True and false patriotism and heroism as understood by L. Tolstoy in the novel “War and Peace

The work of Leo Tolstoy is full of military actions. Together with the author, following him, the reader on the pages of the work "War and Peace" will see incredible pictures of battles and battles: Borodinsky, Shengrabensky, Austerlitsky. But the writer not only shows the hostilities, but, above all, he wants to show each person as a person, separately, how he, a soldier or a general involved in a noisy stream of hostilities, will manifest and show himself.

There are many participants in these events. These are the commanders-in-chief of the army on the one hand and on the other. This includes all the staff chiefs, generals, officers and, of course, servicemen and partisans. In order for the reader to see them more fully, to realize not only the scale of the entire event, but also to see each individual person, the author tries to put them in a variety of situations: combat and peaceful life. It is known that Leo Tolstoy himself also fought, he took part in hostilities in the Caucasus and showed himself in the defense of Sevastopol. That is why he tries to show the real and harsh military truth, without embellishing it. And it consists of suffering, blood, and death.

But it is in such conditions that the wonderful qualities of a person are manifested: courage, courage, heroism. Tolstoy's epic shows two wars: 1805 - 1807, which took place abroad, and in Russia in 1812. Different participants with different personalities meet on one front and on the other. For example, Bagration's detachment makes a heroic transition, the heroism and talented commander of the Russian army Kutuzov is shown. But they are opposed by the incompetent and vain Maka, an Austrian general.

But ordinary Russian peasants who have become servicemen, their honest commanders, are showing special courage. But among the staff commanders there are many cowards and traitors. Zherkov stands out especially among them. After he was kicked out of the Russian regiment, he could easily join Bagration himself as an orderly. He told everyone that he did not want to fight, but medals and orders can be obtained much more, even without doing anything.

But the real heroes who were able to show courage and bravery on the battlefield are humble and simple. They reveal themselves in battle, showing strength of character and spirit. Persistent and firm in execution, they only cause admiration. One of these heroes is Timokhin. He is a company commander who successfully retained his company. But for his soldiers, he will always be an example. He himself, by his example, inspired the rank and file of his company to a surprise attack by the French. This made it possible to throw back the enemy and give the other battalions an opportunity to come to their senses and put themselves in order.

The author tries to show everything truthfully, so the pictures of confusion and heroic deeds are simply intertwined. A striking example of this is the description on the pages of the novel of the battle that took place at Austerlitz. Disorder reigned everywhere, and there was some kind of confusion. Some troops were bored in anticipation of the battle, while others died, received many injuries and wounds. And those who were still waiting, seeing all this confusion, gradually fell in spirit. And this is a real true picture.

The vivid battles in the novel, where courage and daring were manifested, are the Schengrabenskoe and Austerlitz. They were conducted outside the Russian state, and its goals for the common people were completely incomprehensible. The war of 1812 looks completely different, when it contains a tremendous meaning and goal - to defend their homeland. These battles of 1812 were popular, as they were fought against those enemies who encroached on the independence of Russia.

A huge French regiment, in which there were five hundred people, fell upon the country. Glory has already circulated about this mighty of Napoleon, as about the most invincible and strongest. But in the Russian state, this formidable power received powerful resistance. Not only the military stood up as a wall, but the entire people rose up to defend their country and independence.

The author truthfully shows how the entire population, forgetting about their property, abandoning it, leaving Moscow, which could just about pass into the hands of the French. But this happened not only in Moscow, but also in other villages and cities.

To oppose this strongest Napoleonic army, partisan detachments are beginning to be created. The largest and most heroic on the pages of Tolstoy's epic novel are the detachments of Dolokhov and Denisov. The writer also tells about a sexton who heads one of the detachments. In his story, there is also a place for Vasilisa, the elder who was able to beat many Frenchmen. More than a hundred of the enemy died at her hands. The partisans did not act openly, they tried to destroy the huge French army piece by piece. Fighting bravely, they gradually destroyed their enemies, freeing their land.

As a result, the war, which was aggressive on the part of the French army, then on the part of Russia for the liberation and the people, ended. It was the people who did everything in order to win. Only he showed unprecedented courage and courage. Both commanders and generals showed heroism, who also influenced the fact that the enormous countless force of Napoleon was defeated.

Battle of Shengraben. True and False Heroism.

What is the difference between the behavior of Dolokhov and Timokhin?

