Composition based on the novel by Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy "War and Peace"
Topic: "Human Attitude to War"
10th grade
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy's novel War and Peace covers a long 16 years of history, most of the first quarter of the 19th century. This time period was marked by many historically important events: the assassination of Paul I, the revolutionary wars in France, and, of course, the opposition to Napoleon. The wars of the third and fourth coalitions in 1805-1807 affected both Europe and Russia. One way or another, the hostilities affected the lives of all people: ordinary civilians, whose homes and farms were destroyed and ruined, ordinary soldiers and officers who returned crippled or did not return at all, their relatives and loved ones, heartbroken, and so on. The war did not bypass anyone, and in his novel Leo Tolstoy raises the problem of people's attitude towards it.
One of the many heroes of the novel, Nikolai Rostov, took part in several battles. In the second part of the first volume, the action takes place in Austria, where the hero takes part in the Battle of Schöngraben. It was his first major battle and opened his eyes to what war is. “Rostov <...> had a happy appearance of a student, summoned before a large audience for an exam, in which he is sure that he will excel. He clearly and brightly looked around at everyone, as if asking to pay attention to how he calmly stands under the cannonballs ”- such was his attitude before the battle and at the very beginning. He was waiting for this, longing to "taste the delight of the attack", like a child who was promised something unknown to him hitherto, but already very attractive. Tolstoy describes Rostov as somewhat naive, not understanding the seriousness and cruelty of what is happening.
Why was Rostov so inspired by the upcoming battle? The hero heard from his fellow hussars about the charm and pleasantness of battles, and, not thinking about either the moral component or the possible consequences, he eagerly wanted to plunge into the battle. When this happened and Rostov faced real danger, “he grabbed a pistol and, instead of firing it, threw it at the Frenchman and ran to the bushes with all his might. Not with that feeling of doubt and struggle, <...> but with the feeling of a hare running away from dogs. " Others' words and false expectations - that was what lay at the basis of his "courage and patriotism." He really had no idea what awaited him, but he went for it, like thousands of other soldiers.
War is a big word, it contains a lot. But above all, war is violence. Physical and moral, over men and women, children and old people. And, like any other violence, it must forever remain only a part of the past, a dirty page in human history. “A war has begun, that is, an event that is contrary to human reason and all human nature has taken place,” wrote Lev Nikolaevich on the pages of the novel. These words more than vividly reveal the attitude of the writer to the war.
This word should only become history - this is the only reasonable opinion about the war. Such should be the attitude of people to the war, as it was in Leo Tolstoy back in the 19th century.
