysis of feelings and actions comes from the perspective of the protagonist of the story, Nikolenka.

“Suddenly Giran howled and lunged with such force that I almost fell. I looked around. At the edge of the forest, putting one ear and raising the other, a hare jumped over. The blood hit my head, and I forgot everything at that moment: I shouted something in a frantic voice, let the dog go and started running. But before I had time to do this, I began to regret it: the hare squatted down, made a leap, and I never saw him again.

But what was my shame when, following the hounds, who were led out to the cannon in a voice, the Turk appeared from behind the bushes! He saw my mistake (which consisted in the fact that I could not stand it) and, looking at me contemptuously, said only: "Eh, master!" But you need to know how it was said! It would be easier for me if he hung me like a hare on the saddle. For a long time I stood in great despair in the same place, did not call the dog and only kept repeating, hitting myself on the thighs.

My God, what have I done!

In this episode, Nikolenka experiences many feelings in motion: from shame to self-contempt and the inability to fix anything. In the scene with a boy from a poor family - Il'ka Grap, the involuntary sincerity of the subconscious desire to see oneself better and to intuitively seek self-justification is revealed.

“Nikolenka knows from childhood that he is no match not only to the courtyard boys, but also to the children of poor people, not nobles. Ilenka Grap, a boy from a poor family, also felt this dependence and inequality. Therefore, he was so timid in relation to the boys Irteniev and Ivins. They mocked him. And even to Nikolenka, a naturally kind boy, “he seemed such a despicable creature that one should neither regret nor even think about.” But Nikolenka condemns herself for this. He is constantly trying to figure out his actions, feelings. Afflictions often burst into his bright children's world, filled with love, happiness and joy. Nikolenka suffers when she notices bad traits in herself: insincerity, vanity, heartlessness. "

In this passage, Nikolenka felt a sense of shame and remorse. Nikolenka Irteniev often deeply regrets her bad deeds and is acutely worried about her failures. This characterizes him as a thinking person, able to analyze his behavior and a person starting to grow up.

In the chapter "Classes in the study and living room" the hero's feelings are revealed through dreams. She played a concert by Field, her teacher. I dozed, and some light, bright and transparent memories arose in my imagination. She played Beethoven's Pathetic Sonata, and I remember something sad, heavy and gloomy. Maman often played these two pieces; therefore, I remember very well the feeling that aroused in me. The feeling was like a memory; but memories of what? It seemed that you were remembering something that never happened. "

This episode evokes in Nikolenka a range of various feelings: from bright and warm memories to heavy and gloomy. In the chapter "The Hunt" L.N. Tolstoy shows Nikolenka's impression of the outside world.

“The day was hot. White clouds of bizarre shapes appeared on the horizon in the morning; then a little breeze began to drive them closer and closer, so that from time to time they covered the sun. No matter how many clouds walked and blackened, it was evident that they were not destined to gather in a thunderstorm and interfere with our pleasure for the last time. Towards evening they began to disperse again: some turned pale, authentic and ran to the horizon; others, just above the head, turned into white transparent scales; only one large black cloud stopped in the east. Karl Ivanovich always knew where any cloud would go; he announced that this cloud would go to Maslovka, that there would be no rain and the weather would be excellent. "

He has a poetic perception of nature. He not only feels the breeze, but a little breeze; some of the clouds for him “turned pale, authentic and fled to the horizon; others just above their heads turned into transparent scales. " In this episode, Nikolenka feels a connection with nature: delight and pleasure.

Conclusion

L.H. Tolstoy touches upon a wide range of problems in the story. Reflecting on how the process of the formation of a person's personality occurs, what are the milestones of a child's growing up, L.N. Tolstoy writes an autobiographical trilogy. The trilogy opens with the story "Childhood", which depicts the "happiest time" in human life.

In the story "Childhood" L.N. Tolstoy touches upon various problems: relationships between people, the problem of moral choice, a person's attitude to truth, the problem of gratitude, and others. The relationship of the protagonist, Nikolenka Irteniev, with his father was not easy. Nikolenka characterizes her father as a man of the last century, who in many ways did not understand modern people; spent most of his life in amusement. The main passions throughout his life were cards and women. They obeyed and feared their father. He was a contradictory person: "He spoke very captivatingly, and this ability, it seems to me, increased the flexibility of his rules: he was able to tell the same act as the sweetest prank and as the lowest meanness." The attitude towards mother in the Irtenevs' house was completely different. It was she who formed a warm, sincere atmosphere in the house, without which a normal life is impossible: “If in the difficult moments of my life I could even catch a glimpse of this smile, I would not know what grief is. It seems to me that in one smile is what is called the beauty of the face ... ". A sincere, kind smile transformed the mother's face and made the world around her cleaner and better. How much sincere kindness and responsiveness, the ability to listen to and understand each person means a lot in a person's life.

