The spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel “War and Peace. Spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky Spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky summary

There are two very similar concepts - morality and morality. Morality is the observance of certain rules that exist in society, and morality is the basis of morality. For many people, understanding the correctness of their actions and thoughts is based on kindness, spirituality, honesty, respect for themselves and others, these are the very concepts of morality on which the morality of society is based. Throughout the story, as life circumstances change, the moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky in the novel "War and Peace" reflects his views on the world and the events around him at a given, specific moment in time.

But under any circumstances, Andrei Bolkonsky retains his main core of life - he always remains an honest and decent person. For him, the main principles always remain, based on respect for worthy, from his point of view, people.

Changing views on the life of Andrei Bolkonsky

At the beginning of the novel, Prince Andrei suffers from the life he lives, it seems to him that everything that surrounds him is false and false through and through. He is eager for war, dreams of exploits, of his Toulon. About the glory and love of people. And here it is all sickening and disgusting. “Living rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot get out,” says Bolkonsky Pierre y, answering the question why he goes to war.

The fact that his young wife is expecting a child not only does not stop him, on the contrary, the princess annoys him with her coquetry, her habitual chatter in living rooms. “Of all the faces that bored him, the face of his pretty wife seemed to bother him the most,” Tolstoy writes about Bolkonsky at the beginning of the novel.

The path of spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky begins with the thought that real life is in war, the main thing in this world is not family quiet comfort, but military exploits in the name of glory, for the sake of people's love, for the sake of the Fatherland.

Once in the war, he gladly serves as an adjutant to Kutuzov. “In the expression of his face, in his movements, in his gait, there was almost no noticeable former pretense, fatigue and laziness; he had the appearance of a man who has no time to think about the impression he makes on others, and is busy with pleasant and interesting business. His face expressed more satisfaction with himself and those around him; his smile and look were more cheerful and attractive.

Bolkonsky, before the decisive battle, reflects on the future: “Yes, it may very well be that tomorrow they will be killed,” he thought. And suddenly, at this thought of death, whole line memories, the most remote and the most sincere, rose in his imagination; he remembered the last farewell to his father and wife; he remembered the first days of his love for her; remembered her pregnancy, and he felt sorry for both her and himself ... “Yes, tomorrow, tomorrow!

He thought. “Tomorrow, perhaps, everything will be over for me, all these memories will no longer exist, all these memories will no longer have any meaning for me. Tomorrow, maybe - even probably tomorrow, I foresee it, for the first time I will finally have to show everything that I can do.

He strives for fame, for fame: “... I want fame, I want to be famous people I want to be loved by them, then it's not my fault that I want this, that I want this alone, for this alone I live. Yes, for this one! I will never tell this to anyone, but my God! what am I to do if I love nothing but glory, human love. Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear or dear to me are many people - my father, sister, wife - the people dearest to me - but, no matter how terrible and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for love. to myself people whom I do not know and will not know, for the love of these people”

As if in mockery, in response to sublime reasoning about what this moment seems to Andrei the most important thing in life, Tolstoy immediately inserts a stupid joke of soldiers who are not at all interested in the high thoughts of the prince:
"Titus, and Titus?"
"Well," replied the old man.
“Titus, go thresh,” said the joker.
“Pah, well, to hell with them,” a voice was heard, covered with the laughter of batmen and servants.

But even this does not knock Bolkonsky out of his heroic mood: “And yet I love and cherish only the triumph over all of them, I cherish this mysterious power and glory, which here rushes over me in this fog!” he thinks.

Bolkonsky dreams of exploits, and, unlike Nikolai Rostov, does not run away from the battlefield, on the contrary, the prince raises the retreating troops to attack. And gets seriously injured.

This is where the first turning point occurs in Bolkonsky's mind, suddenly what seemed absolutely right becomes completely unnecessary and even superfluous in his life. Lying wounded under the sky of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei is clearly aware that the main thing is not to die heroically in the war, in order to earn the love of completely strangers who don’t care about you at all! “How could I not have seen this lofty sky before? And how happy I am that I finally got to know him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is a lie, except for this endless sky. Nothing, nothing but him. But even that is not even there, there is nothing but silence, calmness. And thank God!.."

Even at the moment when “Napoleon, his hero” approached him… at that moment Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant person in comparison with what was happening now between his soul and this high, endless sky with clouds running across it. It was absolutely indifferent to him at that moment, no matter who was standing over him, no matter what they said about him; he was glad ... that these people would help him and bring him back to life, which seemed to him so beautiful, because he understood it differently now.

And now Napoleon, with his ambitious plans, seems to the prince an insignificant creature who does not understand the true meaning of life. “All the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant to him at that moment, his hero himself seemed so petty to him, with this petty vanity and joy of victory, in comparison with that high, fair and kind sky that he saw and understood ... Looking into his eyes Napoleon, Prince Andrew thought about the insignificance of greatness, the insignificance of life, which no one could understand the meaning of, and the even greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one could understand and explain from the living.

In delirium, not realizing, Bolkonsky dreams of a family, a father, a sister, and even a wife and a small child who should soon be born - it was these "dreams ... that formed the main basis of his feverish ideas." For him, suddenly became the main "Quiet life and calm family happiness in the Bald Mountains ...".

And when he returned to the family estate, having managed to catch his wife in the last minutes of his life, "... something came off in his soul that he was guilty of guilt, which he could not correct and not forget." The birth of a son, the death of his wife, all the events that happened to Prince Andrei in the war turned his attitude to life upside down. Bolkonsky even decided never to serve in the army again, the main thing for him now is taking care of his little son, who needs him. “Yes, this is the only thing left for me now,” the prince thinks.

The moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov

Everything about the stormy public life, which the father leads, what happens in the army seems boring and uninteresting, all this only irritates Bolkonsky. Even the fact that while reading a letter from Bilibin, Prince Andrei suddenly awakens interest in what he wrote, even this interest makes him angry, because he does not want to take part in this alien, "there" life.

Pierre's arrival, conversations and disputes about what is better: to do good to people, according to Bezukhov, or not to do evil, according to Bolkonsky, these events seem to awaken the prince from sleep. This philosophical dispute reflects the moral quest of Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov in a difficult period of life for both of them.

They are both, each in their own way, right. Each of them is looking for his place in life, and each wants to understand for himself how to live in accordance with the concepts of honor and dignity. This dispute becomes another turning point in the life of Prince Andrei. Unexpectedly for him, “the meeting with Pierre was ... an era from which it began, although in appearance it was the same, but in inner world his new life.

