What does Tolstoy mean by the concept of people's war? Popular thought in the epic novel “War and Peace”

Introduction

The concept of “people's war” includes the main lexical core – “people”. And the people, that means peasants, men, people who did not belong to a high class. That is, a people's war is a struggle of the masses without the involvement of generals and colonels, without certain clearly planned actions (more often these are spontaneous decisions), without specific ideas. But the people's war in the novel “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy. - This is not a war of one people, but a war of an entire nation. Here nobles, peasant partisans, officers, and militias howl together. Tolstoy shows everyone with a single goal - to win victory over the French troops at any cost.

Heroes of the People's War

Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" describes in sufficient detail the actions of commanders-in-chief, officers, and ordinary soldiers during battles. We can watch how the enemy moves, hear the whistle of bullets, smell the smoke from cannonballs flying out of a cannon. Everyone takes part in the Patriotic War of 1812. “The whole people want to rush in; one word - Moscow. They want to make one end,” says one of the novel’s heroes to Pierre Bezukhov.

We see on the battlefield the commander-in-chief of the Russian army - Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, Count Nikolai Rostov, little Petya Rostov, commanders of the troops Bagration, Barclay de Tole, Captain Tushin, Denisov and many other military people. They are joined by partisan detachments, sometimes formed independently by peasant peasants. But people from the invisible front are fighting next to them. This is Natasha Rostova, Princess Marya Bolkonskaya, residents of Moscow who left the city only because they did not want to obey the French emperor, the merchant Ferapontov, who gave all his property to the soldiers: “Drag, otherwise I’ll burn it all myself!..” Now we can say with confidence that L.N. Tolstoy really described the people’s war in his novel “War and Peace”. Only together, with common efforts, thoughts, feelings, the Russian people remained invincible.

People's War Guerrilla Movement

According to Leo Tolstoy, a special role, one might even say the main one, was played by partisan movement. After leaving Moscow, the French moved a huge army along the roads of retreat. But every day their army melted not only from cold, hunger and disease, the worst thing for them were the partisans who deployed at that time active work. They waited everywhere, and in the end the French army was completely defeated. The pitiful remnants of the enemy army (about 10,000 soldiers in total) were captured. The partisans did their job well. They helped the Russian army survive, helped hold its positions, and helped defeat the enemy.

The partisans were different: “there were parties that adopted all the techniques of the army, with infantry, artillery, headquarters, with the conveniences of life; there were only Cossacks and cavalry; there were small, prefabricated, foot and horse, there were peasants and landowners... there was a sexton... who took several hundred prisoners. There was the elder Vasilisa, who killed hundreds of Frenchmen...” Tolstoy connects them together. Yes, they are different, but they have one goal - to save the Russian land, and in this they are all together. The people of war in the work “War and Peace” experience a single feeling of patriotism, the feeling of a Russian person who wants to win.

The writer gives us a detailed description of some of the partisans, such as, for example, Tikhon Shcherbaty. Having joined Denisov’s detachment, Tikhon led active partisan activities. He "was the most the right person"in the squad. His cunning, dexterity, dexterity, fearlessness, good physical strength, and accuracy in fulfilling his goals gave the Russian army results. But there were many like Tikhon. Tolstoy describes them briefly, or simply does not give any description. This is not important, what is important is something else: the feeling of unity of all people, no matter what social class they belonged to.

About the people in the novel “War and Peace”

“Blessed are those people who, in a moment of trial, without asking how others acted according to the rules in similar cases, with simplicity and ease, pick up the first club they come across and nail it with it until in their soul the feeling of insult and revenge is replaced by contempt and pity,” says Leo Tolstoy himself in the novel. The writer also shows his sincere attitude towards the Russian people through his characters. Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov exclaimed: “Wonderful, incomparable people!” His unity with the people is emphasized by Tolstoy in his characterization, in his fatherly attitude towards his soldiers, in the tears that Kutuzov often gave vent to in various situations.

Nikolai Rostov recognizes the strength of “our Russian people,” without which he can no longer imagine himself. Andrei Bolkonsky explains to Bezukhov what the success of a military campaign depends on: “Success has never depended and will not depend on position, weapons, or even numbers; and least of all from the position... From the feeling that is in me, in him, in every soldier.” And this feeling of true patriotism, and not the feeling of “his Toulon” (which Prince Andrei initially thinks about), comes to Bolkonsky with an understanding of the strength of the people, faith in the people, unity with the people.

