The moral path of Prince Andrei. Spiritual quest of Prince Andrew. The moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov

The meaning of life ... We often think about what can be the meaning of life. The path of searching for each of us is not easy. Some people understand what is the meaning of life and how and what to live, only on their deathbed. The same thing happened with Andrei Bolkonsky, the brightest hero of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace.

For the first time we meet Prince Andrei at an evening in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer. Prince Andrei differed sharply from all those present here. There is no insincerity, hypocrisy, so inherent in the upper world. There is only boredom in his gaze, “all those who were in the living room were not only familiar, but they were already tired of him so much that it was very boring for him to look at them and listen to them.” But most of all he was tired of his wife Lisa. He despises high society, and Lisa constantly reminds him of him. “What would I not give now to not be married!” he exclaims.

Precisely in order to escape from this disgusting life, Andrei wants to go to war. But this is only one side of the coin. The main reason is the thirst for glory, the same as Napoleon achieved. Napoleon eclipsed the mind of Prince Andrei. The prince makes ambitious plans. In his dreams, he imagined himself as the savior of the Russian army, the Russian people. But after the panic and confusion that followed the Battle of Shengraben, everything turned out to be not as heroic as he had dreamed.

In the battle at Austerlitz, fate gave Prince Andrei the opportunity to show himself. The decisive moment has arrived! Bolkonsky picked up the banner from the hands of the dead soldier and led the battalion to the attack. "Hooray! - shouted Prince Andrei, barely holding a heavy banner in his hands, and ran forward with undoubted confidence that the whole battalion would run after him. Death, wounds, personal life - everything faded into the background. Ahead - only the hero, Prince Andrei, and his feat, which (as he dreamed) will never be forgotten.

And only the injury helped to understand how he was mistaken. Only the high Austerlitz sky with gray nondescript clouds made him feel his insignificance before eternity.

"Yes! everything is empty, everything is a deceit, except for this endless sky. Prince Andrew came to this conclusion. And Napoleon, whom Bolkonsky admired so much, seemed insignificant to him. Diligently erected ideals collapsed in an instant.

After being wounded, Prince Andrei returned home and turned his thoughts to eternity and love. Bolkonsky came to the conclusion that a person, like a tree, should live out his life patiently and without fuss. The main thing is not to bring harm to anyone and not to demand participation. But the life of Prince Andrei changed dramatically: he met Natasha Rostov and fell in love with her. Thanks to Natasha, he continues to live and, it seems, is about to touch happiness. But suddenly something happens that Prince Andrei cannot forgive Natasha - treason.

It is Natasha's betrayal that prompts Bolkonsky to go to war again, and during the Battle of Borodino he is again wounded, this time seriously. And this is due to his excessive pride. When a grenade fell near him, he did not lie down on the ground, as he thought that he would set a wrong example for other officers. “Is this really death?”... He thought this and at the same time remembered that they were looking at him. Pride did not let him save himself. Prince Andrei was wounded in the stomach. And in moments of suffering, everything that he had not understood before was revealed to him. “There was something in this life that I didn’t understand ...” Bolkonsky thought. Then he understood why and how God loves people. And he, Prince Andrei, also loves them all, not dividing them into relatives and enemies. “Compassion, love for brothers, for those who love, love for those who hate us, love for enemies, yes, that love that God preached on earth, which Princess Mary taught me, and which I did not understand; that's what made me feel sorry for life, that's what was left to me, if I were alive. But now it's too late. I know it!" - these are the thoughts of Prince Andrei.

Andrei Bolkonsky experienced everything in his life, learned everything that was possible, and then his life would be meaningless. And such a person had no choice but to die. And he died, but in our hearts he will remain forever.

Life quest of Andrei Bolkonsky

Andrei Bolkonsky is burdened by the routine, hypocrisy and lies that reign in secular society. These low, meaningless goals that it pursues.

Bolkonsky's ideal is Napoleon, Andrei wants like him, saving others to achieve fame and recognition. This desire of his is the secret reason why he goes to the war of 1805-1807.

During the Battle of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei decides that the hour of his glory has come and rushes headlong under the bullets, although the impetus for this was not only ambitious intentions, but also shame for his army, which began to flee. Bolkonsky was wounded in the head. When he woke up, he began to perceive the world around him in a different way, he finally noticed the beauty of nature. He comes to the conclusion that wars, victories, defeats and glory are nothing, emptiness, vanity of vanities.

After the death of his wife, Prince Andrei experiences a strong emotional shock, he decides for himself that he will live for the closest people, but his living nature does not want to put up with such a boring and ordinary life, and in the end all this leads to a deep mental crisis. But a meeting with a friend and a sincere conversation help partly overcome it. Pierre Bezukhov convinces Bolkonsky that life is not over, that you need to continue to fight, no matter what.

A moonlit night in Otradnoye and a conversation with Natasha, and after meeting with an old oak tree, Bolkonsky returns to life, he begins to realize that he does not want to be such an “old oak tree”. Ambition, a thirst for glory and a desire to live and fight again appear in Prince Andrei, and he goes to serve in St. Petersburg. But, Bolkonsky, participating in the drafting of laws, understands that this is not what the people need.

Natasha Rostova played a very important role in the spiritual development of Prince Andrei. She showed him the purity of thoughts that must be adhered to: love for the people, the desire to live, to do something good for others. Andrei Bolkonsky passionately and tenderly fell in love with Natalya, but could not forgive the betrayal, because he decided that Natasha's feelings were not as sincere and disinterested as he thought before.