L.H. Tolstoy examines in detail in the story the problem of gratitude through the attitude towards Karl Ivanovich, the German educator of boys in the Irteniev family. Karl Ivanovich's extremely respectful behavior at morning tea in the chapter "Maman" characterizes him as a respectable, well-mannered, well-behaved person.

List of used literature

1. Romanova N.I. Small and adult Irteniev in the story of L.N. Tolstoy's "Childhood" // Russian speech. - M .: Nauka, 2008. - No. 1. - S. 19-22.

Romanova N.I. The story of S.T. Aksakova "Childhood years of Bagrov the grandson" and features of memoir literature // Scientific works of the Moscow Pedagogical State University: collection of articles. - M .: Prometheus, 2010. - S. "103-106.

Romanova N.I. Two stories about childhood: Nikolai M. (II. Kulish) and L.N. Tolstoy N Philological Science in the XXI Century: A View of the Young. Materials of the VI All-Russian Conference of Young Scientists. - Moscow - Yaroslavl, 2009 .-- S. 170-179.

Romanova N.I. The linguistic originality of the story by S.T. Aksakova "Childhood years of Bagrov the grandson" // Language of classical literature. Reports of the international conference: In 2 volumes - M .: Krug, 2009. - T. 1. - S. 207-216.

Romanova N.I. Artistic features of childhood stories // JI.H. Tolstoy - writer, thinker, philosopher (to the 180th anniversary of his birth). Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference. - Belgorod, 2009. -S. 126-133.

Leo Tolstoy's diary, vol. I (1895-1899), ed. V.G. Chertkova, M., 1916.

Diary of youth L.N. Tolstoy, vol. I (1847-1852), ed. V.G. Chertkova, M., 1917.

Gusev N.N., Life L.N. Tolstoy. Young Tolstoy (1828-1862), ed. Tolstoy Museum, M., 1927.

Gusev N.N., Chronicle of the life and work of L.N. Tolstoy, ed. "Academia", M. - L., 1936.

Study of creativity T .: Lenin VI, Works, 3rd ed., V. XII (article "Leo Tolstoy, as a mirror of the Russian revolution").

Leontiev K.N., On the novels of gr. L.N. Tolstoy. Analysis, style and trend. (Critical study), M., 1911.

Breitburg S., Leo Tolstoy reading Capital. - M. - L., 1935.

Gudziy N.K., How L. Tolstoy worked, ed. "Soviet writer", M., 1936.

Collections of articles and materials about Tolstoy: International Tolstoy Almanac, composition. P. Sergeenko, ed. "Book", M., 1909.

Draganov P.D., Count L.N. Tolstoy as a worldwide writer and the distribution of his works in Russia and abroad, St. Petersburg, 1903.

Tolstoy (1850-1860). Materials, articles, ed. IN AND. Sreznevsky, ed. Acad. Sciences of the USSR, L., 1927.

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Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy's literary activity lasted for about sixty years. His first appearance in print dates back to 1852, when Tolstoy's story “Childhood” appeared in the leading magazine of that era, Sovremennik, edited by Nekrasov. The author of the story was twenty-four years old by that time. His name in the literature was not known to anyone yet. Tolstoy did not dare to sign his first work with his full name and signed it in letters: L. N. T.

Meanwhile, "Childhood" testified not only to the strength, but also to the maturity of the talent of the young writer. It was a work of an established master, it attracted the attention of the readership and literary circles. Soon after the publication of "Childhood" in print (in the same "Contemporary"), new works by Tolstoy - "Boyhood", stories about the Caucasus, and then the famous Sevastopol stories appeared.

Tolstoy took his place among the most prominent writers of that time, they began to talk about him as the great hope of Russian literature. Tolstoy was greeted by Nekrasov and Turgenev; Chernyshevsky wrote a wonderful article about him, which is to this day an outstanding work in the literature about Tolstoy.

Tolstoy began working on Childhood in January 1851 and finished in July 1852. In the interval between the beginning and the end of work on Childhood, a serious change took place in Tolstoy's life: in April 1851, he left with his older brother Nikolai for the Caucasus, where he served in the army as an officer. A few months later, Tolstoy was enlisted in military service. He was in the army until the autumn of 1855, took an active part in the heroic defense of Sevastopol.

