“There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth” (the contrast between Kutuzov and Napoleon in the epic novel “War and Peace”). There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth Spirit of simplicity and truth war peace

When I write history, I like to be true to the smallest detail.
L. N. Tolstoy
What is simplicity, truth, kindness? Is a person who has all these character traits omnipotent? These questions are often asked by people, but they are not easy to answer. Let's turn to the classics. Let her help you figure this out. The name of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy has been familiar to us since early childhood. But then I read the novel “War and Peace”. This great work makes you look at the questions posed differently. How often have you reproached

Tolstoy is that he distorted the history of one thousand eight hundred and twelve, that he distorted the characters of the Patriotic War. According to the great writer, history as science and history as art have differences. Art can penetrate into the most distant eras and convey the essence of past events and the inner world of the people who participated in them. Indeed, history as a science focuses on the particulars and details of events, limiting itself only to their external description, while history as art covers and conveys the general course of events, while at the same time penetrating into their depth. This must be kept in mind when assessing the historical events in the novel “War and Peace”.
Let's open the pages of this work. Salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer. Here for the first time a sharp dispute about Napoleon arises. It begins with guests of a noble lady's salon. This dispute will end only in the epilogue of the novel.
For the author, not only was there nothing attractive about Napoleon, but, on the contrary, Tolstoy always considered him a man whose “mind and conscience were darkened,” and therefore all his actions “were too contrary to truth and goodness...”. Not a statesman who knows how to read in the minds and souls of people, but a spoiled, capricious and narcissistic poser - this is how the Emperor of France appears in many scenes of the novel. So, having met the Russian ambassador, he “looked into Balashev’s face with his big eyes and immediately began to look past him.” Let us dwell a little on this detail and conclude that Napoleon was not interested in Balashev’s personality. It was clear that only what was happening in his soul was of interest to him. It seemed to him that everything in the world depended only on his will.
Maybe it’s too early to draw a conclusion from such a particular case as Napoleon’s inattention to the Russian ambassador? But this meeting was preceded by other episodes in which this emperor’s manner of “looking past” people also manifested itself. Let us remember the moment when the Polish lancers, in order to please Bonaparte, rush into the Viliya River. They were drowning, and Napoleon sat calmly on a log and did other things. Let us recall the scene of the emperor’s trip across the Austerlitz battlefield, where he showed complete indifference to the killed, wounded and dying.
The imaginary greatness of Napoleon is exposed with particular force in the scene depicting him on Poklonnaya Hill, from where he admired the marvelous panorama of Moscow. “Here it is, this capital; she lies at my feet, awaiting her fate... One word of mine, one movement of my hand, and this ancient capital perished...” So thought Napoleon, who in vain expected a deputation of “boyars” with the keys to the majestic city spread out before his eyes. No. Moscow did not go to him “with a guilty head.”
Where is this greatness? It is where goodness and justice are, where the spirit of the people is. According to “popular thought,” Tolstoy created the image of Kutuzov. Of all the historical figures depicted in “War and Peace,” the writer calls him one truly great man. The source that gave the commander the extraordinary power of insight into the meaning of the events that took place “lay in this popular feeling, which he carried within himself in all its purity and strength.”
Military review scene. Kutuzov walked through the ranks, “occasionally stopping and speaking a few kind words to the officers whom he knew from the Turkish war, and sometimes to the soldiers. Looking at the shoes, he sadly shook his head several times...” The field marshal recognizes and warmly greets his old colleagues. He enters into a conversation with Timokhin. When meeting with soldiers, the Russian commander knows how to find a common language with them, often using a funny joke, or even an old man’s good-natured curse.
The feeling of love for the Motherland was embedded in the soul of every Russian soldier and in the soul of the old commander-in-chief. Unlike Bonaparte, the Russian commander did not consider the leadership of military operations a kind of game of chess and never ascribed to himself the main role in the successes achieved by his armies. The field marshal led the battles not in Napoleonic style, but in his own way. He was convinced that the “spirit of the army” was of decisive importance in war, and he directed all his efforts to leading it. During battles, Napoleon behaves nervously, trying to keep in his hands all the threads of control of the battle. Kutuzov, on the other hand, acts with concentration, trusts the commanders - his comrades-in-arms, and believes in the courage of his soldiers.
It is not Napoleon, but the Russian commander-in-chief who takes full responsibility on his shoulders when the situation requires the most difficult sacrifices. It is difficult to forget the alarm-filled scene of the military council in Fili. Kutuzov announced his decision to leave Moscow without a fight and retreat into the depths of Russia! In those terrible hours, the question arose before him: “Did I really allow Napoleon to reach Moscow? And when did I do this? It is difficult and painful for him to think about this, but he gathered all his mental and physical strength and did not succumb to despair. The Russian commander-in-chief retains confidence in victory over the enemy and in the rightness of his cause to the end. He instills this confidence in everyone - from the general to the soldier. Only Kutuzov could have predicted the Battle of Borodino. Only he alone could give Moscow to the enemy in order to save Russia, for the sake of saving the army, in order to win the war. All the commander’s actions are subordinated to one goal - to defeat the enemy, to expel him from Russian soil. And only when the war is won, Kutuzov ceases his activities as commander-in-chief.
The most important aspect of the appearance of a Russian commander is a living connection with the people, a heartfelt understanding of their moods and thoughts. The ability to take into account the mood of the masses is the wisdom and greatness of the commander in chief.
Napoleon and Kutuzov are two commanders, two historical figures with different essence, purpose and purpose in life. The “Kutuzov” principle as a symbol of the people is opposed to the “Napoleonic”, anti-people, inhumane. That is why Tolstoy leads all his favorite heroes away from “Napoleonic” principles and puts them on the path of rapprochement with the people. Truly, “there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.”