Going to the front in 1812, Andrei Bolkonsky does not pursue ambitious intentions, he goes to defend his homeland, to defend his people. And already being in the army, he does not strive for high ranks, but fights next to ordinary people: soldiers and officers.

The behavior of Prince Andrei in the Battle of Borodino is a feat, but a feat not in the sense that we usually understand it, but a feat in front of oneself, in front of one's honor, an indicator of a long path of self-improvement.

After a mortal wound, Bolkonsky was imbued with an all-forgiving religious spirit, changed a lot, revised his views on life in general. He gave forgiveness to Natasha and Kuragin, and died with peace in his heart.

In the novel "War and Peace" one can explore and see with one's own eyes the life path and spiritual development of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky from a secular, indifferent and conceited person to a wise, honest and spiritually deep person.

Pierre

L. N. Tolstoy is a writer of enormous, worldwide scale, since the subject of his research was man, his soul. For Tolstoy, man is part of the universe. He is interested in what path the human soul goes in striving for the high, ideal, in striving to know oneself.

Pierre Bezukhov is an honest, highly educated nobleman. This is a spontaneous nature, capable of keenly feeling, easily excited. Pierre is characterized by deep thoughts and doubts, the search for the meaning of life. His life path is complex and tortuous. At first, under the influence of youth and the environment, he makes many mistakes: he leads a reckless life of a secular reveler and loafer, allows Prince Kuragin to rob himself and marry his daughter Helen. Pierre shoots himself in a duel with Dolokhov, breaks with his wife, is disappointed in life. He hates the widely recognized lies of secular society, and he understands the need to fight.

At this critical moment, Pierre falls into the hands of the freemason Bazdeev. This "preacher" deftly sets up before the gullible count the nets of a religious-mystical society, which called for the moral improvement of people and their unification on the basis of brotherly love. Pierre understood Freemasonry as a doctrine of equality, brotherhood and love. This helped him to direct his forces to the improvement of the serfs. He liberated the peasants, established hospitals, shelters and schools.

The war of 1812 makes Pierre ardently get down to business again, but his passionate appeal to help the Motherland causes general dissatisfaction among the Moscow nobility. He fails again. However, seized with a patriotic feeling, Pierre equips a thousand militia with his own money and remains in Moscow himself to kill Napoleon: “either die, or end the misfortunes of all of Europe, which, according to Pierre, came from Napoleon alone.”

An important stage on the path of Pierre's searches is his visit to the Borodino field at the time of the famous battle. He understood here that history is created by the most powerful force in the world - the people. Bezukhov approvingly perceives the wise words of the soldier: “They want to pile on all the people, one word - Moscow. They want to make one end." The sight of lively and sweaty militia men, with loud laughter and talking, working on the field, "acted on Pierre more than anything that he had seen and heard so far about the solemnity and significance of the present moment."

If Pierre’s closer rapprochement with ordinary people occurs after a meeting with a soldier, a former peasant, Platon Karataev, who, according to Tolstoy, is a particle of the masses. From Karataev, Pierre gains peasant wisdom, in communication with him "finds that calmness and contentment with himself, to which he vainly sought before."

The life path of Pierre Bezukhov is typical for the best part of the noble youth of that time. It was from such people that the iron cohort of the Decembrists was made up. They have much in common with the author of the epic, who was faithful to the oath given to him in his youth: “In order to live honestly, one must tear, get confused, fight, make mistakes, start and quit again, and start again and quit again and always fight and lose. And peace is spiritual meanness.

Life quest of Pierre Bezukhov

Pierre Bezukhov was the illegitimate son of one of the richest people in Russia. In society, he was perceived as an eccentric, everyone laughed at his beliefs, aspirations and statements. No one reckoned with his opinion and did not take him seriously. But when Pierre received a huge inheritance, everyone began to curry favor with him, he became the desired groom for many secular coquettes ...

While living in France, he was imbued with the ideas of Freemasonry, it seemed to Pierre that he had found like-minded people, that with their help he could change the world for the better. But soon he nevertheless became disillusioned with Freemasonry, although his desire for equality among people and justice in everything was ineradicable.

Pierre Bezukhov is still very young and inexperienced, he is looking for the purpose of his life and being in general, but, unfortunately, he comes to the conclusion that nothing can be changed in this world and falls under the bad influence of Kuragin and Dolokhov. Pierre begins to simply “burn through life”, spends his time on balls and social evenings. Kuragin marries him to Helen.

Bezukhov was inspired by passion for Helen Kuragina, the very first secular beauty, he rejoiced at the happiness of marrying her. But after a while, Pierre noticed that Helen was just a beautiful doll with an icy heart, a painted smile and a cruel hypocritical disposition. Marriage with Helen Kuragina brought Pierre Bezukhov only pain and disappointment in the female field.

Tired of a wild life and inaction, Pierre's soul is eager to work. He begins to carry out reforms in his lands, tries to give freedom to the serfs, but, which is very regrettable, people do not understand him, they are already so used to slavery that they cannot even imagine how one can live without it. People decide that Pierre is "quirky".

When the war of 1812 began, Pierre Bezukhov, although he was not a military man, went to the front to see how people were fighting for their Fatherland. Being on the fourth bastion, Pierre saw a real war, he saw how people suffer because of Napoleon. Bezukhov was struck and inspired by the patriotism, zeal and self-sacrifice of ordinary soldiers, he felt pain along with them, Pierre was imbued with a fierce hatred for Bonaparte, he wanted to personally kill him. Unfortunately, he did not succeed, and instead he was captured.