Tolstoy's departure to the Caucasus was caused by a deep crisis in his spiritual life. This crisis began in his student years. Tolstoy very early began to notice the negative aspects in the people around him, in himself, in the conditions among which he had to live. Idleness, vanity, the absence of any serious spiritual interests, insincerity and falsity - these are the shortcomings that Tolstoy's young man indignantly notes in people close to him and partially in himself. Tolstoy ponders the question of the high purpose of man, he tries to find himself a real business in life. Studying at the university does not satisfy him, he leaves the university in 1847, after a three-year stay at it, and from Kazan goes to his estate - Yasnaya Polyana. Here he tries to manage his estate himself, mainly with the aim of alleviating the situation of the serfs. Nothing comes of these attempts. The peasants do not trust him, his attempts to help them are viewed as cunning tricks of the landowner.

Convinced of the impracticability of his intentions, the Tolstoy youth began to spend his time mainly in Moscow, partly in St. Petersburg. Outwardly, he led a lifestyle typical of a young man from a wealthy noble family. Nothing really satisfied him. He thought more and more deeply about the purpose and meaning of life. This intense thought work of the young Tolstoy was reflected in the diary he kept at that time. Diary entries grew more and more, bringing him closer and closer to his literary intentions.

Tolstoy's worldview was formed as the worldview of a person who strove to understand the deepest processes taking place in his contemporary reality. The documentary evidence of this is the diary of the young Tolstoy. The diary served as the school for the writer, in which his literary skills were formed.

In the Caucasus, and then in Sevastopol, in constant communication with Russian soldiers, people simple and at the same time majestic, Tolstoy's sympathies for the people grew stronger, his negative attitude towards the exploiting system deepened.

The beginning of Tolstoy's literary activity coincides with the beginning of a new upsurge of the liberation movement in Russia. At the same time, the great revolutionary democrat Chernyshevsky, the same age as Tolstoy, began his activity. Chernyshevsky and Tolstoy stood on different ideological positions: Chernyshevsky was the ideologist of the peasant revolution, and Tolstoy, up to the end of the 70s, was associated with the ideology and life positions of the nobility, but at the same time he had deepest sympathy for the people, he understood the horror of his situation , was constantly thinking about what means can be used to alleviate his fate. Tolstoy's sympathy for the people and the artist's understanding of the situation of the people were strongly and vividly reflected in his very first works. The work of the young Tolstoy is inextricably linked with the beginning of the democratic upsurge in the country, with the growth of all advanced Russian literature of that time. That is why Tolstoy was so warmly welcomed by Russian democracy.

The connection with the people, which was established in Tolstoy's early period of life, served as the starting point for all his creative activities. The problem of the people is the main problem of all of Tolstoy's work.

In the article “L. N. Tolstoy and the modern labor movement "V. I. Lenin wrote:

“Tolstoy knew perfectly rural Russia, the life of the landowner and the peasant. He gave in his works of art such images of this life, which belong to the best works of world literature. The sharp breakdown of all the "old foundations" of rural Russia sharpened his attention, deepened his interest in what was happening around him, led to a turning point in his whole world outlook. By birth and upbringing, Tolstoy belonged to the highest landlord nobility in Russia - he broke with all the usual views of this environment - and, in his last works, he attacked with passionate criticism all modern state, church, social, economic orders based on the enslavement of the masses. , on their poverty, on the ruin of the peasants and small owners in general, on the violence and hypocrisy that permeate all modern life from top to bottom ”.

In the work of Tolstoy, in his stories, novellas, plays, novels - "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina", "Sunday" - as V. I. Lenin points out, a whole era was reflected in the history of Russia, in the life of the Russian people, era from 1861 to 1905. Lenin calls this era the era of preparation for the first Russian revolution, the revolution of 1905. In this sense, Lenin speaks of Tolstoy as a mirror of the Russian revolution. Lenin emphasizes that Tolstoy reflected in his work both her strength and her weakness.

Lenin characterizes Tolstoy as the greatest realist artist, whose work was a step forward in the artistic development of all mankind.

Tolstoy's realism developed incessantly throughout his entire career, but with great power and originality it manifested itself already in his earliest works.