During this period of his life, Bolkonsky compares himself with an old, gnarled oak that does not want to obey the spring and bloom, “Spring, and love, and happiness!” - this oak seemed to be saying, - “and how you don’t get tired of the same stupid and senseless deceit. Everything is the same, and everything is a lie!”

Looking at this tree, Prince Andrei convinces himself “that he didn’t need to start anything, that he should live out his life without doing evil, without worrying and not wanting anything.”

But that's the whole point, that he has to convince himself of this, in the depths of his soul, not yet fully realizing, he is ready for new metamorphoses. To the fact that it will turn his soul upside down and stir up in it the dormant expectation of joy and love.

Just at that moment he meets Natasha Rostova, falls in love with her and suddenly discovers that in fact he can be happy and can love, and even the old oak confirms his thoughts: “The old oak, all transformed, spread out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, shimmering, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No clumsy fingers, no sores, no old mistrust and grief - nothing was visible.

Everything that was good in his life comes to his mind, and these thoughts lead him to the conclusion that in fact: "life is not over at 31." Love, not yet fully realized, finally returns Bolkonsky to activity.

But everything always changes in life, and the relationship between Prince Andrei and Natasha will also change. Her fatal mistake will lead to a break with Bolkonsky and to the fact that he will again lose faith in life.

Not wanting to understand and forgive Natasha, the prince will go to war, and there, having come under fire and already mortally wounded, Bolkonsky will nevertheless come to understand that the main thing in life is love and forgiveness.

Conclusion

So what is morality in the understanding of Prince Bolkonsky in the novel "War and Peace"? This is honor and dignity, this is love for the family, for a woman, for people.

But, often, in order to realize and bring out the final verdict for himself, a person goes through serious trials. Through these tests thinking people develop and grow spiritually and morally. In my essay on the topic “The Moral Quests of Andrei Bolkonsky”, I wanted to show that for Prince Andrei the concept of morality is the basis of life, the very core on which his inner world rests.

Artwork test

Spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky

The heroes of the book "War and Peace" can be divided into three categories: dead lives”, static characters who consider the external salon manifestations of life to be its essence; heroes who “feel” life, who have the ability to feel the “fullness of life” to such an extent that they do not see the need for reflection, analysis; and heroes seeking the truth, the closest and most interesting to Tolstoy. Such heroes include the book. Andrey. The starting point of complex spiritual and philosophical searches of A.B. become his psychological contradictions with the St. Petersburg salon society.

The beginning of the war and the appointment of Kutuzov's adjutant fascinated him with the possibility of fulfilling the dream of a personal feat that would glorify him. An example of such a feat for A.B. was the capture of Toulon by Napoleon. The penetration of the Napoleonic idea is found in the first words of the book. Andrei, who enters into an argument with the viscount at the evening at Anna Pavlovna's. Then, having already become an adjutant, he persistently conjures up that situation - decisive minute battles, his Toulon or Arcole bridge, where he can prove himself. On the night before the battle of Austerlitz, this thought captures him so much that he seems ready to give up his family, the people dearest to him, “for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for the love of people for himself,” whom he does not even know. Ambition forces him to inspect the terrain and positions before the battle, draw up his own plan of disposition. The desire to be in difficult places of hostilities himself is caused by the thought that “it is precisely for him that it is destined to lead the Russian army in Austria out of a hopeless situation.” The thought of glory is inseparable from the thought of triumph over people. This is manifested in the desire to take the greatest part in the lives of other people. It can be seen, say, in the “special revival of the book. Andrew, when he had to lead young man and help him in his social success.”

The desire to be a benefactor in the lives of other people bears the features of that non-Napoleonic greatness “in the hospital in Jaffa, where he gives a hand to the plague.” Book meeting. Andrei with captain Tushin and Ch. Bagration is preparing a turning point in his ambitious plans. His ideas about heroism, glory clash with the heroism that he sees in the actions of the Tushin battery, i.e. unconceited, caused by the consciousness of his military duty. At the same time, disappointment did not yet come in Toulon or the Arcole bridge. Book. It only seemed to Andrei that “all this was so strange, so unlike what he had hoped for,” the egoism of his glory is revealed to him on the Austerlitz field after being wounded.

The view of the high sky, not clear, but still immeasurably high, with clouds quietly creeping over it” gives rise to the realization that “everything is empty, everything is a lie, except for this endless sky”, silence and calm. On the same evening, when he saw his idol, Bolkonsky “thought about the insignificance of life, which no one could understand the meaning of, and about the even greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one could understand and explain from the living.” This “strict and majestic line of thought”, raised by “a high, just and kind sky”, was that stage of Andrei’s spiritual quest, which revealed to him the insignificance of the interests that occupied Napoleon, the pettiness of his hero, with his petty vanity and joy of victory. And his own thoughts, which had occupied him until now, in comparison with the revealed truth, should have seemed. Returning from captivity, Andrei had to experience a sense of guilt before his wife and responsibility for her death. When he went to war, his wife “bound” him (he was convinced that freedom from marriage was one of the conditions for achieving the goal), but disappointment in Napoleon led to feelings of guilt. After Auster. book campaigns. Andrey was determined to quit military service, convincing himself that he is no longer interested in her. He settled in Bogucharovo, limiting himself to taking care of the estate and the child. This is precisely self-restraint, which is not intrinsic to him.

After the book Andrei abandoned the “Napoleonic ideas”, which “not almost, but completely” ruined his life, he, in his words, began to “live for himself alone”. In a dispute with Pierre, who, on the contrary, is trying during this period to “live for others”, “do good” to the peasants, Andrei argues that the peasants do not need changes, their current state is natural for them and therefore happy. Living for oneself does not violate this naturalness and brings more benefits than Pierre's "transformations" (or, at least, does no harm). Book. Andrei, apparently, does not consider those reforms that he easily carried out on his estate as directed activity “for others”. In a conversation with Pierre, he sharply expressed indifference to all external events in the world, but they continued to occupy him as before. The final revival of interest in life occurs after his trip to Otradnoe and meeting with Natasha Rostova. This next stage of Bolkonsky's spiritual searches is emphasized (marked) by the well-known scenes of a meeting with a “huge, two-girth oak” on the edge of the road. His gloomy, motionless appearance evokes Prince. Andrey “a whole new series of thoughts hopeless, but sadly pleasant”: he seemed to think over his whole life again, decided that it was already over, “that there was no need to start anything, that he should live out his life without doing evil, without worrying and wanting nothing.