Conclusion

In my essay on the topic “People's War in the novel “War and Peace””, Leo Tolstoy’s idea is expressed that the Russian people are strong in their unity, and it was this unity that helped win the Patriotic War of 1812. This is confirmed in his great work - the novel War and Peace.

Work test

Two short essays on the same topic. A little ironic and compilative, a C grade, but quite serious))). One is half a page on the Unified State Examination, the second is a page - for adults, under 15 years old - do not read under the threat of filling your head with porridge...

Option 1.

The main theme of the novel “War and Peace” is “popular thought.” L.N. Tolstoy shows not only the panorama of people's life, but also the soul of the people, its depth and greatness. The writer contrasts the cold, calculating social life with the simple, natural life of the peasants, truly righteous and happy.People from the people have deeply absorbed the wisdom of the Creator and the wisdom of nature. There is nothing ugly in nature, everything is beautiful in it, and everything is in its place. The heroes of the novel are tested by this folk wisdom, which Platon Karataev personifies in the work.

Tolstoy’s favorite heroine, Natasha, turns out to be truly popular. One has only to remember how she danced to her uncle’s guitar, and, “raised by a French emigrant” in “silk and velvet,” she was able to understand everything “that was in every Russian person.” In communicating with Russian soldiers, Pierre Bezukhov also finds the meaning and goals of life, realizing the falsity of his previous attitudes. He remains forever grateful to Platon Karataev, whom he met in captivity by the French, a Russian soldier who preached kindness and love of life.

Tolstoy draws images of the emperors Napoleon and Alexander, the Moscow governor Count Rastopchin. In their attitude towards the people, these people strive to rise above them, to become higher, they strive to control the popular element, therefore their actions are doomed. Kutuzov, on the contrary, feels like a participant in people's life; he does not lead the movement of the masses, but only tries not to interfere with the accomplishment of truly historical event. This, according to Tolstoy, is the true greatness of the individual.

Tolstoy sang the winner of the war - the Russian people. A people possessing great moral strength, bringing with them simple harmony, simple kindness, simple love. Carrying with him the truth. And you need to live with him in unity in order to heal your soul and create a new happy world.

Option 2.

Popular thought in the novel by L.N. Tolstoy's War and Peace

The main theme of the novel “War and Peace” is “popular thought.” The people are not a faceless crowd, but a completely reasonable unity of people, the engine of history. But these changes are not made consciously, but under the influence of some unknown but powerful “swarm force”. According to Tolstoy, an individual person can also influence history, but on condition that he merges with total mass, without contradicting her, “naturally.”

Tolstoy presents a metaphor for the human world - the ball that Pierre sees in a dream - “a living, oscillating ball that has no size. The entire surface of the ball consisted of drops tightly compressed together. And these drops all moved, moved and then merged from several into one, then from one they were divided into many. Each drop sought to spread out, to capture the greatest space, but others, striving for the same thing, compressed it, sometimes destroyed it, sometimes merged with it.”

The composition of the novel is structured in such a way that each of the heroes is tested for compatibility with this ball, for the ability to “merge.” So, Prince Andrei turns out to be unviable, “too good.” He shudders at the thought of swimming in a dirty pond with the soldiers of his regiment, and he dies because he cannot afford to fall to the ground in front of a spinning grenade in front of the soldiers standing under fire... it’s “shameful,” But Pierre can running in horror, falling and crawling across the Borodino field, and after the battle, eating a “mush” with a spoon licked by a soldier... It is he, fat Pierre, who is able to master the spherical “wisdom” given to him by the “round” Platon Karataev, who remains unharmed - everywhere - and in a duel, and in the heat of the Borodino battle, and in a fight with armed French, and in captivity... And it is he who is viable.

The most sincere episodic characters are the merchant Ferapontov, who burns his house so that it does not fall to the enemy, and the Moscow residents who leave the capital simply for the reason that it is impossible to live in it under Bonaparte, and the men Karp and Vlas, who do not give hay to the French, and that the Moscow lady who left Moscow with her arapkas and pugs back in June out of the consideration that “she is not Bonaparte’s servant,” all of them, according to Tolstoy, are active participants in the people’s, “swarm” life, and do not act like this on their own moral choice, but to do their part in the general “swarm” business, sometimes without even realizing their participation in it.