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5. Glumov Characteristics of the literary hero GLUMOV is the hero of A. N. Ostrovsky’s comedy “Simplicity is enough for every wise man” (1868). G. is the only character in Ostrovsky’s dramaturgy who consciously chose the philosophy of cynicism as his life credo. G. is a meaningful surname, which contains the grain of the image and its Read More......
6. Simplicity is enough for every wise man. The action takes place in Moscow, in the first decade of the reforms of Alexander II. The first act of the play is in the apartment where a young man, Yegor Dmitrievich Glumov, lives with his widowed mother. According to the author's remark, it contains a clean, well-furnished room. In Read More......
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According to L.N. Tolstoy, the decisive force of history is the people. And the main criterion for assessing a person, in his opinion, is the attitude towards the people. Tolstoy denied in history the role of individuals who put their own interests above those of the people. In his epic novel “War and Peace,” he contrasts Kutuzov, the commander of the people’s war, and Napoleon, “the most insignificant instrument of history,” “a man with a darkened conscience.”

Kutuzov appears before us as a majestic commander, a true people's leader. He is not interested in fame or wealth - he, together with Russian soldiers, fights for the freedom of his Motherland. With simplicity, kindness and sincerity, he managed to achieve boundless trust and love from his army, they listen to him, believe him and unquestioningly obey: “...by an irresistible mysterious connection that supports the same mood throughout the army, called the spirit of the army and constituting the main nerve of the war, Kutuzov’s words, his order for battle for tomorrow, were transmitted simultaneously to all ends of the army.” This is an extremely experienced and skillful commander, who, with wise orders, helps soldiers to believe in themselves, their strength, and strengthens the military spirit: “With long military experience, he knew and with his senile mind understood that it is impossible for one person to lead hundreds of thousands of people fighting death, and he knew that the fate of the battle was decided not by the orders of the commander-in-chief, not by the place where the troops stood, not by the number of guns and killed people, but by that elusive force called the spirit of the army, and he watched this force and led it "as far as it was in his power."

Kutuzov is the same person as everyone else, and he treats the captured French with sympathy and humanity: “They are worse than the last beggars. While they were strong, we did not feel sorry for ourselves, but now we can feel sorry for them. They are people too." And he felt the same sympathy for the prisoners, according to Tolstoy, in all the glances directed at him. There is nothing ostentatious, nothing heroic in Kutuzov, he is close to the soldiers who feel like a loved one in him. Outwardly, he is not an ordinary old man, fat and overweight, but it is precisely in these details that the “simplicity, kindness and truth” of the great commander shines through.

