True patriotism and heroism in the understanding of Leo Tolstoy.

“The cudgel of the people’s war rose with all its formidable and majestic strength and, without asking anyone’s tastes and rules, with stupid simplicity, but with expediency, without analyzing anything, rose and nailed the French until everything perished on - procession. The novel "War and Peace" is a historical epic of the valor and courage of the Russian people - the winner in the war of 1812. The protagonist of the novel is the Russian people. As in Sevastopol Tales, so in this novel Tolstoy realistically depicts war in "blood, in suffering, in death." Tolstoy tells us about the severity of the war, about its horrors, grief (departure of the population from Smolensk and Moscow, famine), death (Andrey Bolkonsky dies after being wounded, Petya Rostov dies). War requires the utmost exertion of moral and physical strength from everyone. During the Patriotic War, during the period of robbery, violence and atrocities committed by the invaders, Russia bears huge material sacrifices. This is the burning and devastation of cities.

Of great importance in the course of military events is the general mood of soldiers, partisans and other defenders of the Motherland. War 1905-1907 was conducted outside of Russia and was alien to the Russian people. When the French invaded the territory of Russia, the entire Russian people, young and old, rose to defend their Fatherland.

In the novel "War and Peace" Tolstoy divides people according to moral principles, especially highlighting the attitude towards patriotic duty. The writer depicts true patriotism and false patriotism, which cannot even be called patriotism. True patriotism is, first of all, patriotism of duty, an act in the name of the Fatherland, the ability, at a decisive moment for the Motherland, to rise above the personal, to be imbued with a sense of responsibility for the fate of the people. According to Tolstoy, the Russian people are deeply patriotic. When the French occupied Smolensk, the peasants burned hay so as not to sell it to their enemies. Each in his own way tried to hurt the enemy so that they felt the hatred of the true owners of the earth. The merchant Ferapontov burned down his own shop so that the French would not get it. Residents of Moscow are shown as true patriots, who, leaving their native city, leave their homes, as they consider it impossible to remain under the rule of impostors.

Russian soldiers are real patriots. We see the true patriotism and heroism of the people in the depiction of classical scenes near Shengraben, Austerlitz, Smolensk, Borodin. It was in the Battle of Borodino that the extraordinary stamina and courage of the Russian soldiers manifested itself with particular emphasis. The Battle of Borodino is a moral victory for Russian soldiers. The feeling of patriotism is a truly national feeling. It covers all soldiers without exception. The soldiers calmly, simply, confidently do their job without uttering big words. Tolstoy talks about the battles near Smolensk. Despite the courage and stamina of the Russian army, she is forced to retreat.

Outwardly unremarkable people become heroes and true patriots for Tolstoy. Such is Captain Tushin, who found himself in the face of the authorities in a comical position without boots, embarrassed, stumbling and at the same time doing exactly that at the most critical moment. what is needed. The strength of the people's spirit will give birth to outstanding generals. Like Mikhail Kutuzov. He lives only by the feelings, thoughts, interests of the soldiers, perfectly understands their mood, takes care of them like a father. He firmly believes that the outcome of the battle is determined by “an elusive force called the spirit of the army” and strives with all his might to maintain this hidden warmth of patriotism in the army.

For Kutuzov, who is deeply alien to all the false, far-fetched, senseless rantings of Bennigsen at the military council in Fili about the defense of the sacred ancient capital of Moscow. For a Russian person, a true patriot, it is clear what Moscow is. But the question of her fate, the fate of Russia, was decided by Kutuzov in purely military terms.

The writer attaches great importance to the partisan movement. Here is how Tolstoy describes its spontaneous growth: “Before the partisan war was officially accepted by our government, thousands of people of the enemy army - backward marauders, foragers - were exterminated by Cossacks and peasants, who beat these people as unconsciously as dogs unconsciously bite a mad dog. Tolstoy draws the partisan detachments of Dolokhov and Denisov, tells about the peasant Tikhon Shcherbat, who was an indispensable person in the detachment and took part in the most risky operations. Thanks to the huge mass patriotic movement of the Russian people against the French invaders, the enemy was defeated and expelled.

Tolstoy shows that patriotic feelings embrace people of various political views: the progressive intelligentsia (Pierre, Andrei), the old prince Bolkonsky, the conservative Nikolai Rostov, the meek Princess Marya. A patriotic impulse also penetrates into the hearts of people who seem to be far from the war - Petya, Natasha Rostovs. But it only seemed to be. According to Tolstoy, a real person cannot but be a patriot of his Fatherland. All these people are united by a feeling that is in the soul of every Russian person. (The Rostov family, leaving the city, gives all the carts to the wounded, thereby losing their property. After the death of her father, Maria Bolkonskaya leaves the estate, not wanting to live in the territory occupied by enemies. Pierre Bezukhov thinks to kill Napoleon, knowing full well how this could end.) Having gathered in the Sloboda Palace, merchants and nobles sacrifice their property to protect Russia. “Having learned that Count Mamontov was donating a regiment, Bezukhov immediately announced that he was giving away a thousand people and their maintenance.” To the true patriotism of the bulk of the Russian people, Tolstoy opposes the false patriotism of the highest noble society. These are false people, whose patriotic words and deeds become a means to achieve base goals. Ruthlessly Tolstoy rips off the mask of patriotism from German and semi-German generals in the Russian service, "golden youth" like Anatoly Kuragin, careerists like Boris Drubetskoy. Tolstoy angrily denounces that part of the senior staff officers who did not take part in the battles, but tried to get settled at the headquarters and receive awards for nothing.

At the height of the war, A. Scherer is busy choosing a worthy groom. In her salon, they take a fine for every spoken French word.

Of course, primordially Russian patriotic feeling is alien to these people, far from the people.

Tolstoy convinces us that only those nobles who comprehend the spirit of the people, for whom there can be no happiness outside the peace and prosperity of their country, can be true patriots.

By uniting people according to a moral principle, emphasizing the special importance in evaluating a person of the truth of his patriotic feeling, Tolstoy brings together people very different in their social status. They turn out to be close in spirit, rise to the greatness of national patriotism. And it is not without reason that in a difficult period of life, Pierre Bezukhov, finding himself on the Borodino field, comes to the conclusion that true happiness is merging with the common people. (“Be a soldier, just a soldier. Enter this common life with your whole being.”) Thus, true patriotism and heroism in the understanding of Tolstoy is the highest manifestation of the moral strength and spirit of the people. People's patriotism is an invincible force in the fight against enemies. The winner is the Russian people. Genuine heroes - ordinary Russian people who did a great thing - defeated the "invincible Napoleon".

Bibliography

For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://www.coolsoch.ru/ were used.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Introduction

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

Patriotism of the people in the work

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

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

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

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

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

Natasha and Pierre during the war

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

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

True patriots on the battlefield

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

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

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

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

False patriots in the novel

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

Artwork test

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

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

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

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

so wrote A. S. Pushkin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

true patriotism

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

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

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

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

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

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

False patriotism

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

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

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