A forced trip to Otradnoye and a delay there, a meeting with a girl who was content with “her own, it’s true, stupid, but cheerful life,” Sonya’s overheard conversation with Natasha - all this caused an “unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes that contradicted all his life."

After the second meeting with the same oak, but already “transformed, sprawling tent of juicy dark greenery”, Prince. Andrei suddenly finally, invariably decided that "life is not over at 31." “It is necessary that my life should not be for me alone, but that it be reflected on all.” Out of the newly arisen desire to participate in people's lives, a thirst for active activity also arises. In fact, these are the same Napoleonic ideas, only on a new turn, presented differently. “It seemed clear to him that all his experiences of life should have been in vain and be nonsense, if he had not put them to work and had not again taken an active part in life.”

"Case" now attracts Prince. Andrew as a way to help people. “But he sees an indispensable condition for his activity in that it is reflected on everyone.” Therefore, he is attracted by the sphere of state interests, "higher spheres", where "the future was being prepared, on which the fate of millions depended." The new idol who replaced Napoleon was Speransky, "a mysterious person who seemed to him a genius." In the figure of Speransky, he tried to look for a living ideal of perfection, to which he aspired. And he easily believed in him, seeing "a reasonable, strictly thinking, huge mind of a man who has achieved power with energy and perseverance and uses it only for the good of Russia." However, along with the rise of Speransky, "a huge number of people" Prince. Andrew began to consider "contemptible and insignificant creatures." “A passionate feeling of admiration, similar to that which he once experienced for Bonaparte,” was, however, weakened by some of Speransky’s shortcomings, which “unpleasantly struck” Prince. Andrew - this is too much contempt for people and "a variety of techniques in evidence" of one's opinion. The passion for reforms, however, almost unconsciously intensified, and Andrei was engaged in drafting laws. Disappointment in Speransky comes after the evening, where Prince. Andrew dances with Nat. Rostova. The new feeling of emerging love contrasts with Bolkonsky's "administrative" hobbies. After the ball, he notices that Speransky's dinner, to which he was invited, is not interesting to him. Seeing Speransky at home, laughing, he, perhaps, “found his weak, human sides”, which he had not noticed before due to “a different upbringing and moral habits”. In addition, everything that had previously seemed to Andrei "mysterious and attractive in Speransky" now "suddenly became clear and unattractive." Having imagined his Bogucharovo peasants and trying to apply to them the “Rights of Persons”, which he was developing, Bolkonsky was surprised “how he could do such idle work for so long.” Disappointment and another extreme in the worldview of Bolkonsky did not follow. Communication with Natasha gave him a sense of belonging to a very special world, full of some joys unknown to him. He felt the presence of this world in Natasha back in Otradnoye, and now "he found in it a new pleasure for himself." The discovery of something new by the hero is the next stage of his search. Something new and happy happened in Bolkonsky's soul, ”when he heard Natasha singing. Although he did not yet realize that he was in love with Rostov, his whole life seemed to him in a new light. The future has opened with all its joys; the desire to enjoy freedom, strength and youth reveals to him a new truth: "To be happy, one must believe in the possibility of happiness." After the engagement with Natasha, Prince. Andrei makes the mistake of agreeing with his father to postpone the wedding for a year. Apparently, he did not fully understand the essence of Natasha Rostova. She attracted him with the fullness of life, but it was precisely this that ruled out rationalism in her, prudence in any of its manifestations. She could not obey a pre-arranged scheme: to wait a year, which would give her the opportunity to test her feelings before the wedding. For Natasha, who valued every moment, the year of waiting was an insult to her emptiness, a stoppage of life. But life is unstoppable, it requires movement. Natasha found him on the run from home with Kuragin. For Andrei Bolkonsky, the third, most difficult disappointment in life came. The only stimulus, a lively interest that he experiences, is revenge on Kuragin. He returns to military service again, but without conceited thoughts. Nevertheless, his philosophical searches do not end with a spiritual drama, but, on the contrary, become aggravated. This is largely facilitated by the era of 1812. Book. Andrey from the “high spheres”, to which he had previously aspired, descends to the people, entered to serve in the regiment. He came to the wish that history is made in the regiment, with the people, and least of all depends on the order of the headquarters. “Tomorrow will really depend on us,” Andrey says to Pierre before the Battle of Borodino. Bolkonsky gets here the opportunity to really participate in the commission of a major historical event and, therefore, in changing the fate of many people. This is the realization of his Napoleonic dream, but on a different level. The fusion of personal life and aspirations with common ones, which becomes possible here, is an expression of the Kutuzov principle. Thus, the path of Prince A. from the Napoleonic ideal to Kutuzov's wisdom once again confirms Tolstoy's historical concept of swarm life and the decisive role of the people in events. Looking at a grenade that fell nearby and realizing the proximity of death, Bolkonsky thinks: “I can’t, I don’t want to die, I love life ...” A heightened sense of love for life opens up to him an understanding of that love “which God preached on earth”: compassion, love for brothers, for those who love, love for those who hate us, which Prince Mary taught.” Thoughts book. Andrei during his illness were more active, clearer, but acted outside of his will. They could break off, be replaced by unexpected performances. Now all of his past was a building of needles or splinter, rising and falling to the sound of evenly “whispering” music. Having built this building, having managed to keep it in mental balance, Prince. Andrei understood the essence of “divine love”: “Loving with human love, one can move from love to hatred; but divine love cannot change. Nothing... can destroy it. It is the essence of the soul." The words of the book Andrey's words to Natasha (“I love you more, better than before”) imply that his former human love, united with the acquired power, becomes “bigger” and “better”. But the next stage of Bolkonsky's spiritual evolution consists in opposing divine and human love, and Andrei, thinking about a new beginning open to him eternal love, renounced earthly life: “To love everyone, to sacrifice oneself for love, meant not to love anyone, meant not to live this earthly life.” Love for earthly life, temporarily awakened by the appearance of Natasha, is defeated in the fight against death. Bolkonsky's condition, which Natasha called "it's done," was a manifestation of the victory of death over life.

The destruction of the barrier between life and death at the same time erected a barrier of misunderstanding by the living already “half dead”. For book. Andrei's consciousness of alienation from all earthly, joyful and strange lightness of being made it possible to understand and feel the closeness of death, which he had previously feared, and now saw in it an “awakening” from life, the liberation of the previously bound power in it.