Bezukhov spent a month in prison. There he met a simple "soldier" Platon Karataev. This acquaintance and being in captivity played a significant role in Pierre's life search. He finally understood and realized the truth that he had been looking for for a long time: that every person has the right to happiness and should be happy. Pierre Bezukhov saw the true value of life.

Pierre found his happiness in marriage with Natasha Rostova, she was not only his wife, mother of his children and beloved woman for him, she was great - she was a friend who supported him in everything.

Bezukhov, like all Decembrists, fought for truth, for the freedom of the people, for honor, it was these goals that caused him to join their ranks.

A long way of wandering, sometimes erroneous, sometimes funny and absurd, nevertheless led Pierre Bezukhov to the truth, which he had to understand, having passed the difficult trials of fate. We can say that, in spite of everything, the end of Pierre's life searches is good, because he achieved the goal that he originally pursued. He tried to change this world for the better. And each of us should also strive for this goal, because the house consists of small bricks, and they are made of small grains of sand, and grains of sand are our good and fair deeds.

However, fate decreed otherwise. She gave him the opportunity to see his idol, but at the same time showed the insignificance of his search for earthly glory. Looking at the high Austerlitz sky, the wounded Prince Andrei says to himself: “Yes, I didn’t know anything, I didn’t know anything until now.” And when Napoleon approaches him - Napoleon Bonaparte himself, his recent idol - who, mistaking him for the murdered man, utters a pompous phrase: "Here is a beautiful death!" For Bolkonsky, this praise is like the buzzing of a fly. Napoleon seems to him small and insignificant in comparison with what was revealed to his mind at that moment.

Overcoming the "Napoleonic" ideal is one of the stages in the evolution of the personality of Andrei Bolkonsky. However, when a person loses old ideals and does not acquire new ones, an emptiness forms in his soul. So, after overthrowing Napoleon from the pedestal and abandoning his former dreams of glory, Prince Andrei began a painful search for the meaning of life. He frightens Pierre Bezukhov with his gloomy thoughts caused precisely by the absence of this meaning. Prince Andrei no longer wants to serve in the army: "After Austerlitz! .. No, I humbly thank you, I promised myself that I would not serve in the active Russian army. "He does not approve of Pierre's ideas about the liberation of the peasants, believing that it would not benefit them.

Having ceased to live for glory, Prince Andrei tries to live for himself. But such a philosophy only fills his soul with confusion. The mood of Prince Andrei is keenly felt at the moment when, on the way to Otradnoye, he sees a huge old oak tree. This oak "did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun." Bolkonsky, as it were, tries to attribute to the oak the thoughts that overcome him: "Spring, love and happiness! .. And how do you not get tired of the same stupid, senseless deception!" This moment seems to be the highest, critical point of Prince Andrei's mental torment. But fate again surprises him - a small episode that radically changes his whole life. This is the first meeting with Natasha Rostova in Otradnoe. Not even so much a meeting as just an overheard conversation between her and her friend, a light touch on her inner world. This contributed to the fact that "in his soul suddenly rose ... an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes that contradicted his whole life." Returning home the next day, Prince Andrei again saw the oak tree, which had made such a gloomy impression on him the day before. Bolkonsky did not immediately recognize him: "The old oak tree, all transformed, spread out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun." At that moment, Prince Andrei realized that life was not over, and it was necessary to make sure that it flowed not for him alone, but was reflected in everyone. He had an urgent need to take an active part in life. This was followed by the fascination of Prince Andrei with the personality of Speransky. He met Speransky at the moment when the latter's fame reached its zenith. It was a kind of "double" of Napoleon - not only in terms of the strength of the impression, but even in appearance and character traits. However, the memory of Austerlitz did not allow Prince Andrei to create another idol for himself, despite all the admiration that Speransky aroused in him. Thus, Prince Andrei finally overcame the influence of Napoleon's personality.

When the war of 1812 began, Bolkonsky seemed to have forgotten that he no longer wanted to serve in the Russian army.

He went to war, this time not in search of glory, but with the only desire to share the fate of his people. There was not even a shadow of the former arrogance left in him, he changed his attitude towards the peasants, and they paid him love and trust, calling him "our prince." After the Battle of Borodino, the mortally wounded Prince Andrei ends up in the hospital and there he suddenly recognizes Anatole Kuragin in one of the wounded. In the plot of the novel, their meeting is no less important than Bolkonsky's meeting with Napoleon on the Field of Austerlitz, since these are links in the same chain - the spiritual renewal of the hero who comprehends the meaning of life. In the camp hospital, Anatole's shattered leg is cut, while Bolkonsky is tormented not so much by a physical as by a spiritual wound. The contrast arising from the juxtaposition of the bodily and the spiritual very accurately characterizes both Anatole and Prince Andrei. Anatole, in fact, is already dead as a person, and Bolkonsky retained his spirituality. He plunged into memories "from the world of children, pure and loving." At that moment, the experiences of a child and a dying person were combined in his mind. And in such a connection, Bolkonsky felt an ideal state of mind. It was a moment. But at that moment, by exerting physical and spiritual strength, the hero brought together all the best qualities of his nature. He remembered Natasha at the ball in 1810, since it was at that time, perhaps, for the first time that he felt in himself with extraordinary clarity the power of "natural" life. And now love for Natasha made him color everything around with this living feeling and forgive Anatole Kuragin. The dying Bolkonsky demonstrates the victory of the natural principle in him. Death for Prince Andrei in his new state is devoid of horror and tragedy, since the transition "there" is as natural as the arrival of a person from non-existence into the world. The scene in the hospital is followed by a description of the results of the Battle of Borodino. The triumph of the spirit of Prince Bolkonsky and the triumph of the spirit of the Russian people echo each other. The "thought of the people" is thus organically embodied in the image of Prince Andrei. It is no coincidence that Pierre compares Bolkonsky with Platon Karataev. Before his death, Prince Andrei comes precisely to the Karataev worldview. The only difference is that this understanding of life and death was not given to Prince Andrei by nature, but was the result of hard work of thought. However, Tolstoy is closer to those heroes for whom this philosophy is natural, that is, it lives in them by itself and they do not even think about it. Such, for example, is Natasha, who lives by the principle: "You live and live."