Soon after the end of Childhood, Tolstoy conceived a work in four parts - Four Epochs of Development. The first part of this work meant "Childhood", under the second - "Adolescence", under the third - "Youth", under the fourth - "Youth". Tolstoy did not carry out the whole idea: "Youth" was not written at all, and "Youth" was not completed, for the second half of the story only the first chapter was written in draft. Tolstoy worked on "Adolescence" from the end of 1852 to March 1854. "Youth" was started in March 1855 - finished in September 1856, when about a year had passed since Tolstoy left the army.

In his work "Four Epochs of Development" Tolstoy intended to show the process of the formation of human character from the earliest childhood, when spiritual life is born, to youth, when it is completely self-determined.

The character of the hero Tolstoy largely reflects the personality traits of the author himself. "Childhood", "Boyhood" and "Youth" are therefore usually called autobiographical stories. This is a story of great power of artistic generalization. The very image; Nikolenki Irtenyeva is deeply typical. In the image of Nikolenka Irteniev, the features of the best representative of the noble milieu, who entered into an irreconcilable discord with her, are embodied. Tolstoy shows both how the environment in which his hero lived has a negative effect on him, and how the hero tries to resist the environment, to rise above it.

Tolstoy's hero is a man of strong character and outstanding abilities. He could not be otherwise. The creation of the image of such a hero was facilitated by Tolstoy by the fact that he relied on his own biography.

The story "Childhood", like the autobiographical trilogy as a whole, was often called a noble chronicle. Tolstoy's autobiographical trilogy was contrasted with Gorky's autobiographical works. Some researchers of Gorky's work pointed out that Tolstoy described a "happy childhood", a childhood that does not know worries and hardships, the childhood of a noble child, and Gorky, according to these researchers, opposes Tolstoy as an artist who described an unhappy childhood, a childhood complete worries and hardships, a childhood that does not know any joys. Contrasting Gorky with Tolstoy is illegal; it distorts Tolstoy's autobiographical trilogy. The childhood of Nikolenka Irteniev, described by Tolstoy, is not like the childhood of Alyosha Peshkov, but it is by no means an idyllic, happy childhood. Tolstoy was least of all interested in admiring the contentment with which Nikolenka Irteniev was surrounded. Tolstoy is interested in a completely different side of his hero.

The leading, fundamental principle in the spiritual development of Nikolenka Irteniev during childhood, adolescence, and adolescence is his striving for goodness, for truth, for truth, for love, for beauty.

What are the reasons, what is the source of these aspirations of Nikolenka Irteniev?

The initial source of these high spiritual aspirations of Nikolenka Irteniev is the image of his mother, who personified everything beautiful for him. An important role in the spiritual development of Nikolenka Irteniev was played by a simple Russian woman - Natalya Savishna.

In his story, Tolstoy really calls childhood a happy time in human life. But in what sense? What does he mean by childhood happiness? Chapter XV of the story is called “Childhood”. It begins with the words:

“Happy, happy, irreversible time of childhood! How not to love, not cherish the memories of her? These memories refresh, elevate my soul and serve as a source of the best pleasures for me. "

At the end of the chapter, Tolstoy again turns to the characterization of childhood as a happy time in human life:

“Will that freshness, carelessness, the need for love and the power of faith that you possess in childhood return someday? What time could be better than when the two best virtues - innocent gaiety and the boundless need for love - were the only motives in life? "

Thus, we see that Tolstoy calls childhood a happy time in human life in the sense that at this time a person is most capable of feeling love for others and doing good to them. It was only in this limited sense that childhood seemed to Tolstoy the happiest time in his life.

In fact, the childhood of Nikolenka Irteniev, described by Tolstoy, was by no means happy. In childhood, Nikolenka Irteniev experienced a lot of moral suffering, disappointment in the people around him, including in the people closest to him, disappointment in himself.

The story "Childhood" begins with a scene in the children's room, begins with an insignificant, trifling incident. The teacher Karl Ivanovich killed a fly, and the killed fly fell on the head of Nikolenka Irteniev. Nikolenka begins to reflect on why Karl Ivanovich did it. Why did Karl Ivanitch kill a fly over his bed? Why did Karl Ivanitch make trouble for him, Nikolenka? Why didn't Karl Ivanovich kill the fly over the bed of Volodya, Nikolenka's brother? Pondering these questions, Nikolenka Irteniev comes to such a gloomy idea that the purpose of Karl Ivanovich's life is to cause trouble for him, Nikolenka Irteniev; that Karl Ivanovich is an evil, unpleasant person. But then a few minutes pass, and Karl Ivanitch comes up to Nikolenka's bed and begins to tickle him. This act of Karl Ivanovich gives Nikolenka new material for thought. Nikolenka was pleased to be tickled by Karl Ivanych, and now he thinks that he was extremely unjust, having previously attributed to Karl Ivanych (when he killed a fly over his head) the most evil intentions.