Target:

• reveal on the material of the novel psychological process formation human personality and its improvement;
• create conditions for research reading and personal interpretation climactic episodes in the worldview of the main characters of the novel (Andrey Bolkonsky);
• contribute to the improvement of the skills of philological reading and analysis artistic text;
• arouse interest in spiritual world personality; contribute to the education of the reading culture. Equipment: textbook, text of the novel "War and Peace", illustrations for the novel.

Lesson type: a lesson in the assimilation of new knowledge and the formation of skills and abilities.

Projected

results: students know the content of the studied chapters of the novel;

characterize Andrei Bolkonsky, highlighting and analyzing passages that reveal his spiritual quest and life position; reveal the author's attitude to the hero.

Conversation

Is it necessary to study the novel JI. N. Tolstoy in our days? What benefit can it bring modern youth, the modern generation?

What moral, moral, psychological problems modernity you found in JI's novel. N. Tolstoy?

While reading the novel, you, of course, noticed that JI. N. Tolstoy far from all the characters shows the process of their inner life. How can you explain this?

teacher's word

- John Galsworthy wrote about War and Peace: "If one were to name a novel that fits the definition, dear heart compilers of literary questionnaires: “the greatest novel in the world,” I would choose War and Peace. In the novel "War and Peace" all the brightest, all the most significant force fields of Russian literature converged, intersected. The main characters of the novel - Andrey Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, Princess Marya - are not just the key characters of the Russian classical literature. They play a more significant role. Their images have turned into real “pillars” of the Russian national consciousness, have acquired a symbolic meaning. And the four-volume book of Tolstoy itself became the pinnacle of the national culture of the “golden age” "...

“I will write the history of people who are freer than statesmen, the history of people who lived in the most favorable conditions of life, people free from poverty, from ignorance and independent ...” - wrote JI. N. Tolstoy. Man and his soul have been the subject of JI's creative research. N. Tolstoy. He closely studies the path that a person goes through, striving for the high and ideal, striving to know himself. The writer himself went through his life path through suffering, from the fall to purification (this is evidenced by his diary entries). He showed this experience through the fate of his favorite heroes. The heroes beloved and close to Tolstoy are people with a rich inner world, natural, capable of spiritual change, people looking for their own way in life. These include Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, Marya Bolkonskaya. Each hero has his own path of spiritual quest, which is not straight and easy. We can say that it resembles a curve, where there are ups and downs, joys and disappointments.

Prince Andrei Bolkonsky is one of the brightest and most tragic figures in the novel War and Peace. From his first appearance on the pages of the work and until his death from wounds in the Rostovs' house, Bolkonsky's life is subject to its own internal logic.

IV.Work on the topic of the lesson

1.Teacher's explanation(Students write abstracts.)

Life path and search for heroes

- "War and Peace" is a work with a huge number of characters (there are more than 500 of them). The heroes of the novel cannot, according to tradition, be conventionally divided into negative and positive. The author offers a different approach: the heroes are not changing, frozen and changing.

Such a division is determined by the conviction of L. N. Tolstoy that “one of the most the greatest delusions when judging a person in what we call, we define a person as smart, stupid, good, evil, strong, weak, and a person is everything: all possibilities, fluid substance.

V. Dneprov in his book “The Art of Humanity” writes: “What distinguishes evil good people from the evil of bad people? This seemingly simple question plays an important role in the art of Leo Tolstoy. Moreover, the answer to it is given not only by the works of the artist, but also by life itself ... The evil of a bad and a good person differ in the nature of the reaction to it. Firstly, good man openly recognizes him, puts him before him in all his humiliation and shame. He will not defend himself against evil with a lie or speak of it | hypocritical advocate to himself. Secondly, he will act in defiance of this evil, confessing his defeats and tirelessly resuming the struggle. Tolstoy knows that this struggle is difficult, that every time a situation arises when evil can creep into the soul unrecognized. But there must be enough light in the mind to recognize it and reject it by deed. N. G. Chernyshevsky called this method of depicting heroes in the form of psychological analysis “the dialectic of the soul.”

2. Annotated Reading of an Excerpt from a Novel (Handout)

Card

♦ Read the passage, write down the key words.

PRINCE ANDREY

Prince Andrei not only knew that he would die, but he felt that he was dying, that he was already half dead. He experienced a consciousness of alienation from everything earthly and the joyful and strange lightness of being...

Before, he was afraid of the end. He twice experienced this terrible tormenting feeling of fear of death, the end, and now he no longer understood it.

The first time he experienced this feeling was when a grenade was spinning like a top in front of him and he looked at the stubble, at the bushes, at the sky and knew that death was in front of him. When he woke up after the wound and in his soul, instantly, as if freed from the oppression of life that held him back, this flower of love blossomed, free, independent of this life, he was no longer afraid of death and did not cry about it.

The more he, in those hours of suffering solitude and semi-delusion that he spent after his wound, thought about the new beginning of eternal love opened to him, the more he, without feeling it, renounced earthly life. Everything, to love everyone, to always sacrifice oneself for love meant not to love anyone, meant to live this earthly life. And the more he was imbued with this beginning of love, the more he renounced life and the more completely he destroyed that terrible barrier that stands between life and death without love. When for the first time he remembered that he had to die, he said to himself: well, so much the better...

"Love? What is love? he thought. “Love interferes with death. Love is life. Everything, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists only because I love. Everything is connected by her. Love is God, and to die means for me, a particle of love, to return to the common and eternal source...

Yes, it was death. I died - I woke up. Yes, death is an awakening!

Keywords

• Andrey Bolkonsky
• Eternal love
• love everyone
• Love interferes with death
• Love is life
• Love is God
• Eternal source
• Death is an awakening

3. Statement and solution of problematic issues

• What are the three concepts that determine the value of a person?
• What character traits of a member of the Bolkonsky family are especially close to Tolstoy?
• What is the basis of the family closeness of the Bolkonskys?

4. Research work: the path of spiritual quest of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (in groups)

1st group — "biographers" Prince Andrei - line up life path hero.

2nd group — "observers"- to determine the techniques used by the author to develop the image of Andrei Bolkonsky.

5. Compilation of the table "The spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky" (entry in notebooks)

Spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky

v.Reflection. Summing up the lesson

Final word from the teacher.

— The path of JI heroes is not easy. N. Tolstoy to sincere feelings, aspirations that are not subject to the false laws of society. Such is the road of honor of Andrei Bolkonsky. It doesn't take long for him to discover true love to Natasha, hidden behind a mask of false ideas about self-esteem; it is difficult for him to forgive Kuragin, "love for this man," which will nevertheless fill "his happy heart." Before his death, Andrei will find “the love that God preached on earth”, but he is no longer destined to live on this earth. Long was the path of Bolkonsky from the search for glory, the satisfaction of his ambition for compassion and love for his neighbors, he went this path and paid dearly for it - with his life.