And the popular principle of “naturalness” is also interesting - the healthy runs away from the sick, happiness from unhappiness. Natasha quite “naturally” cannot wait for her beloved Prince Andrei “a whole year!”, and falls in love with Anatole; the captive Pierre absolutely “naturally” cannot help the weakened Karataev and abandons him, because, of course, Pierre “was too afraid for himself. He acted as if he had not seen his gaze.” And he sees in a dream: “This is life,” said the old teacher... “There is God in the middle, and every drop strives to expand in order to reflect Him in the greatest possible size. And it grows, merges, and shrinks on the surface, goes into the depths and floats up again... - said the teacher. “Here he is, Karataev, overflowed and disappeared.”

Tolstoy's ideal - Platon Karataev - loves everyone equally, accepts with humility all the hardships of life and even death itself. Platon Karataev brings to Pierre folk wisdom, absorbed with mother's milk, located at a subconscious level of understanding. "His every word and every action was a manifestation of an activity unknown to him, which was his life. It made sense only as a particle of the whole, which he constantly felt... He could not understand the value and meaning of a single action or word.”. Kutuzov is also approaching this ideal, whose task is not to interfere with the action of the “swarm”.

All the fullness and richness of personal feelings and aspirations, no matter how sublime and ideal they may be for a person in Tolstoy’s world, leads to only one thing - to a merger with the “common” people, be it during life or after death. This is how Natasha Rostova dissolves in motherhood, in the element of the family as such.

The popular element acts as the only possible force in the war. "The club 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 disassembling anything, it rose, fell and nailed the French until the entire invasion was destroyed» .

Tolstoy deserved to be called the “Red Count”. The “club” he poetized soon, with the same “stupid simplicity”, “without asking anyone’s tastes and rules”, defeated the “landowners and nobles”, and “merged” all those remaining into a single “crystal ball” of workers and peasants... into a single swarm)

He really is a prophet...

The peak of Leo Tolstoy's creative activity occurred in the mid-19th century. Russia shuddered from the indignation of the peasant masses, so the idea of ​​popular consciousness in the process of social development became a key theme in literary works many writers of that time. “People's Thought” in the novel “War and Peace” reveals the heroic image of the Russian people against the backdrop of events Patriotic War 1812.

What did Tolstoy mean by the word people?

Writers of the nineteenth century showed the people either in the form of the peasantry oppressed by the tsar or the entire Russian nation, or in the form of the patriotic nobility or the social stratum of the merchants. Tolstoy lovingly says “people” every time he talks about moral people. The author deprives anyone who behaves immorally, is laziness, greed and cruelty of the right to be involved in this community of citizens.

People living within one state represent its basis and are the material of history, regardless of class and education. Do we have a genius, a great man? His role in the development of mankind is insignificant, Tolstoy claims, a genius is a product of his society, wrapped in a bright package of talent.

No one single-handedly can control millions of people, create the history of an entire state, or, according to his plan, provoke the vector of events, especially their consequences. In the novel “War and Peace,” the author assigned the role of the creator of history to the people, guided by rational life desires and instincts.

Popular thought in the image of Kutuzov

The Russian classic calls decisions made behind the scenes of power, at the legislative level, the upward trend in the development of society. This, in his opinion, is the centrifugal force of history. Events taking place among the common population are a process of downward development of history, a centripetal force in the development of social ties.

Therefore, the image of Kutuzov is endowed with high moral qualities. Events show that the general finds himself connected with the people by one chain of state problems. He is close to the problems experienced by ordinary people who are much lower than Kutuzov on the social ladder. The legendary commander feels anxiety, the bitterness of defeat and the joy of victory as naturally as his soldiers. They have one task, they move along the same path of events, defending their homeland.

In the novel, Kutuzov is a prominent representative of the people, because his personal goals absolutely coincide with the goals of the Russian population. The author in every possible way focuses the reader's attention on the merits of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army. His authority in the eyes of soldiers and officers is indestructible. The spirit of the army he commands depends on his mood, health, and his physical presence on the battlefield.

Popular thought in the images of nobles

Can a count or prince be considered a people? Was it typical for representatives of the Russian nobility to meet the demands of historical necessity? Storyline The novel clearly reflects the moral development of positive characters, their merging with the masses during the Patriotic War of 1812.

Leo Tolstoy emphasizes that the will to victory, to get rid of the presence of an enemy army on the territory of one’s land is tested by the people’s thought. Pierre Bezukhov, in the same stream as the refugees, ends his search for the meaning of life, seeing it in the very idea of ​​worthy survival in the face of danger.

