War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - Essay Example

English Literature 9 December War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” as the suggests is a tale of wartime and in-between times of tranquility and peace in Russia commencing from 1805 during the reign of Tsar Alexander I and leading up to 1812 when Napoleon invaded Russia. This novel can be perceived as a long chronicle of philosophical musings of Tolstoy about various aspects of life which includes family, romance, war and relationships as well as the author’s interpretation of history of Russia and in doing so he contradicts the existing historical records of his times. The novel depicts a story of five aristocratic families; the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, the Rostovs, the Kuragins and the Drubetskoys. He amalgamates their life stories with the French invasion of Russia and the times prior to the invasion and reiterates the manner in which the people of these families suffer during the times of war. Although the Bezukhovs, were very rich, yet they were a fragmented family as the old Count, Kirill Vladimirovich, had many illegitimate sons. The Bolkonskys were an old established and wealthy family living in Bald Hills. The Rostovs also had many estates, but never enough cash. Their family was a closely knit and a loving family who lived for the moment regardless of their financial state. The Kuragin family had three children with questionable character. While the Drubetskoy family belonged to a noble class bordering on being bank corrupt consisting of an elderly mother and her only son, Boris, whom she desired to push up the career ladder. Tolstoy played a pivotal role in bringing a new kind of consciousness to the genre of novel. His novel’s narrative structure is noted for its god-like ability to hover over and within events as it is observed that throughout the novel the presence of the writer is felt deeply at every point. His use of visual detail has a cinematic quality to it and he uses the literary equivalents for close-ups or the wide shots for the dramatic effect in his narrative in both the ballroom as well as the battle scenes. Although the credit for incorporation of all these techniques in the novel as a pioneer cannot be given exclusively to Tolstoy yet he played a vital role in re-evaluation of the style of depiction of a novel during the nineteenth century. Some of the most important aspects that Tolstoy explores through his novel include a variety of human behaviors and emotions ranging from hatred, jealousy and frustration to love, affection and friendship, the unbreakable human ties which are formed on the basis of blood, love and even hatred. Then again a significant part of the novel is the writer’s personal musing about the importance of history in making of the present and the future and the tarnishing of reality based on hypothesis or assumptions. He also philosophizes about the role or necessity of war in life of human beings and in this world in general. Although it is apparent that in his long narrative he does not provide the readers with definite conclusions in fact he leaves them to draw their own conclusions though the novel ends with a happy ever after. Yet it is not all about joy of life and bliss in fact at times it becomes brutal in terms of grotesque descriptions of wartimes and bloodshed. Furthermore the complex nature of human psyche and relationships and their indecisiveness that is explored in the novel does not project man as an epitome of wisdom and happiness. There are numerous instances throughout the course of the novel when the readers realize that there is a subtext to the lines as they appear to be or the general observation that Tolstoy remarked about actually relates to them directly or indirectly. For example it is stated in the text that, “We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom” (Tolstoy 345). This simple observation encapsulates the gist of human existence. Then again while reading the novel it is apparent that Tolstoy did not just create his characters as representatives of the rest of mankind but also some of the dialogues and comments can be perceived as direct advice or an observation about the role of the readers in a novel as it is mentioned in the text as well that, “It's not given to people to judge what's right or wrong. People have eternally been mistaken and will be mistaken, and in nothing more than in what they consider right and wrong” (Tolstoy 460). Although on the surface it appears to be a general comment on human behavior yet these lines can also be perceive as Tolstoy’s advice to the readers i.e. while reading the novel it is not necessary that everything that he has reiterated in the novel should be according to their liking because every individual has a different sense of self-righteousness. Moreover every reader is at liberty to judge according to his/her means or understanding but this novel does not provide a definite answer to a particular answer in fact it is simply a collection of historical narratives and the writer’s observations. Moreover it is observed that Tolstoy’s insightfulness is not just confined to human beings, their relationships, the history or the readers only. In fact his knowledge was so immense that he even had a very keen insight of the war and its intricacies and even the position of the people in command of the war. As it is also apparent from his detailed description of the role of a commander where he says, People accustomed to think that plans of campaign and battles are made by generals… forget, or do not know, the inevitable conditions which always limit the activities of any commander in chief. The activity of a commander in chief does not at all resemble the activity we imagine to ourselves when we sit at ease in our studies examining some campaign on the map, with a certain number of troops on this and that side in a certain known locality, and begin our plans from some given moment. A commander in chief is never dealing with the beginning of any event [but instead] is always in the midst of a series of shifting events and so he never can at any moment consider the whole import of an event that is occurring. Moment by moment the event is imperceptibly shaping itself, and at every moment of this continuous, uninterrupted shaping of events the commander in chief is in the midst of a most complex play of intrigues, worries, contingencies, authorities, projects, counsels, threats, and deceptions and is continually obliged to reply to innumerable questions addressed to him, which constantly conflict with one another (Tolstoy 575). In this lengthy explication he very bluntly and openly explains the chaos that surrounds not only the army or the civilians in fact these lines show that even the commanders or the leaders are in a very critical position. In short war is an aspect of human life which simply leads to disaster, degeneration and decay and its outcome can never be productive for all parties that are involved. The manner in which Tolstoy illustrates and formulates his words to explain his philosophies or observations is commendable because he has the power of encapturing an ocean of meaning in simplest of words. Moreover his words actually force the readers to ponder and look at things from his perspective. As it is also evident from the following two examples from the text as he states at one point, Why does an apple fall when it is ripe? Is it brought down by the force of gravity? Is it because its stalk withers? Because it is dried by the sun, because it grows too heavy, or because the boy standing under the tree wants to eat it? None of these is the cause.... Every action of