VI.Homework

• To prepare for research work on the topic "The path of spiritual quests of Pierre Bezukhov" (based on the text of the novel).

Option 1 (Plan)

I. The desire for the highest truth is the goal of the spiritual quest of the main characters of the novel. The complexity and inconsistency of Prince Andrei's character predetermine the difficulty of the hero's life searches, the torment of his moral insight.

P. Spiritual quest of Andrey Bolkonsky:

1. The search for a true, worthy cause:

a) dissatisfaction with secular society;

6) disappointment in family life;

c) a dream of a feat, a desire for glory;

d) the desire to gain self-confidence in military service.

2. Participation in the war of 1805:

a) a sense of military duty, brought up by the father;

b) rejection of the laws of light among military officers;

c) the desire to experience the fate of Napoleon on oneself;

d) a meeting with a true hero (Tushin's feat in the battle of Shengraben brings Prince Andrei back to reality);

e) the senselessness of the feat of Prince Andrei during the Battle of Austerlitz;

f) the sky of Austerlitz (rejection of ambitious illusions, disappointment in one's idol, understanding of life as something more than the pursuit of personal glory).

3. The death of his wife and the birth of a son will help Bolkonsky understand what he sacrificed for his own selfish aspirations.

4. Withdrawal into oneself, renunciation of active life.

5. A conversation with Pierre about goodness, justice and truth is a milestone in life quest Prince Andrew.

6. Meeting with Natasha in Otradnoe(desire to be reborn), the embodiment of the thoughts of Andrei Bolkonsky in the form of an oak - a symbol of "fading" and "rebirth".

7. The desire to benefit public service (awakened ambition), rapprochement and break with Speransky.

8. Love for Natasha, a sense of duty and responsibility to a loved one.

9. Destruction of hopes for personal happiness(inability to understand and forgive a loved one, focus on oneself).

10. Participation in the war of 1812 is a decisive stage in the life of Bolkonsky:

a) return to the army, the desire to be useful to the Fatherland, merging with the fate of the people;

b) the death of his father and the loss of his native home do not close Prince Andrei in himself;

c) the moral feat of Prince Andrei on the field of Borodino - a feat of endurance and fortitude;

d) a mortal wound reveals to Bolkonsky the eternal truth - the need for love for people;

e) a feeling of pity for Kuragin;

f) the revival of love for Natasha;

g) the death of Prince Andrei.

III. The fate of Andrei Bolkonsky is the path "from Napoleon to Kutuzov", the path of a person who makes mistakes and is able to atone for his guilt, the path of a person striving for moral perfection.

Option 2 (Plan, quotes)

The path of moral quest of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky

I. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky in light:

1) Dissatisfaction with life in the world (“... this life that I lead here, this life is not for me!”); book. Andrei knows the price of the world: lies, hypocrisy are his laws;

2) Bolkonsky is not satisfied 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 that? 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. Andrey (“... 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 doubt is that military glory- this 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: the former aspirations for glory, for human love are vain and therefore insignificant. Something else a person should look for in life. But what?

III. period of spiritual crisis. Life for yourself.

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 to 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 the 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 common people, with the soldiers (“He was all devoted to the affairs of his regiment, he was caring about 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 is this? Or, as he himself thinks, that patient love for people was revealed to him. taught by his sister!

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, meant not to live this earthly life").

Option 3 (Plan, quotes)

The path of moral quest of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky

In order to live honestly, one must tear, get confused, fight, make mistakes, start and quit ... And peace is spiritual meanness.

L.N. Tolstoy

Tolstoy's favorite heroes go through the most difficult moral quest, trying to find the truth, the truth of life, to find the real meaning of life and happiness.

For the first time we meet Andrei Bolkonsky in the Sherer salon. Much in his behavior and appearance expresses deep disappointment in secular society, boredom from visiting living rooms, fatigue from empty and deceitful conversations. This is evidenced by his tired, bored look, the grimacing that spoiled his handsome face, the manner of squinting when looking at people. Gathering in the cabin, he contemptuously calls "stupid society." It is not joyful for Andrei to realize that his wife Liza cannot do without this idle circle of people. "Living rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot get out."

Only with his friend Pierre he is simple, natural, full of friendly participation and cordial affection. Only to Pierre can he confess with all frankness and seriousness: "This life that I lead here, this life is not for me." He has an irresistible thirst real life. His sharp, analytical mind is attracted to her, broad requests push him to great achievements. Their opportunity, according to Andrey, is opened for him by the army and participation in military campaigns. Although he can easily stay in St. Petersburg, serve as an aide-de-camp here, he goes to where the hostilities are going on. The battles of 1805 were for Bolkonsky a way out of the impasse.

Army service becomes one of the important stages in the search for Tolstoy's hero. Here he sharply separates himself from the numerous seekers of fast careers and high awards that could be found at the headquarters. He is not looking for promotions and awards, unlike many staff officers.

Bolkonsky keenly feels his responsibility for the fate of Russia. The Ulm defeat of the Austrians and the appearance of the defeated General Mack gives rise to disturbing thoughts in his soul about what obstacles stand in the way of the Russian army.

Service in the army changes the prince. He has no pretense, fatigue, the grimace of boredom has disappeared from his face, energy is felt in his gait and movements. According to Tolstoy, Andrei “had the appearance of a man who does not have time to think about the impression he makes on others and is busy with something pleasant and interesting. His face expressed great satisfaction with himself and those around him. Prince Andrei insists that he be sent to where it is especially difficult - to Bagration's detachment, from which only one tenth can return after the battle. Bolkonsky's actions are highly appreciated by the commander Kutuzov, who singled him out as one of his best officers.

Prince Andrei is unusually ambitious. The hero of Tolstoy dreams of such a personal feat that would glorify him. He cherishes the idea of ​​fame, similar to the one that Napoleon got in the French city of Toulon, which would lead him out of the ranks of unknown officers. In the Battle of Shengraben, Bolkonsky boldly circled positions under enemy bullets. He alone dared to go to Tushin's battery and did not leave it until the guns were removed. Here, in the battle of Shengraben, Bolkonsky was lucky enough to witness the heroism and courage shown by the gunners of Captain Tushin. In addition, he himself showed military restraint and courage here, and then one of all the officers came to the defense of the little captain. Shengraben, however, has not yet become Bolkonsky's Toulon.