Natasha Rostova cannot remain indifferent and leave the wounded soldiers. The young countess rushes to find additional carts to take the wounded out of burning Moscow. Along the Smolensk road she tries to help soldiers suffering and dying from wounds.

Marya Bolkonskaya, the sister of Prince Andrei, almost paid with her life for her desire to escape from enemy-occupied territory. The girl does not pester Madame Burien to wait for the French at her estate, and enters into an open conflict with the men for the opportunity to be with her compatriots on Russian soil.

From the beginning of the story, Prince Bolkonsky reveres Napoleon as an advanced contemporary who brings new ideas of equality and brotherhood. On the battlefield of Austerlitz, his delusion dissipates when he sees the morbid admiration of Bonaparte, looking at the bodies of many killed soldiers of both armies.

Andrei Bolkonsky dies, remaining a little man, faithful to his oath, his people and the emperor.

Patriotism is a Russian principle

Leo Tolstoy refers to patriotism as a clear sign of nationality, uniting all social classes in moments of danger. Captain Tushin, heroically defending artillery positions, endowed as a simple person with “small and great.” A similarly ambiguous character is Tikhon Shcherbaty, merciless to his enemies, but a cruel person in his soul in general.

Young Peter Rostov dies while taking part in the partisan movement, which became an important factor in the victory. Platon Karataev, having been captured, shows courageous calm, professing love of life in testing situations as the main idea of ​​Christianity. Leo Tolstoy values ​​good nature and humble patience above all else in a Russian person.

History knows hundreds of examples of heroic deeds, sometimes the names of the heroes are not known. All that remains is memory and glory to the patriotic, unbending spirit of the Russian people, who in peaceful days remains a jealous guardian and bearer of spiritual values.

If suddenly the ants attack together,

They will overpower a lion, no matter how fierce he is.

The epic novel “War and Peace” is the largest work of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, covering the life of all strata of society before and after the War of 1812. It shows the ups and downs of the characters, but the main character is the people. Of the many themes in the novel, the author pays special attention to “folk thought.”

L.N. Tolstoy asked the question: “What moves history: the people or the individual?” And throughout the entire novel, history is created and influenced by the people. It is the unity of the Russian people, based on love and affection for native land, helped them defeat the French army. Anger for the disturbed calm and peaceful life, killed relatives and the devastation of the country motivated them during the battles. People tried in every possible way to help, to prove themselves, forgetting about everything that was holding them back, and were ready to stand up to the death for the Fatherland. War is made up of small deeds that make a big difference.

By performing them, they show the most important quality of the people - patriotism, which, according to L.N. Tolstoy, can be true and false. The owners of true patriotism are the Rostov family, Tikhon Shcherbaty, Kutuzov, Tushin, Pierre Bezukhov, Marya Bolkonskaya. The author also contrasts them with other heroes of the novel, whose society is filled with hypocrisy and falsehood.

For example, during the move of the Rostov family from besieged Moscow, all things were collected on carts. At this moment, the wounded soldiers ask for help. And Natasha, begging her parents, asked to leave carts for the needy wounded. Of course, they could have taken the chance and saved their property, but a sense of duty, compassion and responsibility took over.

But there are people who are not at all interested in the lives of the suffering population. A careerist, Berg was only interested in fashion and craved money. Even during a fire in Smolensk, he does not think about putting it out, but is looking for benefits in buying new furniture.

Pierre Bezukhov, who became the heir of the wealthy Count Bezukhov, equips the regiment entirely with inherited money. He could have spent it for personal purposes: at festivities and balls, but he acted nobly, helping the people. And the salon A.P. Scherer, on the contrary, does nothing. As usual, their conversations are full of gossip and empty talk about the war. The fine for using French words in speech could not help the people. Therefore their patriotism is false.

During the revolt of the Bogucharov men, Marya Bolkonskaya did not succumb to the temptation to remain under the wing of the French: she did not want to feel like a traitor. Helen Kuragina commits a completely different act. In difficult times for the country, she changes her faith and wants to marry Napoleon, the enemy of the people.