War of 1805 The situation in the theater of operations was as follows: the 35,000-strong Russian army was retreating, pursued by the 100,000-strong French army under the command of Napoleon. Kutuzov sent a four-thousand-strong vanguard of Bagration to cut across the enemy, which, ahead of the French, had to detain them as much as he could. The task was not an easy one ... At night, Bagration, having walked forty-five miles with hungry, barefoot soldiers through the mountains, without a road, having lost a third of the stragglers, arrived at the appointed place several hours earlier than the French. But then the unexpected happened ... Murat, meeting Bagration's detachment, thought that it was the entire army of Kutuzov and proposed an armistice for three days. For the Russians, this was the only opportunity to gain time, to give rest to the exhausted detachment of Bagration. Unlike Murat, Napoleon immediately unraveled the deception. While Bagration's detachment was resting, Bonaparte's adjutant galloped to Murat with a formidable message. The Russians had time to rest a little, eat some soldier's porridge, and then ... suddenly a whistle is heard, a cannonball falls, then the next, and the next ... Tushin, the battery commander, ordered to start fire on Shengraben.
Meanwhile, the infantry regiments, caught by the French in the forest by surprise, chaotically, in panic, ran out of the forest, shouting: "Bypassed! Cut off! Lost!" The regimental commander ran after his soldiers, trying to stop them, but they did not listen to him and continued to run. He stopped in despair, it seemed to him that it was all over. But then he saw that the French, who had just advanced, suddenly ran back. Russian riflemen appeared in the forest - Timokhin's company, the only one remaining in order, sat in a ditch, waiting for the enemy, and then suddenly attacked. Timokhin was as if imbued with vigor and decisiveness at that moment, he, holding one sword in his hand, filled with a great sense of duty and fighting spirit, ran at the French, and they, not having time to recover, threw down their weapons and ran. At this moment Dolokhov fled next to Timokhin, killed one Frenchman at point-blank range and "the first to take the surrendered officer by the collar." The fleeing soldiers were returning to their battalions. The regimental commander stood with Major Economov and gave him orders, at that time one pale soldier ran up to him, it was Dolokhov. He showed the commander a French sword and bag, said that he had captured an officer and stopped the company. And he also asked the commander to remember him. And then, continuing to interfere with the conversation, Dolokhov showed his wound, which he had received from a French bayonet.
If we compare Timokhin and Dolokhov, we can say that Timokhin is brave, decisive, purposeful, desperate, with tremendous willpower, because when all the soldiers of other companies began to flee in panic somewhere, picking up the rest, Timokhin did not succumb to this and remained sit in the forest, in ambush, waiting for a convenient moment for an attack. Indeed, to win a battle, it is important not only to have a large army, although not without it, it is important to be able to properly set up this army, these soldiers, give them a good fighting spirit, faith in their own strength and a desire to protect people from death at all costs ... And if everyone began to lose heart, become discouraged, thinking that everything is over, then gradually they add others to themselves, and thus it is very easy to succumb to this and run with everyone ...
And when the right moment came, Timokhin commanded for an offensive, then he ran ahead of everyone and killed the French who came in his way. At that moment, he had such a huge charge of energy needed in battle that he infected his company with it, and they, following his example, also fled to the enemy. Dolokhov was among them.
Usually, when two people are compared, one is positive and the other negative. Timokhin turned out to be positive, but one cannot say that Dolokhov is downright completely negative. After all, Dolokhov fled next to Timokhin, knowing that any enemy bullet could hit him, and that's it ... that means Dolokhov comes out brave and brave too. Yes, he was the first to grab the surrendered officer by the collar to show everyone that he was a hero, but even so, he didn't sit out in the bushes during the battle, and then ran out and grabbed him, and he also ran into the face of danger, risking his life. ..
But Timokhin, unlike Dolokhov, did not tell the commander to remember him, Timokhin did not need this. He did it very sincerely, not for show, considering it his duty, not seeing a feat in this ... But Dolokhov ...., in this, of course, he differs greatly from Timokhin ... He did all these "feats" solely so that everyone can see what a fine fellow he is, what a hero he is. But the other soldiers around him were doing the same, weren't they? This is the duty of military service!
Most of all I did not like it when he said to the commander: "I stopped the company." It's not true! He stood alone and stopped! His behavior made a very unpleasant impression on me. There was so much ostentation, hypocrisy, games in him ... He seemed to pretend that he was now playing a hero, but in fact, it seemed that he did not need all this, no, of course, he too, maybe , wants to help the troops in the fight against the enemy, but there is so much insincerity and lies in this that it is simply unpleasant to look at it !! Of course, I cannot say with complete certainty that he displayed "false" heroism, but he was very close to this, certainly you cannot call it "true"!
Unfortunately, always and everywhere there was a problem of "true and false heroism". A true hero, accomplishing a feat, considers it only his duty, he is devoid of vanity and narcissism. Tushin is a prime example of this. But there are people who tend to pass off the accomplishment of their duty as a heroic deed and exaggerate their successes. This is, in my opinion, the problem of "true and false heroism." And every soldier faces a choice ... Often times, war shows the true character of a person ...