On the eve of the Battle of Austerlitz, Bolkonsky is completely dominated by his dreams. It seems to him how he “firmly and clearly speaks his opinion to both Kutuzov, and Weyrother, and the emperors”, how everyone is amazed “by the fidelity of his considerations, but no one undertakes to fulfill it, and so he takes a regiment, a division ... and one wins” . Here, in the mind of the hero, a dispute between two inner voices begins.

Another inner voice objects to Prince Andrei, reminding him of death and suffering. But the first voice drowns out these thoughts that are unpleasant for him: “Death, wounds, loss of a family, nothing frightens me. And no matter how dear and dear to me are many people — my father, sister, wife — the people dearest to me — but, no matter how terrible and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for self-love of people I don’t know…”.

In the Battle of Austerlitz, Prince Andrei's ambitious dreams of his Toulon are shattered as soon as they come true. Bolkonsky manages to prevent the panic that has gripped the troops and raise the battalion to the attack, when, with the regimental banner in his hands, he rushes forward, calling on the soldiers to attack.

However, in this battle, Prince Andrei is seriously wounded, and life opens up to him in a completely different way. Bleeding on the field of Austerlitz, Bolkonsky suddenly realizes how empty, shallow and insignificant all his former desires are. Dreams of glory heroic deed, the love of others, the genius of Napoleon - everything seems to him vain, far from the true meaning of life, "contained in the vast, endless sky", which he sees in front of him.

“How quiet, calm and solemn, not at all the way I ran,” thought Prince Andrei, “not the way we ran, shouted and fought; not at all like the Frenchman and the artilleryman dragging each other's bannik with embittered and frightened faces - not at all like the clouds crawling across this high, endless sky. How could I not have seen this lofty sky before? And how happy I am that I finally got to know him.” A kind of “revolution” takes place in the life of the hero, dramatically changing his fate.

Realizing the pettiness of ambitious thoughts, Prince Andrei goes into private life. He decides to no longer serve either in the army or in civilian service, in his soul - "cooling to life", in his thoughts - skepticism and unbelief, in his feelings - indifference and indifference. Disappointment in ambitious plans was deep and heavy, because it was aggravated by personal misfortune - the death of his wife, before whom Prince Andrei felt guilty.

He fences himself off from life, in Bogucharovo is engaged only in housekeeping and his son, suggesting to himself that this is all that is left to him. He intends now to live only for himself, "without interfering with anyone, to live to death."

But despite attempts to get away from the unrest of life, he is disturbed by reports of victories over Bonaparte near Preussisch-Eylau, since they were won precisely when he did not serve in the army, he is worried about Bilibin's letter describing the campaign.

Tolstoy reveals pessimistic moods through the portrait of the hero. His gaze was "extinct and dead", devoid of "joyful and cheerful brilliance", "concentration and death" were noticeable in it.

The socio-political views of Prince Andrei at that time were of a pronounced noble-class character. Talking with Pierre, he expresses views that are sharply opposed to all his subsequent activities. The prince is skeptical about the need for innovation. About the peasants, he says this: “If they are beaten, flogged and sent to Siberia, then I think that this does not make them any worse. In Siberia, he leads his same bestial life, and the scars on his body will heal, and he is as happy as he was before. Medical assistance, according to Prince Andrei, also does not need to be provided to the peasants, it only brings harm to them. During this period, Andrei Bolkonsky is only concerned about the moral calm of the nobles, and not the well-being of the people, therefore, in his opinion, serfdom must be abolished in order to "preserve human dignity, peace of conscience, purity" of the nobles, and not for the sake of the "backs and foreheads" of the peasants, "who, no matter how you flog, no matter how you beat, they will all remain the same backs and foreheads."

But in the captivity of such views, so contrary to his honest and active nature, Prince Andrei was not for long.

Its revival is shown by Tolstoy successively in a number of episodes (a meeting with Pierre, a description of the activities of Prince Andrei in the village, his perception of spring nature, a meeting with Natasha).

Bolkonsky proves to Pierre that you need to live for yourself, without thinking about global problems being. Pierre, on the other hand, convinces his friend of the need for "life for everyone." But such a life brought Prince Andrei only bitterness and disappointment: desiring feat, fame and love of those around him, he lost faith in himself, in the effectiveness, significance of any activity. “I know only two real misfortunes in life: remorse and illness. And happiness is only the absence of these two evils, ”says Bolkonsky to Pierre.

Pierre, on the other hand, believes that a friend’s spiritual crisis is a temporary state, that Prince Andrei’s momentary convictions are far from the truth that exists in the world regardless of all human delusions. “... There is truth and there is virtue; and the highest happiness of man is to strive to achieve them. We must live, we must love, we must believe ... that we do not live now only on this piece of land, but we have lived and will live forever ... ”he convinces Bolkonsky.

Pierre’s words inspire Prince Andrei, “something long asleep, something better and joyful” wakes up in his soul.

In the next two years, which the prince lived in the countryside, he carried out significant anti-serf transformations on his estates. On one estate, he transferred three hundred peasants to free cultivators (this was the first experience in Russia), on others he replaced corvée with dues .. He organized medical care peasants and took care of their education. In Bogucharovo, the deacon taught peasant and household children to read and write.

The life of Prince Andrei in the village was filled with hard work. He closely followed all the external events of the world, read a lot, and was much better informed in the field of foreign and domestic policy than people who came to the village from St. Petersburg. In addition, he "at that time was engaged in a critical analysis of the last two unfortunate campaigns and drafting a project to change our military charters and regulations" (T.II, part III, ch. I).

The return of the hero to life ”is also helped by his trip to Otradnoye. Here he meets Natasha Rostova, accidentally hears her nightly conversation with Sonya. Natasha by her very existence, her sincere love for the world calls Bolkonsky to life. It is after the night conversation he heard that “an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes” wakes up in his soul; the renewed, transformed oak, which reminded of old age, now evokes in the soul of Prince Andrei "an unreasonable spring feeling of joy", a thirst for activity and love.

After a trip to Otradnoye, Prince Andrei regains the desire to "live with everyone", his lost energy is revived, and interest in social activities. He travels to St. Petersburg to take part in the ongoing reforms in Russia. His hero this time is Speransky. Having become a member of the commission for the preparation of military regulations, Prince Andrei experiences in St. Petersburg "a feeling similar to what he experienced on the eve of the battle, when he was tormented by restless curiosity and irresistibly drawn to higher spheres." Speransky seems to him the ideal of a "quite reasonable and virtuous person", he feels for him "a passionate feeling of admiration that he once felt for Bonaparte."