Not only the upper strata of society contributed to the victory. For example, the peasant Tikhon Shcherbaty of his own free will joins Denisov’s partisan detachment, which indicates his concern. Becomes the most active, catching the most “tongues” and doing the hardest work. Boris Drubetskoy shows cowardice by remaining in the headquarters of Kutuzov’s opponent, Bennigsen. Despite all their hatred of their enemies, the Russians show humanism towards the captured French. “They are people too,” says Tikhon Shcherbaty.

The state of the army and the course of the war depend on the supreme commander-in-chief - Kutuzov. Unlike the narcissistic and indifferent Napoleon, Kutuzov is a very simple person and close to the people. He only monitors the spirit of the army, inspiring them only with news of victorious battles. He treats the army like his own children and acts as a “father” who shows care. He sincerely feels sorry for the people. It is with a good commander that the army becomes interested in winning with all its might.

War, bursting into peaceful life, shows the true face of every person and tears off masks. Possessing false patriotism and general insensitivity, someone will run and hide, making themselves a hero only in words. And someone with a real desire to help rushes into battle, no matter what. Each of them contributes something of their own to achieve the people's goal. Those who have true patriotism do this not for show, but for the sake of the land that their fathers and grandfathers once defended. And giving it up without a fight is shameful. All these people become a single whole, a people’s “club” that wages only a war of liberation. Because someone else's land is of no use - you need to defend your Fatherland. And this can only be done by uniting, having real feelings and concern for the future of the people and the country.

Thus, L.N. Tolstoy believes that the driving force is the people, and the most important guarantee of victory is the general spirit of the people.

Tolstoy managed to reflect all aspects of life in Russia in the 19th century in his epic War and Peace. Popular thought in the novel is illuminated especially brightly. The image of a people in general is one of the main and meaning-forming ones. Moreover, it is national character is the subject of depiction in the novel. But it can only be understood from a description of the everyday life of the people, their view of humanity and the world, moral assessments, misconceptions and prejudices.

Image of the people

Tolstoy included in the concept of “people” not only soldiers and men, but also the noble class, which had a similar view of spiritual values ​​and the world. It was this idea that the author based the epic “War and Peace”. Folk thought in the novel is therefore embodied through all people united by language, history, culture and territory.

From this point of view, Tolstoy is an innovator, since before him in Russian literature there was always a clear boundary between the peasant class and the nobility. In order to illustrate his idea, the writer turned to very harsh times for all of Russia - the Patriotic War of 1812.

The only confrontation is the struggle of the best people of the noble class, united with people from the people, with military and bureaucratic circles, who are unable to perform feats or make sacrifices for the defense of the Fatherland.

Depicting the life of ordinary soldiers

Pictures of people's lives in times of peace and war are widely represented in Tolstoy's epic "War and Peace". The popular thought in the novel, however, manifested itself most clearly during the Patriotic War, when all residents of Russia were required to demonstrate perseverance, generosity and patriotism.

Despite this, descriptions of folk scenes appear already in the first two volumes of the novel. This is an image of Russian soldiers when they participated in foreign campaigns, fulfilling their duty to the allies. For ordinary soldiers who came from the people, such campaigns are incomprehensible - why defend not your own land?

Tolstoy paints terrible pictures. The army is starving because the allies it supports are not supplying provisions. Unable to watch the soldiers suffer, officer Denisov decides to recapture food from another regiment, which has a detrimental effect on his career. This act reveals the spiritual qualities of a Russian person.

“War and Peace”: popular thought in the novel

As noted above, the fate of Tolstoy’s heroes from among the best nobles is always connected with folk life. Therefore, “folk thought” runs through the entire work like a red thread. Thus, Pierre Bezukhov, having been captured, learns the truth of life, which is revealed to him by an ordinary peasant man. And it lies in the fact that a person is unhappy only when there is a surplus in his life. You need little to be happy.

On the Field of Austerlitz, Andrei Bolkonsky feels his connection with the people. He grabs the flagpole, not hoping that they will follow him. But the soldiers, seeing the standard bearer, rush into battle. The unity of ordinary soldiers and officers gives the army unprecedented strength.

The house in the novel "War and Peace" is of great importance. But we are not talking about decoration and furniture. The image of the house embodies family values. Moreover, all of Russia is home, all the people are one big family. That is why Natasha Rostova throws her property off the carts and gives them to the wounded.

It is in this unity that Tolstoy sees the true strength of the people. The force that was able to win the War of 1812.