The internal unity of Bolkonsky and Karataev is emphasized by the characteristic coincidence of the attitudes of others towards the death of both. Pierre took the death of Karataev as a natural event, and Natasha and Princess Mary reacted to the death of Prince Andrei in the same way. An aristocrat, a nobleman, Prince Bolkonsky passed away in the same way as the peasant Platon Karataev. This was a huge moral victory for Prince Andrei, for objectively, according to Tolstoy, he approached the faith that Platon Karataev and thousands and millions of Russian people were the bearers of. Pierre Bezukhov compares Bolkonsky and Karataev as two equally beloved people who "both lived and both died." This reasoning for Pierre is full of deep meaning. Bolkonsky and Karataev are the children of the great mother nature. Their life and death are a natural link in nature, which gave them life and into the bosom of which they, like thousands of their kind, had to return. which is completely inaccessible to Nikolai, although he is older and more experienced: “For Dolokhov, she almost quarreled with her brother. She insisted that he was an evil person, that Pierre was right in a duel with Bezukhov, and Dolokhov was to blame, that he was unpleasant and unnatural " . Natasha does not know how to explain, to prove logically, because she understands people not with her mind, but with her heart. And her heart always tells her right. It is interesting that Natashg, unlike Sonya, does not at all seek to sacrifice herself to someone else, she does not even set herself the goal of helping people, making them happy.

Prince Andrey went to Count Rostov in Otradnoye "gloomy and preoccupied", thinking that love and happiness are "a stupid, senseless deception." The very thought of rebirth to a new life, love, activity was unpleasant to him. However, when he saw a "strangely thin", black-eyed girl running away from his carriage with a cheerful laugh, he was hurt that this girl "did not know and did not want to know about his existence."

Natasha's nightly conversation with Sonya, accidentally overheard by Prince Andrei, had such an effect on him that "an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes suddenly arose in his soul, contrary to his whole life." Only Natasha could evoke such feelings in people, only she could make them dream of "flying into the sky", as she herself dreamed.

Princess Mary is different. Growing up in the countryside, brought up by a stern and sometimes cruel father, she did not know the joys of life that Natasha fully enjoyed. For the old Prince Bolkonsky, there were "only two virtues: activity and mind." He considered order to be the main condition for activity, and this "order in his way of life was brought to the last degree of accuracy." Princess Mary did not have a mother to whom she could run at night to chat and kiss "on the darling", as Natasha did. There was a father, whom she, of course, loved, but was so afraid that even "red spots shimmered over her face." When you read about how she does mathematics with her father, the heart is filled with such pity for this girl that one wants to protect her from her tyrant father. It becomes clear why "the princess's eyes were clouded, she did not see, did not hear anything ... and only thought about how she could leave the office as soon as possible and understand the task in her own space." She is corresponding with Julie Karagina, sincerely believing that this is her friend. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the smart, subtle Princess Marya believes in the friendship of the false and narrow-minded Julie. After all, she no longer has friends, and in part she invented a friend for herself. Their letters are similar only at first glance, but they are like day and night: Julie's artificial and far-fetched sufferings have nothing to do with Princess Mary's completely sincere, bright and pure thoughts. Deprived of all joy, lonely, locked in a village with a stupid Frenchwoman and a despotic, albeit loving father, Princess Mary tries to console the poor, suffering Julie. She herself finds solace only in religion. The faith of Princess Marya commands respect, because for her it is, first of all, demanding of herself. She is ready to forgive the weaknesses of everyone, but not herself. Tolstoy loves the princess and, apparently, therefore, is merciless towards her. He takes her through many trials, as if in order to check whether she can stand it, whether she will lose her sincerity and spiritual purity. But Princess Mary, who seems so weak and defenseless, is in fact so strong in spirit that she can withstand all the hardships sent down to her by fate.

I. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky in the light

2) Bolkonsky is not satisfied with family life (“But if you want to know the truth ... (to Prince Mary’s sister) you want to know if I’m happy? No. Is she happy? No. Why is this? I don’t know ...”).

3) Friendship with Pierre Bezukhov (“You are dear to me, especially because you are the only living person in our entire world”).

4) Dreams of military glory, of his own Toulon.

II. The war of 1805 in the fate of the book. Andrew:

1) Changed mood and attitude of the book. Andrei (“... he changed a lot during this time ... he looked like a man ... engaged in a pleasant and interesting business”).

2) Battle of Shengraben. Book. Andrei dreams of glory: “... it occurred to him that it was precisely for him that he was destined to lead the Russian army out of this situation, that here he was, that Toulon, who would lead him out of the ranks of unknown officers and open the first path to glory for him!”. The first doubts are that military glory is exactly what should be served: true heroes remain in the shadows.

3) Battle of Austerlitz:

a) dreams of glory on the eve of the battle: “I want glory, I want to be known to people, I want to be loved by them”;

b) the feat of Bolkonsky;

c) the sky of Austerlitz - the collapse of Bolkonsky's former dreams: former aspirations for glory, for human love are vain and therefore insignificant. Something else a person should look for in life. But what?