Napoleon is the complete opposite of Kutuzov. This is a man possessed by delusions of grandeur, commander of an army of marauders, robbers and murderers who are overwhelmed by the thirst for profit and enrichment. According to the author, “it was a crowd of marauders, each of whom was carrying and carrying a bunch of things that seemed valuable and necessary to him. The goal of each of these people when leaving Moscow... was... to keep what they had acquired.” Napoleon is characterized by hypocrisy, falsehood, posing, self-admiration; he is indifferent to the fate of people, because he is only interested in fame and money. However, the most disgusting and repulsive scene is the scene of the shameful flight of the “great emperor from the heroic army.” The author calls this betrayal towards the French army “the last degree of meanness.” Napoleon’s appearance is also described in satirical colors: “fat shoulders and thighs, a round belly, colorless eyes repel this man from us even more.” By denying the greatness of Napoleon, Tolstoy thereby denies war, showing the inhumanity of conquest for the sake of glory.

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The main idea of ​​the epic novel "War and Peace"- affirmation of communication and unity of people and denial of disunity, separation.

In the novel, two camps of the Russia of that time were sharply contrasted: popular and anti-national. Tolstoy considered the people the main, decisive force of history. According to the writer, the leading role in the national liberation movement is played not by the nobility, but by the masses. The proximity of one or another hero of the novel “War and Peace” to the people’s camp is its moral criterion.

The contrast between Kutuzov and Napoleon plays a vital role in the novel. Kutuzov is a true people's leader, nominated by the people. Unlike historical figures such as Alexander I and Napoleon, who think only about glory and power, Kutuzov is not only able to understand a simple person, but he himself is a simple person by nature.

In the appearance of Kutuzov, Tolstoy is primarily distinguished by his simplicity. “There is nothing of the ruler in that plump, doughy old man, in his diving gait and stooped figure. But how much kindness, simplicity and wisdom he has!”

Describing Napoleon, the writer emphasizes the coldness, complacency, and feigned thoughtfulness in Napoleon's facial expression. One of his traits stands out especially sharply: posturing. Napoleon behaves like an actor on stage, he is convinced that everything he says and does “is history.”

For Tolstoy, Kutuzov is the ideal of a historical figure, the ideal of a person. Tolstoy wrote about the goal to which Kutuzov devoted himself: “it is difficult to imagine a goal more worthy and more consistent with the will of the entire people.” Contrasting Kutuzov with Napoleon, the writer notes that Kutuzov did not say anything about himself at all, did not play any role, always seemed to be the simplest and most ordinary person and said the simplest and most ordinary things. All of Kutuzov’s activities were aimed not at exalting his own person, but at defeating and expelling the enemy from Russia, alleviating, as far as possible, the misfortunes of the people and troops.

In the opposition between Napoleon and Kutuzov, which forms the core of the novel, it is proven that the one who acts in accordance with the course of historical events, the one “whose personality most fully shows the general”, will win.

Tolstoy Kutuzov is constantly at the very center of military events. Kutuzov always sees his army, thinks and feels with every soldier and officer, in his soul there is everything that is in the soul of every soldier.

Tolstoy constantly emphasizes in his Kutuzov humanity, which, according to the writer, could justify Kutuzov’s power. Humanity combined with power represented “that human height from which he directed all his strength not to kill people, but to save and take pity on them.” For Kutuzov, the life of every soldier is precious.

When Napoleon travels around the battlefield after the battle, we see on his face “a radiance of complacency and happiness.” The ruined lives, the misfortunes of people, the very sight of the dead and wounded are the basis of Napoleon’s happiness. Kutuzov’s “highest human height” is expressed in his speech to the Preobrazhensky Regiment, in which he says that as long as the French “were strong, we did not feel sorry for them, but now we can feel sorry for them. They are people too."

It is impossible to talk about Tolstoy’s complete denial of the role and significance of the individual in history, in the movement of the masses. Tolstoy persistently emphasized that Kutuzov alone felt the true meaning of events. How could this man so correctly guess the meaning of the popular meaning of events? The source of this extraordinary power of insight lay in that “folk feeling” that Kutuzov carried within himself in all its purity and strength.