Images of people from the people

Even on the first pages of the novel, the writer creates images of individual soldiers. This is Denisov’s orderly Lavrushka with his roguish disposition, and the merry fellow Sidorov, hilariously imitating the French, and Lazarev, who received an order from Napoleon himself.

However, the house in the novel “War and Peace” occupies a key place, so most of the heroes from among the common people can be found in descriptions of peacetime. Here another one arises serious problem 19th century - the hardships of serfdom. Tolstoy depicts how old prince Bolkonsky, deciding to punish the bartender Philip, who forgot the owner’s orders, gave him up as a soldier. And Pierre’s attempt to make life easier for his serfs ended in nothing, since the manager deceived the count.

People's labor

The epic “War and Peace” raises many problems characteristic of Tolstoy’s work. The topic of labor, as one of the main ones for the writer, was no exception. Labor is inextricably linked with people's life. Moreover, Tolstoy uses it to characterize characters, as he attaches great importance to it. Idleness in the writer’s understanding speaks of a morally weak, insignificant and unworthy person.

But work is not just a duty, it is a pleasure. Thus, the arriving Danila, participating in the hunt, devotes himself to this task to the end, he shows himself to be a real expert and, in a fit of excitement, even shouts at Count Rostov.

The old valet Tikhon has become so familiar with his position that he understands his master without words. And the servant Anisya is praised by Tolstoy for her homeliness, playfulness and good nature. For her, the owners’ house is not a foreign and hostile place, but a native and close one. The woman treats her work with love.

Russian people and war

However, the quiet life ended and the war began. All the images in the novel “War and Peace” are also transformed. All heroes, both low and high class, are united by a single feeling of “inner warmth of patriotism.” This feeling becomes a national trait of the Russian people. It made him capable of self-sacrifice. The same self-sacrifice that decided the outcome of the war and so amazed the French soldiers.

Another difference between Russian troops and the French is that they do not play war. For the Russian people this is great tragedy, in which there can be nothing good. Unknown to Russian soldiers is the pleasure of battle or the joy of the upcoming war. But at the same time, everyone is ready to give their life. There is no cowardice here, the soldiers are ready to die, because their duty is to defend their homeland. Only the one who “feels less sorry for himself” can win - this is how Andrei Bolkonsky expressed the popular thought.

Peasant sentiments in the epic

The theme of the people sounds piercingly and vividly in the novel “War and Peace”. At the same time, Tolstoy does not try to idealize the people. The writer depicts scenes indicating the spontaneity and inconsistency of peasant sentiments. Good example This is due to the Bogucharov riot, when the peasants, having read the French leaflets, refused to let Princess Marya out of the estate. Men are capable of the same self-interest as nobles like Berg, who are eager to receive ranks thanks to the war. The French promised money, and now they have obeyed them. However, when Nikolai Rostov ordered to stop the outrages and bind the instigators, the peasants obediently carried out his orders.

On the other hand, when the French began to advance, the people left their homes, destroying their acquired property so that it would not go to the enemies.

People power

Nevertheless, the epic “War and Peace” revealed the best folk qualities. The essence of the work is precisely to depict the true strength of the Russian people.

In the fight against the French, the Russians, despite everything, were able to maintain high moral qualities. Tolstoy saw the greatness of a nation not in the fact that it can conquer neighboring peoples with the help of weapons, but in the fact that even in the most cruel times it can preserve justice, humanity and a merciful attitude towards the enemy. An example of this is the episode of the rescue of the French captain Rambal.

and Platon Karataev

If you analyze the novel “War and Peace” chapter by chapter, these two heroes will definitely attract your attention. Tolstoy, including them in the narrative, wanted to show the interconnected and at the same time opposite sides of the national Russian character. Let's compare these characters:

Platon Karataev is a complacent and dreamy soldier who is accustomed to resignedly obeying fate.

Tikhon Shcherbaty is an intelligent, decisive, brave and active peasant who will never resign himself to fate and will actively resist it. He himself became a soldier and became famous for killing the most Frenchmen.

These characters embodied two sides: humility, long-suffering on the one hand and an uncontrollable desire to fight on the other.

It is believed that Shcherbatov’s principle was most clearly manifested in the novel, however, Karataev’s wisdom and patience did not stand aside.

Conclusions

Thus, the people are the main active force in War and Peace. According to Tolstoy's philosophy, one person cannot change history, only the strength and desire of the people are capable of this. Therefore, Napoleon, who decided to reshape the world, lost to the power of an entire nation.