III. Landowner - misanthrope Prince Andrei Bolkonsky

1) Life in Bogucharovo (Bolkonsky’s world narrowed after the death of his wife and the birth of his son. Standing at his son’s bed, he thinks: “This is the only thing left for me now”).

2) The arrival of Pierre Bezukhov and a conversation with him on the ferry is a turning point in the mood and worldview of Prince Andrei: “A date with Pierre was an era for Prince Andrei ... from which his new life began.”

3) "New Life" book. Andrew after meeting with Pierre (successful attempts to alleviate the situation of his peasants).

IV. Meeting with Natasha Rostova and love for her - the final revival of the book. Andrew to life

1) The first meeting with Natasha in Otradnoye (two meetings with an oak - a reflection of the two moods of Prince Andrei).

2) Thirst for active work, in the Speransky commission: “No, at 31, life did not end ...”.

3) Meeting with Natasha at a big court ball (1810) and the impression made by Natasha on the book. Andrei (he liked to meet everything that did not have a secular imprint).

4) Disappointment in Speransky and the service: under the influence of love for Natasha, Bolkonsky's attitude changes.

5) The whole meaning, the whole life for the book. Andrei - in love with Natasha (“The whole world is divided for me into two halves: one is she and there is all happiness, hope, light; the other half is everything where she is not, there is all despondency and emptiness”).

6) Postponement of the wedding (at the request of the old prince Bolkonsky) and the departure of Prince. Andrew abroad. Book error. Andrei: I thought a lot about my love and little about what Natasha feels.

7) The final break with Natasha. (“I said that a fallen woman must be forgiven, but I did not say that I could forgive. I cannot ...”).

8) Prince Andrei is looking for a personal meeting with Anatole, because, “without giving a new reason for a duel, Prince Andrei considered the challenge on his part to compromise Countess Rostova.” Even offended, even humiliated, Prince Andrei cannot humiliate a woman.

V. War of 1812 in the fate of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky.

1) Bolkonsky's trip in search of Anatole Kuragin, to St. Petersburg and to the Turkish army. His transfer to the Western Army to Barclay de Tolly.

2) A trip to the Bald Mountains to his father, a quarrel with him and departure for the war.

3) The decision of Prince Andrei to serve not with the person of the sovereign, but in the army (“I lost myself forever in the court world, not asking to stay with the person of the sovereign, but asking for permission to remain in the army”).

4) Andrei Bolkonsky on the eve of the Battle of Borodino; a meeting with Pierre and a conversation with him about the war, about the appointment of Kutuzov as commander in chief. Bolkonsky’s blood connection with the common people, with the soldiers (“He was all devoted to the affairs of his regiment, he was caring for his people and officers and affectionate with them. In the regiment he was called OUR PRINCE, they were proud of him, they loved him”).

5) At the dressing station. Meeting with Anatole Kuragin: there is no former hatred, "enthusiastic pity and love for this man filled his happy heart." What's this? Or, as he himself thinks, that patient love for people, which his sister taught, was revealed to him!

6) Wounded book. Andrei in the train of the Rostovs. The state of mind of the prince, his reconciliation with Natasha. The last moral struggle between life and death. (“That enthusiastic love for people, which he understood after being wounded, was replaced by indifference to them: to love everyone ... meant not to love anyone, it meant not to live this earthly life”).

“The moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky (based on the novel by L. N. Tolstoy “War and Peace”)”