Kutuzov for Tolstoy is a true people's leader, chosen by the people. The image of Kutuzov in the novel is an image of national unity, an image of the people's war itself. Napoleon appears in the novel as the main, “concentrated expression of the very spirit of separation.” The strength and greatness of Kutuzov lies precisely in unity with the army and the people. A characteristic feature of Napoleon, as the writer notes, is that the French commander placed himself outside of people and above people and therefore could not understand goodness, beauty, truth, or simplicity.

Tolstoy wrote that where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth, there cannot be true greatness. The greatness of Kutuzov is the greatness of goodness, simplicity and truth. The main argument that the writer puts forward against those who considered Napoleon great is the following: “There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.” In assessing the actions of a historical figure, Tolstoy applies a moral criterion. Following Pushkin, Tolstoy asserts that “genius and villainy are two incompatible things.”

Tolstoy not only does not deny, he affirms a great personality, a great man, with his entire novel, because he affirms greatness people. For the first time in world literature, these concepts merged into a single whole. Tolstoy was the first to assert that the more fully a person embodies national traits, the greater and greater he is.

(comparative characteristics of the images of Kutuzov and Napoleon in L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”)

“War and Peace” is a Russian national epic, which reflected the character of a great people at the moment when its historical destinies were being decided. Tolstoy, trying to cover everything that he knew and felt at that time, gave in the novel a set of life, morals, spiritual culture, beliefs, and ideals of the people. That is, Tolstoy’s main task was to reveal “the character of the Russian people and troops,” for which he used the images of Kutuzov (an exponent of the ideas of the masses) and Napoleon (a person personifying anti-national interests).

L.N. Tolstoy in the novel depicts truly great people, whose names are remembered now and will be remembered in the future. Tolstoy had his own view on the role of personality in history. Every person has two lives: personal and spontaneous. Tolstoy said that a person consciously lives for himself, but serves as an unconscious tool for achieving universal human goals. The role of personality in history is negligible. Even the most brilliant person cannot direct the movement of history at will. It is created by the masses, the people, and not by an individual who has risen above the people.

But Lev Nikolaevich does not deny the role of man in history; he recognizes the obligation to act within the boundaries of the possible for everyone. In his opinion, the name of genius is deserved by those people who are gifted with the ability to penetrate into the course of historical events and comprehend their general meaning. There are only a few of them. "Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov belongs to them. He is an exponent of the patriotic spirit and moral strength of the Russian army. He is a talented and, when necessary, energetic commander. Tolstoy emphasizes that Kutuzov is a folk hero. In the novel he appears as a truly Russian man, an alien pretense, wise historical figure.

The main thing for Leo Tolstoy in positive heroes is connection with the people. Napoleon, who is opposed to Kutuzov, is subjected to devastating exposure because he chose for himself the role of “executioner of nations”; Kutuzov is exalted as a commander who knows how to subordinate all his thoughts and actions to popular feeling. "People's Thought" opposes Napoleon's wars of conquest and blesses the liberation struggle.

The people and the army placed their trust in Kutuzov in 1812, which he justified. The Russian commander is clearly superior to Napoleon. He did not leave his army and appeared among the troops at all the most important moments of the war. And here we can talk about the unity of spirit between Kutuzov and the army, about their deep connection. The commander's patriotism, his confidence in the strength and courage of the Russian soldier, were transmitted to the army, which, in turn, felt a close connection with Kutuzov. He talks to the soldiers in simple Russian. Even sublime words in his mouth sound everyday and stand in contrast to the deceitful tinsel of Napoleon’s phrases.

So, for example, Kutuzov says to Bagration: “I bless you for a great feat.” And Napoleon, before the Battle of Shengraben, addresses his troops with a long warlike speech, promising them inexhaustible glory. Kutuzov is the same as the soldiers. You can compare him when, in a field situation, he calls an ordinary soldier a darling, addresses the army with simple words of gratitude, and him, extinct and indifferent, at a ceremonial meeting with the Tsar. He believed in victory over the enemy, and this faith was transmitted to the army, which contributed to the uplifting of the soldiers and officers. Drawing the unity of Kutuzov and the army, Tolstoy leads the reader to the idea that the victorious outcome of the war was determined primarily by the high fighting spirit of the army and the people, which the French army did not have.