True and false in L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace"

I. Introduction

One of the main vices of modern civilization, according to Tolstoy, is the widespread dissemination of false concepts. In this regard, the problem of true and false becomes one of the leading in the work. How can you tell true from false? For this, Tolstoy has two criteria: the true comes from the depths of a person's soul and is expressed simply, without posture and "playing for the audience." The false, on the other hand, is generated by the base side of human nature and is always focused on the external effect.

P. Main part

1. False greatness. "There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth," Tolstoy wrote. False greatness is personified in the novel by Napoleon. In it there is neither one nor the other, nor the third. Tolstoy shows that Napoleon sends people to death for petty and largely selfish goals. Napoleon's behavior is highly unnatural, every gesture and every word of his is calculated for the effect. In the novel, Napoleon is opposed by Kutuzov, whose actions are guided by love for the motherland and love for the Russian soldier. In his actions there is no play and posture, on the contrary, Tolstoy even emphasizes the external unattractiveness of the commander. But it is Kutuzov, as the spokesman for the soul of the entire Russian people, who serves as an example of true greatness.

2. False heroism. As long as a person wants to accomplish a feat, first of all, in order to be noticed, and dreams of an unquestionably beautiful feat, this, according to Tolstoy, is not yet real heroism. This happens, for example, with Prince Andrew in the first volume of the novel during the Battle of Austerlitz. True heroism arises when a person thinks not about himself, but about a common cause and does not care about how he looks from the outside. Such heroism is shown in war, first of all, by ordinary people - soldiers, Captain Tushin, Captain Timokhin, etc. Precisely together with them, Prince Andrei also becomes capable of true heroism during the Battle of Borodino.

3. False patriotism. It is manifested in the novel by a significant part of the aristocracy, from the tsar himself to Helen Bezukhova. The desire to flaunt their patriotism (a fine for spoken French words in a high society salon, jingoistic "posters" and high-flown oaths of Rostopchin, etc.) is opposed to the true, unseen patriotism of primarily the Russian people: soldiers and militias, merchant Ferapontov, who burned his a shop so that the French, partisans, residents of Moscow and other cities and villages, who left the "scorched earth" for Napoleon's army, and so on, would not go to them. The best representatives of the nobility, united with the people: Kutuzov, Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, and others, are distinguished by true patriotism.

4. False love. True love, according to Tolstoy, should arise from a feeling of spiritual closeness between people. A truly loving person thinks not so much of himself as of his beloved or beloved. Love is only justified in the eyes of Tolstoy when it expresses spiritual unity. Such love is shown by Tolstoy mainly in the epilogue on the example of married couples Nikolai Rostov - Princess Marya and Pierre Bezukhov - Natasha. But love is also shown in the novel as a false and selfish feeling. So, Pierre's love for Helene is just a sensual attraction. The same can be said about Natasha's sudden passion for Anatol. A somewhat more complicated case is the love of Prince Andrey for Natasha. It would seem that Andrei Bolkonsky loves quite sincerely, but the fact is that in this love he sees mainly himself: first the possibility of his own spiritual resurrection, and then - an insult inflicted on his honor. From Tolstoy's point of view, true love and individualism are incompatible.

III. Conclusion

"Simplicity, goodness and truth" are the main criteria for distinguishing true from false in War and Peace.

Searched here:

• an essay on the theme of true and false heroism in the novel War and Peace
• true and false in the novel war and peace
• the problem of true and false in the novel war and peace

War of 1805 The situation in the theater of operations was as follows: the 35,000-strong Russian army was retreating, pursued by the 100,000-strong French army under the command of Napoleon. Kutuzov sent a four-thousand-strong vanguard of Bagration to cut across the enemy, which, ahead of the French, had to detain them as much as he could. The task was not an easy one ... At night, Bagration, having walked forty-five miles with hungry, barefoot soldiers through the mountains, without a road, having lost a third of the stragglers, arrived at the appointed place several hours earlier than the French. But then the unexpected happened ... Murat, meeting Bagration's detachment, thought that it was the entire army of Kutuzov and proposed an armistice for three days. For the Russians, this was the only opportunity to gain time, to give rest to the exhausted detachment of Bagration. Unlike Murat, Napoleon immediately unraveled the deception. While Bagration's detachment was resting, Bonaparte's adjutant galloped to Murat with a formidable message. The Russians had time to rest a little, eat some soldier's porridge, and then ... suddenly a whistle is heard, a cannonball falls, then the next, and the next ... Tushin, the battery commander, ordered to start fire on Shengraben.