If you carefully follow how the fate of the main characters of Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace" developed, then we can say with confidence: each of them experienced a significant evolution of their views on life. One example is the absolute change in the outlook of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky. We first meet him at the reception of Anna Pavlovna Sherer. There, all the conversations in one way or another revolve around the personality of Napoleon Bonaparte. Moreover, members of the circle talk about Napoleon as if he is a frequent visitor to the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer: they tell various funny stories about him and present him as a well-known, even close, person. Andrei Bolkonsky has a completely different perception of Napoleon's personality, so salon conversations irritate him insanely. For him, Napoleon is an exceptional personality. Prince Andrei is afraid of his genius, which may "turn out to be stronger than all the courage of the Russian troops," and at the same time is afraid of "shame for his hero." With all his being, Bolkonsky rushes in pursuit of the ideal associated with the victorious career of Napoleon. As soon as Prince Andrei learns that the Russian army is in distress, he decides that it is he who is destined to save her and that “here it is, that Toulon that will lead him out of the ranks of unknown officers and open the first path to glory for him” . However, fate decreed otherwise. She gave him the opportunity to see his idol, but at the same time showed the insignificance of his search for earthly glory. Looking at the high Austerlitz sky, the wounded Prince Andrei says to himself: “Yes, I didn’t know anything, I didn’t know anything until now.” And when Napoleon approaches him - Napoleon Bonaparte himself, his recent idol - who, mistaking him for the murdered man, utters a pompous phrase: “Here is a beautiful death!” For Bolkonsky, this praise is like the buzzing of a fly. Napoleon seems to him small and insignificant in comparison with what was revealed to his mind at that moment. Overcoming the "Napoleonic" ideal is one of the stages in the evolution of the personality of Andrei Bolkonsky. However, when a person loses old ideals and does not acquire new ones, a void forms in his soul. So too, after the overthrow of Napoleon from the pedestal and the abandonment of his former dreams of glory, Prince Andrei began a painful search for the meaning of life. He scares Pierre Bezukhov with his gloomy thoughts, caused precisely by the absence of this meaning. Prince Andrei no longer wants to serve in the army: “After Austerlitz! .. No, I humbly thank you, I promised myself that I would not serve in the active Russian army.” He does not approve of Pierre's ideas about the emancipation of the peasants, believing that this will not benefit them. Having ceased to live for glory, Prince Andrei tries to live for himself. But such a philosophy only fills his soul with confusion. The mood of Prince Andrei is keenly felt at the moment when, on the way to Otradnoye, he sees a huge old oak tree. This oak "did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun." Bolkonsky, as it were, tries to attribute to the oak the thoughts that overcome him: “Spring, love and happiness! .. And how do you not get tired of the same stupid, senseless deception!” This moment seems to be the highest, critical point of Prince Andrei's mental torment. But fate again surprises him - a small episode that radically changes his whole life. This is the first meeting with Natasha Rostova in Otradnoe. Not even so much a meeting as just an overheard conversation between her and her friend, a light touch on her inner world. This contributed to the fact that "in his soul suddenly rose ... an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes that contradicted his whole life." Returning home the next day, Prince Andrei again saw the oak tree, which had made such a gloomy impression on him the day before. Bolkonsky did not immediately recognize him: “The old oak tree, all transformed, spread out in a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun.” At that moment, Prince Andrei realized that life was not over, and it was necessary to make sure that it flowed not for him alone, but was reflected in everyone. He had an urgent need to take an active part in life. This was followed by the fascination of Prince Andrei with the personality of Speransky. He met Speransky at the moment when the latter's fame reached its zenith. It was a kind of "twin" of Napoleon - not only in terms of the strength of the impression, but even in appearance and character traits. However, the memory of Austerlitz did not allow Prince Andrei to create another idol for himself, despite all the admiration that Speransky aroused in him. Thus, Prince Andrei finally overcame the influence of Napoleon's personality. When the war of 1812 began, Bolkonsky seemed to have forgotten that he no longer wanted to serve in the Russian army. He went to war, this time not in search of glory, but with the only desire to share the fate of his people. There was not even a shadow of the former arrogance left in him, he changed his attitude towards the peasants, and they paid him love and trust, calling him “our prince”. After the Battle of Borodino, the mortally wounded Prince Andrei ends up in the hospital and there he suddenly recognizes Anatole Kuragin in one of the wounded. In the plot of the novel, their meeting is no less important than Bolkonsky's meeting with Napoleon on the Field of Austerlitz, since these are links in the same chain - the spiritual renewal of the hero who comprehends the meaning of life. In the camping hospital, Anatole is cut with a crushed leg, and Bolkonsky at this time is tormented not so much by a physical wound as by a spiritual wound. The contrast arising from the juxtaposition of the bodily and the spiritual very accurately characterizes both Anatole and Prince Andrei. Anatole, in fact, is already dead as a person, and Bolkonsky retained his spirituality. He plunged into memories "from the world of children, pure and loving." At that moment, the experiences of a child and a dying person were combined in his mind. And in such a connection, Bolkonsky felt an ideal state of mind. It was a moment. But at that moment, by exerting physical and spiritual strength, the hero brought together all the best qualities of his nature. He remembered Natasha at the ball in 1810, since it was at that time that he, perhaps, for the first time felt in himself with extraordinary clarity the power of “natural” life. And now love for Natasha made him color everything around with this living feeling and forgive Anatole Kuragin. The dying Bolkonsky demonstrates the victory of the natural principle in him. Death for Prince Andrei in his new state is devoid of horror and tragedy, since the transition “there” is as natural as the arrival of a person from non-existence into the world. The scene in the hospital is followed by a description of the results of the Battle of Borodino. The triumph of the spirit of Prince Bolkonsky and the triumph of the spirit of the Russian people echo each other. “The thought of the people” is thus organically embodied in the image of Prince Andrei. It is no coincidence that Pierre compares Bolkonsky with Platon Karataev. Before his death, Prince Andrei comes precisely to the Karataev worldview. The only difference is that this understanding of life and death was not given to Prince Andrei by nature, but was the result of hard work of thought. However, Tolstoy is closer to those heroes for whom this philosophy is natural, that is, it lives in them by itself and they do not even think about it. Such, for example, is Natasha, who lives by the principle: “You live and live.” The internal unity of Bolkonsky and Karataev is emphasized by the characteristic coincidence of the attitudes of others towards the death of both. Pierre took the death of Karataev as a natural event, and Natasha and Princess Mary reacted to the death of Prince Andrei in the same way. An aristocrat, a nobleman, Prince Bolkonsky passed away in the same way as the peasant Platon Karataev. This was a huge moral victory for Prince Andrei, for objectively, according to Tolstoy, he approached the faith, the bearers of which were Platon Karataev and thousands, millions of Russian people. Pierre Bezukhov compares Bolkonsky and Karataev as two equally beloved people who "both lived and both died." This reasoning for Pierre is full of deep meaning. Bolkonsky and Karataev are the children of the great mother nature. Their life and death are a natural link in nature, which gave them life and into the bosom of which they, like thousands of their kind, had to return. which is completely inaccessible to Nikolai, although he is older and more experienced: “For Dolokhov, she almost quarreled with her brother. She insisted that he was an evil person, that in a duel with Bezukhov, Pierre was right, and Dolokhov was to blame, that he was unpleasant and unnatural. Natasha does not know how to explain, to prove logically, because she understands people not with her mind, but with her heart. And her heart always tells her right. It is interesting that Natashg, unlike Sonya, does not at all seek to sacrifice herself to someone else, she does not even set herself the goal of helping people, making them happy.