Napoleon did not support his troops in difficult times. During the Battle of Borodino, he was so far away that (as it turned out later) not a single order of his during the battle could be carried out. Napoleon is an arrogant and cruel conqueror, whose actions cannot be justified either by the logic of history or by the needs of the French people. If Kutuzov embodies folk wisdom, then Napoleon is the exponent of false wisdom. According to Tolstoy, he believed in himself, and the whole world believed in him. This is a person for whom only what happened in his soul is interesting, and the rest did not matter. As much as Kutuzov expresses the interests of the people, Napoleon is so pathetic in his selfishness. He opposes his “I” to history and thereby dooms himself to inevitable collapse.

A distinctive feature of Napoleon's character was also posturing. He is narcissistic, arrogant, intoxicated with success. Kutuzov, on the contrary, is very modest: he never boasted of his exploits. The Russian commander is devoid of any panache or boasting, which is one of the features of the Russian national character. Napoleon started a war, cruel and bloody, without caring about the people who die as a result of this struggle. His army is an army of robbers and marauders. It captures Moscow, where over the course of several months it destroys food supplies and cultural values... But still, the Russian people are winning. When confronted with this mass that has risen to defend the Motherland, Napoleon turns from an arrogant conqueror into a cowardly fugitive. War is replaced by peace, and “the feeling of insult and revenge” is replaced by “contempt and pity” among Russian soldiers.

The appearance of our heroes is also contrasted. In Kutuzov’s depiction of Tolstoy, there is an expressive figure,” gait, gestures, facial expressions, sometimes a gentle, sometimes mocking look. He writes: “... a simple, modest, and therefore truly majestic figure could not fit into that deceitful form of a European hero, an ostensible ruler people that they invented.” Napoleon is depicted in a downright satirical way. Tolstoy depicts him as a small man with an unpleasantly feigned smile (while about Kutuzov he writes: “His face became brighter and brighter from an senile, meek smile, wrinkled like stars in the corners of his lips and eyes"), with fat breasts, a round belly, fat thighs and short legs.

Kutuzov and Napoleon are antipodes, but at the same time both are great people. However, if we follow Tolstoy’s theory, of these two famous historical figures, only Kutuzov can be called a true genius. This is confirmed by the words of the writer: “There is no greatness where there is no simplicity.”

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy truthfully portrayed the Russian and French commanders, and also created a living picture of Russian reality in the first half of the 19th century. Tolstoy himself highly praised his work, comparing it with the Iliad. Indeed, “War and Peace” is one of the most significant works not only of Russian, but also of world literature. One Dutch writer said: “If God wanted to write a novel, he could not do it without taking

Tolstoy L. N.

An essay on a work on the topic: There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth

When I write history, I like to be true to the smallest detail.
L. N. Tolstoy
What is simplicity, kindness? Is a person who has all these character traits omnipotent? These questions are often asked by people, but they are not easy to answer. Let's turn to the classics. Let her help you figure this out. The name of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy has been familiar to us since early childhood. But then I read the novel “War and Peace”. This great work makes you look at the questions posed differently. How often Tolstoy was reproached for distorting the history of the year one thousand eight hundred and twelve, that he distorted the characters of the Patriotic War. According to the great writer, history and art history have differences. Art can penetrate into the most distant eras and convey the essence of past events and the inner world of the people who participated in them. Indeed, history as a science focuses on the particulars and details of events, limiting itself only to their external description, while history as art covers and conveys the general course of events, while at the same time penetrating into their depth. This must be kept in mind when assessing the historical events in the novel “War and Peace”.
Let's open the pages of this work. Salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer. Here for the first time a sharp dispute about Napoleon arises. It begins with guests of a noble lady's salon. This dispute will end only in the epilogue of the novel.
For the author, not only was there nothing attractive about Napoleon, but, on the contrary, Tolstoy always considered him a man whose “mind and conscience were darkened,” and therefore all his actions “were too contrary to truth and goodness.” Not a statesman who knows how to read in the minds and souls of people, but a spoiled, capricious and narcissistic poser - this is how the Emperor of France appears in many scenes of the novel. So, having met the Russian ambassador, he “looked into Balashev’s face with his big eyes and immediately began to look past him.” Let us dwell a little on this detail and conclude that Napoleon was not interested in Balashev’s personality. It was clear that only what was happening in his soul was of interest to him. It seemed to him that everything in the world depended only on his will.
Maybe it’s too early to draw a conclusion from such a particular case as Napoleon’s inattention to the Russian ambassador? But this meeting was preceded by other episodes in which this emperor’s manner of “looking past” people also manifested itself. Let us remember the moment when the Polish lancers, in order to please Bonaparte, rush into the Viliya River. They were drowning, and Napoleon sat calmly on a log and did other things. Let us recall the scene of the emperor’s trip across the Austerlitz battlefield, where he showed complete indifference to the killed, wounded and dying.
The imaginary greatness of Napoleon is exposed with particular force in the scene depicting him on Poklonnaya Hill, from where he admired the marvelous panorama of Moscow. “Here it is, this capital; she lies at my feet, awaiting her fate. One word of mine, one movement of my hand, and this ancient capital perished.” So thought Napoleon, who waited in vain for a deputation of “boyars” with the keys to the majestic city spread out before his eyes. No. Moscow did not go to him “with a guilty head.”
Where is this greatness? It is where goodness and justice are, where the spirit of the people is. According to “popular thought,” Tolstoy created the image of Kutuzov. Of all the historical figures depicted in “War and Peace,” the writer calls him one truly great man. The source that gave the commander the extraordinary power of insight into the meaning of the events that took place “lay in this popular feeling, which he carried within himself in all its purity and strength.”
Military review scene. Kutuzov walked through the ranks, “occasionally stopping and speaking a few kind words to the officers whom he knew from the Turkish war, and sometimes to the soldiers. Looking at the shoes, he sadly shook his head several times.” The field marshal recognizes and warmly greets his old colleagues. He enters into a conversation with Timokhin. When meeting with soldiers, the Russian commander knows how to find common ground with them, often using a funny joke, or even an old man’s good-natured curse.
The feeling of love for the Motherland was embedded in the soul of every Russian soldier and in the soul of the old commander-in-chief. Unlike Bonaparte, the Russian commander did not consider the leadership of military operations a kind of game of chess and never ascribed to himself the main role in the successes achieved by his armies. The field marshal led the battles not in Napoleonic style, but in his own way. He was convinced that the “spirit of the army” was of decisive importance in war, and he directed all his efforts to leading it. During battles, Napoleon behaves nervously, trying to keep in his hands all the threads of control of the battle. Kutuzov, on the other hand, acts with concentration, trusts the commanders - his comrades-in-arms, and believes in the courage of his soldiers.
It is not Napoleon, but the Russian commander-in-chief who takes full responsibility on his shoulders when the situation requires the most difficult sacrifices. It is difficult to forget the alarm-filled scene of the military council in Fili. Kutuzov announced his decision to leave Moscow without a fight and retreat into the depths of Russia! In those terrible hours, the question arose before him: “Did I really allow Napoleon to reach Moscow? And when did I do this? It is difficult and painful for him to think about this, but he gathered all his mental and physical strength and did not succumb to despair. The Russian commander-in-chief retains confidence in victory over the enemy and in the rightness of his cause to the end. He instills this confidence in everyone - from the general to the soldier. Only Kutuzov could have predicted the Battle of Borodino. Only he alone could give Moscow to the enemy in order to save Russia, for the sake of saving the army, in order to win the war. All the commander’s actions are subordinated to one goal - to defeat the enemy, to expel him from Russian soil. And only when the war is won, Kutuzov ceases his activities as commander-in-chief.
The most important aspect of the appearance of a Russian commander is a living connection with the people, a heartfelt understanding of their moods and thoughts. The ability to take into account the mood of the masses is the wisdom and greatness of the commander in chief.
Napoleon and Kutuzov are two commanders, two historical figures with different essence, purpose and purpose in life. The “Kutuzov” principle as a symbol of the people is opposed to the “Napoleonic”, anti-people, inhumane. That is why Tolstoy leads all his favorite heroes away from “Napoleonic” principles and puts them on the path of rapprochement with the people. Truly, “there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.”
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