However, admiring Speransky's extraordinary mindset, his energy and perseverance, Prince Andrei was at the same time unpleasantly struck by his cold, mirror-like gaze, which did not let him into his soul, and too much contempt for people, which he noticed in this man.

At a home dinner at the Speranskys, Prince Andrei is finally disappointed in his idol. At home, a person is most natural - for Bolkonsky, all gestures, postures, and speeches of Speransky seem to be done and simulated. The subtle sound of Speransky's voice unpleasantly strikes Prince Andrei. And again, the hero is visited by thoughts about the insignificance of what is happening, he recalls his troubles, searches, the formalism of the meetings, where "everything that concerned the essence of the matter was diligently and briefly avoided." Realizing the futility of this work, the bureaucracy of officials, isolation from reality, feeling that work cannot make him happier and better, it can not be useful to society, Prince Andrei leaves the civil service.

In St. Petersburg, Bolkonsky meets again with Natasha Rostova, and this chance meeting at the ball becomes fateful. “Prince Andrei, like all people who grew up in the world, loved to meet in the world that which did not have a common secular imprint. And such was Natasha, with her surprise, joy, and timidity, and even mistakes in French. In Natasha, he is unconsciously attracted by something that is not in himself - simplicity, fullness of life, acceptance of it, immediacy of perception and great inner freedom. He feels in Natasha "the presence of a completely alien to him, special world, full of some joys unknown to him ..."

Bolkonsky himself was never internally free - he was shackled by social rules, moral norms, dogmas perceived by the soul, his idealistic demands on people and life. Therefore, love for Natasha is the strongest of all the feelings experienced by the hero. This is his biggest impulse for life. However, Bolkonsky's happiness was not destined to take place: Natasha unexpectedly became interested in Anatole Kuragin and severed her relationship with Prince Andrei.

And Bolkonsky again goes to military service. Now this service for him is a salvation from personal misfortune, a desire to forget himself in the circle of new people and deeds. “Everything that connected his memory with the past repulsed him, and therefore he tried in relation to this former world only not to be unjust and to do his duty.” “Your road is the road of honor,” Kutuzov will tell him. A sense of duty does not allow him to remain indifferent to great, grandiose events. The French invasion of Russia for Bolkonsky is exactly the same misfortune as the death of his father, as well as the break with Natasha. Prince Andrei sees his duty in defending his homeland. Has come new stage in his life, which led to rapprochement with the people.

An advanced man of the era, a patriot, he condemns people who, wishing only for themselves benefits, "caught crosses, rubles and ranks." All this “drone population” was concentrated in the main apartment and least of all thought about saving the Fatherland, so Prince Andrei leaves to serve in the regiment: “Prince Andrei lost himself forever in the court world, not asking to stay with the person of the sovereign, but asking to serve in the army” ( vol. III, part I, ch. XI).

Together with his regiment, he marched from the western borders to the village of Borodino. At this time, his spiritual quest does not stop, which take on an increasingly pronounced democratic and patriotic character. Before the battle of Borodino, he talks with Pierre, who arrived on the battlefield. Bolkonsky no longer believes in military genius and in the reasonable will of an individual. His faith now lies in the "popular feeling", that " latent heat patriotism”, which unites all Russian soldiers and gives them confidence in victory. “Tomorrow, no matter what, we will win the battle!” he says to Pierre.

In battle, Prince Andrei is seriously wounded, after which he is operated on. Here the hero again feels the proximity of death, and only now there is a turning point in his worldview. After suffering, he feels "a bliss that he has not experienced for a long time." His heart is filled with a previously unfamiliar feeling of Christian love. He feels pity and compassion when he sees the wounded Anatole lying next to him. “Compassion, love for brothers, for those who love us, hate us, love for enemies - yes, that love that God preached on earth ...” - all this is suddenly revealed to Prince Andrei.

However, universal, compassionate love begins to fight in the dying Bolkonsky with love for Natasha, when they meet in Mytishchi, with love that binds him to life. And the first love wins - together with her, Prince Andrei "renounces" life, dies. Thus, Tolstoy in the novel contrasts life and Christian, all-forgiving love.

The whole life of Andrei Bolkonsky was imbued with the desire for an unattainable ideal. Such an ideal for him is forgiveness and compassion. Having acquired a new worldview, he overcomes the mental limitations of individualism and intolerance. He dies, having achieved harmony, if not with life, then at least with himself.

The spiritual quest of Prince Andrei was characteristic of the advanced nobility of the era of preparations for the Decembrist uprising. Subsequently, such searches led to the organization of secret societies in Russia, whose activities culminated in an uprising in December 1825.

And although Prince Andrei died before the organization of the first secret societies of the Decembrists, there is reason to believe that he would have been in their ranks.

When, in 1820, Pierre became one of the organizers of secret societies and spoke with enthusiasm about their activities, Nikolenka (son of Prince Andrei) asked him:

“-Uncle Pierre ... you ... no ... If dad were alive ... Would he agree with you? ..

“I think so,” Pierre answered him. (Epilogue, part I, ch. XIV).

Option 4

Spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky

The epic "War and Peace" grew out of Tolstoy's idea to write the novel "The Decembrists". Tolstoy began to write his work, left it, returned to it again, until the Great French Revolution, the theme of which sounds from the first pages of the novel, and the Patriotic War of 1812 were in the center of his attention. The idea of ​​writing a book about the Decembrist was swallowed up by a broader idea - Tolstoy began to write about the world, shaken by the war. This is how the epic novel turned out, where the feat of the Russian people in the war of 1812 is shown on a historical scale. At the same time, "War and Peace" is also a "family chronicle" showing a noble society represented by several generations. And, finally, it describes the life of a young nobleman, his views and spiritual development. Many of the features that, according to the author, a Decembrist should have, Tolstoy endowed Andrei Bolkonsky.

The novel shows the whole life of Prince Andrey. Probably, every person once in his life thinks about the questions: “Who am I? Why do I live? What am I living for? Tolstoy's hero tries to answer these and many other questions on the pages of the novel. The author sympathizes with the young prince Bolkonsky. This confirms the fact that Tolstoy endowed Prince Andrei with many of his views and beliefs. Therefore, Bolkonsky is, as it were, a conductor of the ideas of the author himself.