She simply lives and with her sensitivity, understanding one way or another helps everyone around her. Natasha gives people the warmth of her soul, infects with that irrepressible thirst for life that overwhelms her. There are many examples of this. When Nikolai returned home after losing at cards, Natasha “instantly noticed the state of her brother ... but she herself was so cheerful at that moment ... that she ... deliberately deceived herself” and continued to sing. And yet, without knowing it herself, Natasha sang for her brother and thus helped him. Listening to her singing, Nikolai understood: “All this, and misfortune, and money, and Dolokhov, and malice, and honor - all this is nonsense ... but here it is real ...” thinking that love and happiness are “stupid, senseless deceit”. The very thought of rebirth to a new life, love, activity was unpleasant to him. However, when he saw a “strangely thin”, black-eyed girl running away from his carriage with a cheerful laugh, he was hurt that this girl “did not know and did not want to know about his existence.” Natasha’s nighttime conversation with Sonya, accidentally overheard by Prince Andrei, had such an effect on him that “an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes suddenly arose in his soul, contradicting his whole life.” Only Natasha could evoke such feelings in people, only she could make them dream of “flying into the sky,” as she herself dreamed. Princess Mary is different. Growing up in the countryside, brought up by a stern and sometimes cruel father, she did not know the joys of life that Natasha fully enjoyed. For the old Prince Bolkonsky, there were “only two virtues: activity and intelligence.” He considered order to be the main condition for activity, and this "order in his way of life was brought to the last degree of accuracy." Princess Mary did not have a mother to whom she could run at night to chat and kiss "on the darling", as Natasha did. There was a father, whom she, of course, loved, but was so afraid that even “red spots shimmered over her face.” When you read about how she does mathematics with her father, the heart is filled with such pity for this girl that one wants to protect her from her tyrant father. It becomes clear why “the princess’s eyes were dimmed, she didn’t see anything, didn’t hear anything ... and only thought about how she could leave the office as soon as possible and understand the task in her own space.” She is corresponding with Julie Karagina, sincerely believing that this is her friend. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the smart, subtle Princess Marya believes in the friendship of the false and narrow-minded Julie. After all, she no longer has friends, and in part she invented a friend for herself. Their letters are similar only at first glance, but they are like day and night: Julie's artificial and far-fetched sufferings have nothing to do with Princess Mary's completely sincere, bright and pure thoughts. Deprived of all joy, lonely, locked in a village with a stupid Frenchwoman and a despotic, albeit loving father, Princess Mary tries to console the poor, suffering Julie. She herself finds solace only in religion. The faith of Princess Marya commands respect, because for her it is, first of all, demanding of herself. She is ready to forgive the weaknesses of everyone, but not herself. Tolstoy loves the princess and, apparently, therefore, is merciless towards her. He takes her through many trials, as if in order to check whether she can stand it, whether she will lose her sincerity and spiritual purity. But Princess Mary, who seems so weak and defenseless, is in fact so strong in spirit that she can withstand all the hardships sent down to her by fate.

Ways of finding a place in life by Pierre Bezukhov

Tolstoy's books are a documentary presentation of all the searches that a strong personality undertook in order to find a place and a deed in the history of Russia.AM. Gorky's novel "War and Peace" is the brightest work that has become the greatest achievement of Russian literature.

L. N. Tolstoy captures and combines into a single whole the most important questions of the era: about the ways of development of Russia, about the fate of the people, about their role in history. We are shown outstanding personalities, great historical events, which at the beginningXIX centuries deeply touched the souls of many millions of people, the entire Russian people and were the center of events in this period of time, which later went down in history. Tolstoy's favorite character is Pierre Bezukhov. The image of this hero was conceived and written as the image of the future Decembrist. Not being a supporter of the uprising against the tsarist autocracy, the author, however, has great sympathy for the noble revolutionaries. Like Bolkonsky, Pierre is an honest, noble, highly educated nobleman, a comprehensively developed and intelligent person. Bezukhov is a spontaneous nature, capable of keenly feeling, easily excited. He is characterized by reflections and doubts in search of the “meaning of life”. His path is complex and tortuous. Tolstoy is very close to the search for his hero, because for a long time he himself could not understand the meaning of life, often looking for him in vain and in vain. Pierre Bezukhov is “a massive, fat young man with a cropped head, wearing glasses ... This fat young man was the illegitimate son of the famous Catherine’s nobleman, Count Bezukhov, who was dying in Moscow. He has not served anywhere yet, he has just arrived from abroad, where he was brought up, and was for the first time in society.” This is how Leo Tolstoy described his hero. But despite the appearance of Pierre, Tolstoy endowed him with magnificent human qualities and character. True, Pierre, even in his early youth, only having arrived in St. Petersburg, does not understand people well. He takes hypocrisy and lies for truth, sympathizes with false suffering. And therefore only, faced with the cruelty of this society, he seeks salvation in religion. At this critical moment, Bezukhov falls into the hands of Bazdeev. This "preacher" deftly sets up before the gullible count the nets of a religious-mystical society that called for moral self-improvement of people and united them on the basis of brotherly love. Pierre understood Freemasonry as “the teaching of equality, brotherhood and love”, and this helps him direct his forces towards the improvement of the life of serfs. But this good-natured and open person is being deceived here too. Wealthy, prosperous peasants and the manager cash in on the good of the count. This means that being a “good landowner” and a “benefactor” under the conditions of the feudal system is a real utopia. Masonic activity does not satisfy Pierre, his economic "transformations" fail. We know that the Patriotic War of 1812, in particular the Battle of Borodino, played a huge role in the life of Pierre Bezukhov. The events of 1812 bring the young count out of a state of spiritual emptiness and disappointment. Bezukhov participates in the preparation of the militia. But he again fails, as in the period of Freemasonry, because he takes up the matter too ardently, with a passionate desire to benefit the Motherland. His bold speech, addressed to the Moscow nobility, caused general discontent. However, overwhelmed by patriotic feelings, Pierre equips a thousand militia with his own money, and he himself remains in Moscow to kill Napoleon, or die, or stop the misfortune of the Motherland, which, according to Pierre, came from Napoleon alone. An important stage on the path of Pierre's searches is his visit to the Borodino field at the time of the famous battle. He understood here that history is created by the most powerful force in the world - the people. Bezukhov approvingly perceives the wise words of the unknown soldier: “They want to pile on all the people, one word - Moscow. They want to make one end.” The sight of “lively and sweaty” militia men, “with a loud talk and laughter” working on the field, “acted on Pierre more than anything that he had seen and heard so far about the solemnity and significance of this moment.” An even closer rapprochement between Count Bezukhov and ordinary people takes place in Moscow, in the barracks of prisoners of war. There he meets a soldier, a former peasant, Platon Karataev, who, according to the author, is a part of the masses. Pierre understood the meaning of life, which for him consisted in the fact that if life exists, then you can’t look for some only bad sides in it, but you need to see a lot of good things and take everything good from life. From Karataev, Pierre gains "peasant wisdom", in communication with the peasants "finds that calmness and contentment with himself, to which he vainly aspired before." If earlier Bezukhov closed himself in, now he is interested in the world around him, critically evaluates the phenomena of life. Pierre gained confidence and firmness of character, which he has been striving to find in himself all this time. Pierre Bezukhov belongs to that best part of Russian society, which draws forward along an unknown path to an amazing future and touches hearts with the tender fire of creative search. Pierre, as an advanced person of his time, is characterized by his personality: his desire for the best, his non-reconciliation with society, which often strangled and humiliated him. In addition to its historicity, the novel "War and Peace" is an interweaving of the destinies of many people. The main idea of this novel is universal unity. It is important, relevant, topical, imbued with patriotism and heroism of the Russian people.