This episode alone gives Tolstoy a basis to show how complex the spiritual world of man is.

An essential feature of Tolstoy's portrayal of his hero is that Tolstoy shows how gradually the discrepancy between the outer shell of the world around him and its true content is revealed to Nikolenka Irteniev. Nikolenka Irteniev gradually realizes that the people with whom he meets, not excluding the people who are closest and dearest to him, in fact are not at all what they want to seem. Nikolenka Irteniev notices unnaturalness and falsity in every person, and this develops in him ruthlessness towards people, as well as towards himself, since he sees the falsity and unnaturalness inherent in people in himself. Noticing this quality in himself, he morally punishes himself. In this respect, chapter XVI - "Poems" is characteristic. The poems were written by Nikolenka on the occasion of her grandmother's birthday. They have a line saying that he loves his grandmother like his own mother. Having discovered this, Nikolenka Irteniev begins to look for how he could write such a line. On the one hand, he sees in these words, as it were, treason towards his mother, and on the other hand, insincerity towards his grandmother. Nikolenka argues as follows: if this line is sincere, it means that he has ceased to love his mother; and if he loves his mother as before, it means that he has made a falsity in relation to his grandmother.

All these episodes testify to the spiritual growth of the hero. One of the expressions of this is the development of his analytical ability. But this same analytical ability, helping to enrich the child's spiritual world, destroys in him naivety, an unaccountable faith in everything good and beautiful, which Tolstoy considered the “best gift” of childhood. This is well illustrated in Chapter VIII, The Games. Children play, and the game gives them great pleasure. But they get this pleasure to the extent that the game seems to them to be real life. Once this naive belief is lost, play ceases to delight children. The first to express the idea that the game is not real, Volodya is Nikolenka's older brother. Nikolenka realizes that Volodya is right, but, nevertheless, Volodya's words deeply sadden him.

Nikolenka reflects: “If you really judge, then there will be no game. And there will be no game, what then remains? .. "

This last phrase is significant. It testifies that real life (not a game) brought little joy to Nikolenka Irteniev. For Nikolenka, real life is the life of the “big”, that is, adults, people close to him. And now Nikolenka Irteniev lives, as it were, in two worlds - in the world of children, which attracts with its harmony, and in the world of adults, full of mutual distrust.

An important place in Tolstoy's story is occupied by a description of the feeling of love for people, and this ability of a child to love others, perhaps, most of all admires Tolstoy. But admiring this feeling of a child, Tolstoy shows how the world of the big, the world of adults in a noble society destroys this feeling, does not give it the opportunity to develop in all its purity and spontaneity. Nikolenka Irteniev was attached to the boy Seryozha Ivin;

but he really could not say about his affection, this feeling and died in him.

The attitude of Nikolenka Irteniev to Ilinka Grap reveals another trait in his character, again reflecting the bad influence of the "big" world on him. Tolstoy shows that his hero was capable not only of love, but also of cruelty. Ilenka Grap was from a poor family, and he became the subject of ridicule and mockery from the boys of Nikolenka Irteniev's circle. Nikolenka keeps up with her friends. But right there, as always, he experiences a feeling of shame and remorse.

The last chapters of the story, connected with the description of the death of the hero's mother, summarize, as it were, his spiritual and moral development in childhood. In these final chapters, the insincerity, falsity, and hypocrisy of secular people are literally scourged. Nikolenka Irteniev watches how he and people close to him experience the death of his mother. He establishes that none of them, with the exception of a simple Russian woman - Natalia Savishna, was completely sincere in expressing their feelings. The father seemed to be shocked by the misfortune, but Nikolenka notes that the father was effective, as always. And that he didn’t like about his father, made him think that his father’s grief was not, as he puts it, "completely pure grief." Even Nikolenka does not fully believe in the sincerity of her grandmother's feelings. Nikolenka severely condemns himself for the fact that he was completely absorbed in his grief for only one minute.

The only person in whose sincerity Nikolenka fully believed was Natalya Savishna. But she just did not belong to the secular circle. It is important to note that the last pages of the story are devoted specifically to the image of Natalia Savishna. It is highly noteworthy that Nikolenka Irtenev puts the image of Natalia Savishna next to the image of her mother. Thus, he admits that Natalya Savishna played the same important role in his life as his mother, and perhaps even more important.