theirs, that seems to them an act of their own freewill is in the historical sense not free at all but is bound up with the whole course of history and preordained from all eternity (Tolstoy 660). Also, Life is everything. Life is God. Everything shifts and moves, and this movement is God. And while there is life, there is delight in the self-awareness of the divinity. To love life is to love God. The hardest and most blissful thing is to love this life in one's suffering, in the guiltlessness of suffering (Tolstoy 349). In both the quotations Tolstoy has encapsulated depth of meaning which is not only self-explanatory but also forces the readers to think about Tolstoy believes about the mechanism according to which life progresses. As from the first example it is apparent that he firmly believes that man is a product of his past or upbringing and man can deny his roots and past for as long as he wants but the connection can never be severed. While in the second example he effectively formulates and reiterates his philosophy about God or the spiritual connection between man and God. Hence it is observed that in “War and Peace” Tolstoy has covered all the aspects of the life of human beings may it be the spiritual aspect, human emotions or relations or else his self-destructive decisions hence the novel is fundamentally all encompassing reading experience i.e. a perfect guide for a better life. Another important aspect of the novel is Tolstoy’s art of characterization because all the characters are easily relatable and they have almost life like quality to themselves as if they are real human beings instead of being fictional characters. For this reason it is interesting to note the varied qualities of the major characters like Pierre, Natasha, Andrew and Nikolai. Pierre is a character who appears to be a reflection of Tolstoy himself there are some autobiographical strains in his life experiences considering that he was born in the lap of luxury and after a while inherited a large sum of money which he wasted on his friends and in partying. Although gradually his transformation started taking place and his zest for fun was replaced by wisdom. Moreover his wisdom is the hard won sort because he suffered many hardships and forayed into a variety of fields may it be politics, religion or war. Hence finally he transformed into a responsible adult towards the end, who decides to spend his life with Natasha which represents the culmination of a life of moral and spiritual questioning. The character of Pierre in “War and Peace” illustrates Tolstoy’s moral commitment to humanity in a way that transcends class and nationality. Therefore Pierre’s character represents the young men of every generation since Tolstoy’s times or may be earlier than his times, who live a life of leisure with no concern about responsibility. However Tolstoy through his character stresses on the point that there comes a turning point in every individual’s life when he realizes his mistakes and shortcomings and from that point forward he is a completely changed person because from that point onward he begins o own his life and enters the real world. As it is also stated in the novel that, ““In order to understand, observe, deduce, man must first be conscious of himself as alive” (Tolstoy 233). Hence through his character the readers realize that it is important to give space to every individual because eventually every person grows up it’s just a matter of time and self-realization. Like Pierre who represents the gradual progression of a boy into adulthood similarly Natasha represents the progression of a young girl into a modern woman because she is not exactly an apt representation of a woman of the 19 century as during those times women were repressed. Her character is an enlightening demonstration of the transformation of a girl into a young woman which finally leads up to her growth into a fully mature grown woman. Even her sexual adventures are a statement in its own way which also reiterates the author’s point of view regarding women i.e. women have a right to live rather than being looked upon as somebody’s property. Moreover it is apparent that through Pierre’s and Natasha’s characters the readers realize Tolstoy’s hidden message i.e. redemption is possible. As it is observed that Natasha first commits her biggest mistake of planning to elope with Anatole because of her infatuation with him yet on Andrews death bed she repents for her mistakes and wins his forgiveness and ultimately marries Pierre and lives a respectable life as a mother and wife. Moreover another lesson that the readers learn from her character is that being infatuated with boys or having a relationship with a man does not makes a woman promiscuous in fact just like for men it is a part of growing up same is the truth for women as well. Andrew is a character who presents a good contrast for Pierre because he is everything that Pierre lacks, may it be the physical appearance, conviction or success. However his existence is more robotic in nature because he has a tendency of distancing himself from other people which is also apparent from the scene when he flinches at the first physical contact with Pierre after he returns from the war. Although his analytical approach towards life has made him a successful man yet this success has cost of his emotional deterioration. However his experience with Natasha also represents the fact that some people are just not lucky or made for emotional entanglements. Hence his character represents a type of men who are emotionally closed up as per their personal experiences or sheer bad luck. Moreover there is a marked contrast between the war experiences of both Pierre and Andrew because for the former it was a process of self-realization and learning and war taught him to be a better man while unfortunately for Andrew his war experience made him more disillusioned about life. On the other hand Nikolai’s character represents the type of men who are easy going and have a laid back attitude towards life. Yet when it comes to acting responsible they efficiently shift gears and transform into responsible individuals who believe that it is their responsibility to look after the people who depend on them like his mother. “A man's every action is inevitably conditioned by what surrounds him and by his own body” (Tolstoy 899) these lines aptly describe Nikolai’s character as it is apparent from the above comment that every human being is conditioned in a manner that he/she ultimately becomes a product of his/her conditions however it is the individual who chooses his fate. They can either be like Nikolai who takes everything in stride or like Andrew who loses the battle of life or they can be like Natasha and Pierre who take time to grow up yet once their process of growth ends they turn out to be wonderful people. As Tolstoy states in the novel as well, “A battle is won by him who is firmly resolved to win it” (Tolstoy 790). Hence it is observed that “War and Peace” is an exploration of all the complex aspects of an individual’s life and Tolstoy in his novel enlightens the readers about a variety of truths which the readers might not think about otherwise. Hence Tolstoy’s purpose for illustrating this long narrative was to present the readers with an all-encompassing manual about life, religion and politics. Moreover the reason that this novel cannot be categorized as a part of a particular time period of literature is because it demonstrates the versatility of Tolstoy’s writing style and art of depiction to the fullest and is a proof of the writer’s immense knowledge and art of creation. Works Cited Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Print. Read More