On the pages of the novel by Leo Tolstoy, the eternal and most complex issues that concern a person are resolved: life and death, patriotism and selfishness, the search for truth, the meaning of life. One of the main characters of Lev Nikolaevich's novel, Andrei Bolkonsky, is trying to find answers to these questions. He is in constant search for the meaning of life, and at the same time he is experiencing an absolute change in worldview. The first acquaintance with Prince Andrei does not cause much sympathy, because his face "with certain and dry features" expresses boredom and discontent. Tolstoy explains this to us by saying that "all those who were in the living room not only knew each other, but were already so tired of him that it was very boring for him to look at them and listen to them."
In 1805, Andrei Bolkonsky leaves the secular society that bothered him and leaves for the war. In pursuit of fame, for the dream of a feat, for the love of people, he finds himself under the sky of Austerlitz, bleeding. It is at this moment that he realizes how petty and fussy his desires were. Even Napoleon, his hero and idol, now seems to Bolkonsky small and insignificant. He understands that he has become disillusioned with fame and dreams of a quiet family life.
Returning home, Andrei Bolkonsky learns about the death of his wife Lisa. It was another blow for him, because he did not have time to make amends with her. Now Andrei is trying to live a simple life, taking care of his son. But still he is in a state of depression and disbelief in the possibility of happiness. With the arrival of Pierre, changes occur in Andrey's difficult state of mind. The final upheaval in Andrei's soul occurs after a trip to the Rostovs in Otradnoye. During the trip, Bolkonsky sees an old oak tree. This oak "did not want to submit to the charm of spring and did not want to see either spring or the sun." He seems to see himself in this clumsy oak, and agrees with him: “... yes, he is right, this oak is a thousand times right ... let others, young ones, again succumb to this deception, and we know life, our life is over!” . But upon arrival in Otradnoye, Prince Andrei changes his ideas about life, because he meets Natasha Rostova there. Everything inside him turns upside down, and the next day he goes home more animated. Passing by that same old oak tree, he did not immediately recognize it: “The old oak tree, all transformed, spreading out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun.” At that moment, Andrei realized that his life was not over, but only just beginning, that you need to live not only for yourself, but also not to forget about those around you.
With Natasha, Bolkonsky connects his happiness in life. After their dance at the ball, Andrei Bolkonsky falls in love with this amazing girl. But they are not destined to be together, because there is no complete understanding between them. They love, but do not understand, do not know each other. For Natasha, the main thing is to love and be loved, to live every moment. Andrey is able to love at a distance, finding a special charm in anticipation of the upcoming wedding. A catastrophe occurs: Natasha's unsatisfied love desire spills out onto the vulgar seducer - Anatole Kuragin. Proud and proud Andrei is unable to forgive Natasha for her mistake. Natasha, after all this, considers herself unworthy of such an ideal person as Andrei. Now Bolkonsky lives with a dream of taking revenge on Anatole for ruined happiness.
The meeting with Kuragin takes place during the Battle of Borodino: the mortally wounded Bolkonsky sees him on a nearby operating table and forgives him. Fate gives him the last meeting with Natasha. He forgives her too. And, probably, we can say that Andrei Bolkonsky died happy.
In the novel by Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, we trace the spiritual growth of Andrei Bolkonsky. Tolstoy believes that only through suffering and mistakes can a person come to happiness. It is important that on this path he retained true human dignity.