We meet Andrei Bolkonsky in the salon of Anna Sherer. Even then we see that this is an extraordinary person. Prince Andrei is handsome, he is impeccably and fashionably dressed. He is fluent in French, which at that time was considered a sign of education and culture. He even pronounces the name Kutuzov with an emphasis on the last syllable, like a Frenchman. Prince Andrei is a man of the world. In this sense, he is subject to all the influences of fashion, not only in clothes, but also in behavior and lifestyle. Tolstoy draws our attention to his slow, quiet, senile step and boredom in his eyes. On his face we read superiority and self-confidence. He considers those around him to be lower than himself, and therefore worse, hence boredom. Soon we realize that all this is superficial. Seeing Pierre in the salon, Prince Andrei is transformed. He is happy with his old friend and does not hide it. The prince's smile becomes "unexpectedly kind and pleasant." Despite the fact that Pierre is younger than Andrey, they talk on equal terms, and the conversation is a pleasure for both. By the time we meet him, Andrey is already a fully formed personality, but he will still have many trials in life. Prince Andrey will have to go through war, injury, love, slow dying, and all this time the prince will know himself, look for that “moment of truth” through which the truth of life will be revealed to him.

In the meantime, Andrei Bolkonsky is looking for fame. It was in the pursuit of glory that he went to the war of 1805. Andrew yearns to become a hero. In his dreams, he sees how the army gets into a dangerous position and he saves it alone. The idol of the prince, the subject of his worship is Napoleon. I must say that many young people of that time were fond of the personality of Napoleon. Andrey wants to be like him and tries to imitate him in everything. In such high spirits, the young Bol-konsky goes to war. We see Prince Andrei in the battle of Austerlitz. He runs ahead of the attacking soldiers with a banner in his hands, then falls, being wounded. The first thing that Andrei sees after the fall is the sky. High, endless sky, over which clouds run. It so calls, beckons, bewitches, lives with its greatness, that Prince Andrey is even surprised when he discovers it for himself for the first time. “How could I not have seen this lofty sky before? And how happy I am that I finally got to know him,” Andrei thinks. But at this moment, another truth is revealed to the prince. All that he aspired to, for which he lived, now seems like a trifle that does not deserve attention. He is no longer interested in the political life to which he aspired, is not needed and military career, to which he recently wanted to devote himself entirely. His recent idol Napoleon seems small and insignificant. Prince Andrei begins to rethink life. His thoughts return to his native home in the Ly-sykh Gory, where his father, wife, sister and unborn child remained. The war turned out to be not at all what Andrei imagined it to be. Intoxicated with a thirst for glory, he idealized military life. In fact, he had to face death and blood. Fierce fights, embittered faces of people showed him the real face of the war. All his dreams of military exploits now seem like child's play to him. Prince Andrei returns home. But at home, another blow awaits him - the death of his wife. At one time, Prince Andrei somewhat cooled towards her, and now he reads pain and reproach in her eyes. After the death of his wife, the prince withdraws into himself, even his little son does not bring him joy. To keep himself busy, he innovates in his village. Pierre sees the spiritual state of Prince Bolkonsky, his depression and disappointment. “He was struck by the change that had taken place in Prince Andrei. The words were kind, there was a smile on his lips and face ... but his eyes were dead, dead ... ”Pierre tries to bring Andrei back to life. Indeed, since their last meeting A lot of time has passed and the friends are somewhat estranged from each other. Nevertheless, the conversation in Bogucharov made Bolkonsky think about Pierre’s words “... if there is a God and there is future life, that is, truth, is virtue; and the highest happiness of a person lies in striving to achieve them”, “one must live, one must love, one must believe”. Despite the fact that these statements seemed controversial to Prince Andrei at that time, he realizes that Pierre was right. From this moment, Andrey's revival to life begins.

On the way to Otradnoye, Prince Bolkonsky sees a huge oak tree "with broken ... boughs and broken bark, overgrown with old sores," which "was an old, angry and contemptuous freak between smiling birches." Oak is a symbol state of mind Andrew. This tree seems to say that there is neither spring nor happiness on earth, only deceit remains. And Prince Andrei agrees with the oak: “... 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!”

In Otradnoye, the prince saw Natasha. This little girl was full of happiness, energy, cheerfulness. “And she doesn’t care about my existence!” thought Prince Andrei. But he is already challenging fate. He understands that you can’t bury yourself alive in the village, you just need to be able to live, enjoy life the way Natasha does. And the symbolic oak tree “all transformed, spreading out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun.” Natasha changed Andrei's life in an instant, made him wake up from hibernation and believe in love again. Andrei says: “Not only ... what is in me, it is necessary that everyone knows this ... so that my life goes on not only for me ... so that it is reflected on everyone and that they all live with me.”

But for now, Bolkonsky leaves Natasha and leaves for St. Petersburg. There he meets the leading people of his time, participates in the preparation of transformative projects, in a word, plunges into political life countries. In St. Petersburg, he spends more time than he thought at first, and, returning, Andrei finds out that Natasha has cheated on him, carried away by Anatole Kuragin. Bolkonsky loves Natasha, but he is too proud and arrogant to forgive her betrayal. Therefore, they are forced to part, each having an unhealed wound in his soul.

Prince Andrei once again meets with Pierre. Now just before the Battle of Borodino. Pierre feels that Andrei is not destined to live, it seems that Andrei also understands this. In the battle of Borodino, Bolkonsky again gets wounded. Now he's reaching for the ground. He envies grass, flowers, not proud, domineering clouds. He himself now had nothing left of that pride that forced him to part with Natasha. For the first time, Prince Andrei does not think about himself, but about others. It is now that the truth about which Pierre spoke to him is revealed to him. He forgives Natasha. Moreover, he also forgives Anatole. Already on the verge of death, Andrei realizes that “a new happiness has opened up to him, inalienable from a person ... happiness that is beyond material forces, beyond material influences on a person, the happiness of one soul, the happiness of love! Any person can understand it, but only God could recognize and prescribe it. Andrey meets Natasha again. The minutes spent with her turn out to be the happiest for Andrei. Natasha once again brings him back to life. But, alas, he did not have long to live. “Prince Andrei died. But at the same moment as he died, Prince Andrey remembered that he was sleeping, and at the same moment as he died, he, having made an effort on himself, woke up. From that moment, "for Prince Andrei, along with the awakening from sleep, the awakening from life began."

Thus, the novel shows two concepts of the happiness of Prince Andrei. At first, Andrei believes that one must live for oneself, that each person must live in his own way. There are two misfortunes in life: remorse and sickness. And a person is happy only when these misfortunes are absent. And only at the end of his life Andrey realized true happiness - to live for others.