Meanwhile, the infantry regiments, caught by the French in the forest by surprise, chaotically, in panic, ran out of the forest, shouting: "Bypassed! Cut off! Lost!" The regimental commander ran after his soldiers, trying to stop them, but they did not listen to him and continued to run. He stopped in despair, it seemed to him that it was all over. But then he saw that the French, who had just advanced, suddenly ran back. Russian riflemen appeared in the forest - Timokhin's company, the only one remaining in order, sat in a ditch, waiting for the enemy, and then suddenly attacked. Timokhin was as if imbued with vigor and decisiveness at that moment, he, holding one sword in his hand, filled with a great sense of duty and fighting spirit, ran at the French, and they, not having time to recover, threw down their weapons and ran. At this moment Dolokhov fled next to Timokhin, killed one Frenchman at point-blank range and "the first to take the surrendered officer by the collar." The fleeing soldiers were returning to their battalions. The regimental commander stood with Major Economov and gave him orders, at that time one pale soldier ran up to him, it was Dolokhov. He showed the commander a French sword and bag, said that he had captured an officer and stopped the company. And he also asked the commander to remember him. And then, continuing to interfere with the conversation, Dolokhov showed his wound, which he had received from a French bayonet.

If we compare Timokhin and Dolokhov, we can say that Timokhin is brave, decisive, purposeful, desperate, with tremendous willpower, because when all the soldiers of other companies began to flee in panic somewhere, picking up the rest, Timokhin did not succumb to this and remained sit in the forest, in ambush, waiting for a convenient moment for an attack. Indeed, to win a battle, it is important not only to have a large army, although not without it, it is important to be able to properly set up this army, these soldiers, give them a good fighting spirit, faith in their own strength and a desire to protect people from death at all costs ... And if everyone began to lose heart, become discouraged, thinking that everything is over, then gradually they add others to themselves, and thus it is very easy to succumb to this and run with everyone ...

And when the right moment came, Timokhin commanded for an offensive, then he ran ahead of everyone and killed the French who came in his way. At that moment, he had such a huge charge of energy needed in battle that he infected his company with it, and they, following his example, also fled to the enemy. Dolokhov was among them.

Usually, when two people are compared, one is positive and the other negative. Timokhin turned out to be positive, but one cannot say that Dolokhov is downright completely negative. After all, Dolokhov fled next to Timokhin, knowing that any enemy bullet could hit him, and that's it ... that means Dolokhov comes out brave and brave too. Yes, he was the first to grab the surrendered officer by the collar to show everyone that he was a hero, but even so, he didn't sit out in the bushes during the battle, and then ran out and grabbed him, and he also ran into the face of danger, risking his life. ..

But Timokhin, unlike Dolokhov, did not tell the commander to remember him, Timokhin did not need this. He did it very sincerely, not for show, considering it his duty, not seeing a feat in this ... But Dolokhov ...., in this, of course, he differs greatly from Timokhin ... He did all these "feats" solely so that everyone can see what a fine fellow he is, what a hero he is. But the other soldiers around him were doing the same, weren't they? This is the duty of military service!

Most of all I did not like it when he said to the commander: "I stopped the company." It's not true! He stood alone and stopped! His behavior made a very unpleasant impression on me. There was so much ostentation, hypocrisy, games in him ... He seemed to pretend that he was now playing a hero, but in fact, it seemed that he did not need all this, no, of course, he too, maybe , wants to help the troops in the fight against the enemy, but there is so much insincerity and lies in this that it is simply unpleasant to look at it !! Of course, I cannot say with complete certainty that he displayed "false" heroism, but he was very close to this, certainly you cannot call it "true"!

Unfortunately, always and everywhere there was a problem of "true and false heroism". A true hero, accomplishing a feat, considers it only his duty, he is devoid of vanity and narcissism. Tushin is a prime example of this. But there are people who tend to pass off the accomplishment of their duty as a heroic deed and exaggerate their successes. This is, in my opinion, the problem of "true and false heroism." And every soldier faces a choice ... Often times, war shows the true character of a person ...

The colossal prose painting "War and Peace", which reflected with incredible sincerity and truthfulness the real pictures of the life of the people in the abyss of the complex events of the first decades of the 19th century, has become one of the most important works in Russian literature. The novel earned its high significance due to the seriousness of its problems. True and false patriotism in the novel "War and Peace" is one of the central ideas, the relevance of which does not go away after more than 200 years.