The final pages of the story "Childhood" are covered with deep sadness. Nikolenka Irteniev is dominated by the memories of his mother and Natalia Savishna, who had already died by that time. Nikolenka is sure that with their death the brightest pages of his life have receded into the past.

In the story "Boyhood", in contrast to "Childhood", which shows a naive balance between the analytical ability of the child and his faith in everything good and beautiful, the analytical ability prevails in the hero over faith. "Boyhood" is a very dark story, it differs in this respect from both "Childhood" and "Youth".

In the first chapters of Boyhood, Nikolenka Irteniev seems to say goodbye to childhood before entering a new phase of her development. The final farewell to childhood takes place in the chapters dedicated to Karl Ivanovich. Parting with Nikolenka, Karl Ivanovich tells him his story. He talks about himself as a deeply unhappy person, and at the same time from the story of Karl Ivanovich it is clear that he is a very kind person, that he has never done harm to anyone in his life, that, on the contrary, he always strived to do good to people.

As a result of all the misadventures that Karl Ivanovich endured, he became a man not only unhappy, but also alienated from the world. And it is this side of his character that Karl Ivanovich is close to Nikolenka Irtenev, and this is what is interesting to him. With the help of the story of Karl Ivanovich, Tolstoy helps the reader to understand the essence of his hero. After those chapters in which the story of Karl Ivanovich is told, there are chapters: "The Unit", "Key", "Traitor", "Eclipse", "Dreams" - chapters that describe the misadventures of Nikolenka Irteniev himself .. In these chapters Nikolenka sometimes, despite the differences in age and position, looks very similar to Karl Ivanovich. And here Nikolenka directly compares her fate with the fate of Karl Ivanovich.

What is the meaning of this comparison of the hero of the story with Karl Ivanovich? This meaning is to show that even at that time of the spiritual development of Nikolenka Irteniev, just like Karl Ivanovich, he felt himself a person, alienated from the world in which he lived.

Karl Ivanovich, whose appearance corresponded to the spiritual world of Nikolenka Irteniev, was replaced by a new tutor - the Frenchman Jerome. For Nikolenka Irteniev, Jerome is the embodiment of the world that had already become hated for him, but which, according to his position, he had to respect. This annoyed era, made him lonely. And after the chapter, which bears such an expressive title - "Hatred" (this chapter is devoted to Logbta and explains the attitude of Nikolenka Irteniev to the people around him), comes the chapter "Maiden." This chapter begins like this:

“Did I feel more and more alone and in charge? my delights were solitary reflection and observation. "

As a result of this loneliness, Nikolenka ^ Irten'ev gravitated towards another society, towards ordinary people.

However, the connection between the hero of Tolstoy and the world of ordinary people, which was outlined in this period, is still very fragile. So far, these relations are episodic and accidental. But, nevertheless, in this period, the world of ordinary people was of very great importance for Nikolenka Irteniev.

The hero of Tolstoy is shown in movement and development. Complacency and complacency are completely alien to him. Constantly improving and enriching his spiritual world, he enters into an ever deeper discord with the surrounding noble environment. Tolstoy's autobiographical stories are imbued with the spirit of social criticism and social exposure of the dominant minority. In Niko-Lenka Irteniev, the properties that Tolstoy would later impart to such his heroes as Pierre Bezukhov (War and Peace), Konstantin Levin (Anna Karenina), Dmitry Nekhlyudov (Sunday) are found in embryo.

A hundred years have passed since the publication of Tolstoy's autobiographical stories, but even today they retain their full force. They are no less dear to the Soviet reader than to the progressive reader of the time when they were written and appeared. They are close to us, first of all, by their love for man, with all the wealth of his spiritual world, their thought about the high purpose of man, their faith in man, in his ability to conquer everything low and unworthy.

Beginning his literary career with the story "Childhood", Tolstoy created a huge number of wonderful works of art throughout his career, among which his genius novels - "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina", "Sunday" rise. Tolstoy and his work are the pride of Russian literature and the Russian people. In a conversation with Gorky, Lenin said that in Europe there is no such artist who could be put alongside Tolstoy. According to Gorky, Tolstoy is the whole world; and a person who has not read Tolstoy cannot consider himself a cultured person, a person who knows his homeland.

B. Bursov

Updated: 2011-09-23

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