WAR AND PEACE
WAR AND PEACELeo Tolstoy delves into his masterpiece with several different themes that ultimately interlock to reveal life as the true meaning of the book. A master of technical devices, he frequently used the mental and psychological thoughts of his characters to foreshadow upcoming events, thus helping to build suspense and climax through internal actions rather than by external actions. This difficult achievement can be found in the mental progression of Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky, the embodiments of Tolstoy’s spirit. Their thoughts gave insight into the painful yet fulfilling change in their personalities, as well as advanced and explained their actions. This effect portrays War and Peace’s deep theological impression in a realistic sense, and Tolstoy’s choice of setting in a real historical area with real characters and events only expounded the realism he tried to achieve. Thus, by allowing the main characters’ thoughts to be scrutinized to further the plot and learn new ideas all under a shroud of realism and historical significance, Tolstoy blended his values with superb technical skills to create the greatest novel of all time. The first book concluded with the horrible defeat of the Russians on the field of Austerlitz, where Prince Andrei Bolkonsky was severely wounded after distinguishing himself with valor, and he was left in critical condition by Napoleon’s doctors to the care of the local inhabitants. During this battle, Nikolai Rostov, in a mission as messenger to either the Commander-in-Chief or the Emperor, saw his hero, Tsar Aleksandr, first. The young Rostov was so shocked to find his Emperor in such a defeated condition, and he was so overcome by the same feelings a shy boy has in trying to reason his way out of introducing himself to the girl of his dreams when he finally meets up with her, that he turned away without delivering his then-useless message. Not only did he disobey his orders in not doing so, but he thereby threw away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to offer personal assistance to the Tsar. What a sad day for the Russians and our main characters.
Struggling to find a method to introduce the multitude of characters in his novel, Tolstoy finally embarked on presenting the majority at an upper-class soire, notably that of Anna Pavlovna. Here, he plunges into his narrative, describing his characters through the way they talk and think, and not so much on how they appear. This Russian soire becomes a foundation for the book’s plot, as the events of the early 19th century Napoleonic Wars revolve around the areas of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and western Russia. At the soire, Tolstoy introduces his two main characters, Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky, and immediately from their conversations and thoughts comes a description of their personalities and characters. The next large scale scene Tolstoy uses to introduce his characters, the Rostov estate, concludes the presentation of the major families of the novel. These three families-the Bezukhovs, Bolkonskys,...
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