War is a test of personality

Despite the expanded system of characters in the work, its main character is the Russian people. As you know, people show their true qualities when they find themselves in difficult life situations. There is nothing more terrible and responsible both for an individual person and for the nation as a whole than war. She, like a magic mirror, is able to reflect the true face of everyone, tearing off the masks of pretense and pseudo-patriotism of some, to emphasize heroism, readiness for self-sacrifice for the sake of civic duty of others. War becomes a kind of test for the individual. The novel depicts the Russian people in the process of overcoming this test in the form of the Patriotic War of 1812.

Artistic Comparison Technique

In the course of depicting the war, the author resorts to a comparative comparison of the moods and behavior of both military and secular society, comparing 1805-1807, when the battles took place outside the Russian Empire, with 1812 - the period of the French invasion of the territory of the state, which forced the people to rise to defend the Fatherland.

The main artistic device, which the author skillfully operates in the work, is the antithesis. The author uses the method of opposition in the table of contents of the epic novel, and in the parallel maintenance of plot lines, and in the creation of characters. The heroes of the work are opposed to each other not only by their moral qualities and actions, but also by their attitude to civic duty, a manifestation of true and false patriotism.

The embodiment of true patriotism

The war affected various segments of the population. And many are trying to do their bit for the common victory. Peasants and merchants burn or distribute their property only so that the invaders do not get it, Muscovites and residents of Smolensk leave their homes, not wanting to be under the yoke of the enemy.

With special insight and pride, Lev Nikolaevich creates images of Russian soldiers. They demonstrated heroism and courage in episodes of hostilities near Austerlitz, Schengraben, Smolensk and, of course, at the Battle of Borodino. It was there that the incomparable courage of ordinary soldiers manifested themselves, their love for the Motherland and perseverance, their readiness to sacrifice their own lives for the sake of freedom and the Fatherland. They do not try to look like heroes, to emphasize their prowess against the background of others, but only try to prove their love and devotion to the Fatherland. Unwittingly, the work reads the idea that true patriotism cannot be ostentatious and poser.

One of the most striking characters personifying true patriotism in the novel "War and Peace" is Mikhail Kutuzov. Appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army, against the tsar's will, he managed to justify the confidence placed in him. The logic of his appointment is best explained by the words of Andrei Bolkonsky: "While Russia was healthy, Barclay de Tolly was good ... When Russia is sick, she needs her own man."

One of the most difficult decisions that Kutuzov had to make during the war was the order to retreat. Only a far-sighted, experienced and deeply patriotic commander could take responsibility for such a decision. On one side of the scale was Moscow, and on the other - all of Russia. As a true patriot, Kutuzov makes a decision in favor of the entire state. The great commander also demonstrated his patriotism and love for the people after the expulsion of the invaders. He refuses to fight outside the country, believing that the Russian people have fulfilled their duty to the Fatherland, and there is no longer any point in shedding his blood.

A special role in the work is assigned to the partisans, whom the author compares with a club, "which rose up with all its menacing and majestic strength and, without asking anyone's tastes and rules, nailed the French until the entire invasion died."

The spirit of sincere love for the native land and state is characteristic not only of the military, but also of the civilian population. Merchants distributed their goods for free so that the invaders would not get anything. The Rostov family, despite the impending ruin, is helping the wounded. Pierre Bezukhov invests in the formation of the regiment and even makes an attempt to kill Napoleon, regardless of the consequences. Many members of the nobility are also characterized by patriotic feelings.

False patriotism in the work

However, not all the heroes of the work are familiar with sincere feelings of love for the Motherland and the sharing of national grief. Tolstoy opposes the real fighters against the invaders with false patriots who continued a luxurious life in salons, attended balls and spoke the language of the invader. The author considers not only secular society to be false patriots, but also the majority of the officers of the Russian army. Many of them are happy about the war as a way to receive orders and advance their careers. The author denounces most of the officers who huddle in headquarters and do not participate in battles, hiding behind ordinary soldiers.

The reception of antithesis in the depiction of feigned and real patriotism is one of the ideological lines of the epic novel War and Peace. According to the author, representatives of the common people, as well as those nobles who are imbued with its spirit, demonstrated true feelings of love for their native land. Those who have no peace in moments of common grief, and reflect sincere love for the Motherland. This idea is one of the main in the work, as well as in the essay on the theme "True and False Patriotism in the novel" War and Peace ". The author depicts this conviction through the thoughts of Pierre Bezukhov, who realizes that real happiness is in unity with his people.

Product test