- Essays
- On literature
- Tolstoy Lev
- The life path of Andrei Bolkonsky's quest in the novel War and Peace
At the beginning of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, Andrei Bolkonsky is presented as a vain and indifferent person. He wants to achieve a high military rank and is not interested in how ordinary people live during the war. Bolkonsky looked up to Napoleon, so when during the war in 1805-1807 he saw that his army was running away, he rushed into battle under the bullets. By this he wanted to prove to everyone that he not only wanted fame, but also felt ashamed of his colleagues. In battle, Bolkonsky is wounded in the head and after that everything changes in his head.
After being wounded, Andrei Bolkonsky woke up a different person, he finally realized that fame and recognition are not so important in life. The main beauty is around the beauty of nature and the health of loved ones. When Andrei's wife died, he suffered for a very long time and could not come to his senses. With the death of his wife, Bolkonsky loses all meaning, and he completely and completely withdraws into himself. Life became boring and uninteresting for him. Only a conversation with a friend helps Bolkonsky get down to business again, but with different values.
Bolkonsky falls in love with Natasha Rostova and his thirst for fame awakens again. After Natasha Rostova’s betrayal, Bolkonsky again goes to the front, but this time to defend the Motherland, and not for the sake of a high rank. He even fights with ordinary soldiers and officers.
In the Battle of Borodino, Bolkonsky accomplishes a feat, but not for the people, but for himself. He is aware of everything that happened to him and really wants to change his life completely as a whole. Over the course of his entire life, he changed a lot and went through the path of self-improvement.
After receiving a serious mortal wound, Bolkonsky finds the strength to forgive his betrayal of Natasha Rostova. On his deathbed, he understands that many things in life are not important, and happy moments must be appreciated. Having gone through such a difficult life path from an indifferent and vain person to an all-forgiving adult man.
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy revealed in his novel a story where a person for whom only his own self was important can change for the better over the course of his life. The character Andrei Bolkonsky, thirsting for fame, and looking up to such a great leader as Napoleon, decided for himself that this is exactly what he needed in life.
After rethinking his life principles, Bolkonsky sets his priorities in life correctly. The image of Bolkonsky teaches every reader that fame is not the main thing, but that you need to pay more attention to your family and loved ones.
Essay Life Path of Bolkonsky
The destinies and lives of the heroes of the novel “War and Peace” are closely interconnected with the military and peaceful activities of the country. Andrei Bolkonsky is considered one of the complex heroes of the epic. Bolkonsky's actions are very difficult to understand. Bolkonsky stands out as a great man with a strong will and the ability to control other people. Andrey had an excellent memory and was a well-read person. From his youth he worked and studied a lot.
At the beginning of the book, Andrei only wanted glory through military exploits. In the Battle of Shengraben, Bolkonsky showed bravery and courage. In 1805, Andrei took part in the Battle of Austerlitz. In the battle, he ran ahead of everyone with a banner in his hands. He was wounded on the battlefield. In an unconscious state, Andrei saw Napoleon. In this state, he dreamed of a quiet and carefree life. He was captured by enemies and lay there for some time. After which Andrei returned to Bald Mountains. A little later, Andrei received a terrible blow from fate. He lost his wife, who died in childbirth. Andrey experienced mental suffering. He has lost the meaning of life. He came to the theory that life is permeated with cruelty, and not with kindness and love.
After the coming, Bolkonsky remained in the village. He continued to live as before, but his inner state had completely changed. The thought of a new life, activity and love brought him unpleasant sensations. He was only 31 years old and still had everything ahead of him. He made the decision that he would live out his life wanting nothing. Some time passed like this. Andrei went to Otradnoye to the Rostov estate to discuss an important matter. At the estate he met Natasha. After meeting the girl, Andrei’s worldview changed, he felt his vitality return. A little later he realized that he fell in love with Natasha. The second time they met at a social ball at the Rostov estate. At the ball, Bolkonsky admired Natasha’s singing.
Andrey and Natasha were very different. Andrei was characterized by maturity and intelligence. Natasha was cheerful. She was burdened by Andrei's attitude. At the direction of the girl's father, their wedding was postponed. Andrey went abroad for treatment. He thought a lot about his feelings and was not interested in Natasha's opinions and feelings. Having learned about Natasha's relationship with Kuragin, Andrei refused to forgive her.
The hero's life path is closely interconnected with the army, which taught him to understand ordinary people. The whole army was proud and loved Prince Bolkonsky. The activities and life principles of the prince characterize him as a patriot of his people and a person with high moral principles.
The path of Andrei Bolkonsky's quest. Grade 10
The spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky - essay
The spiritual quest of Andrei Bolkonsky is one of the typical themes of the essay within the framework of the study of the great work of Leo Tolstoy “War and Peace”. Below are 3 versions of the essay text.
Option 1
One of the heroes of the novel “War and Peace” is Andrei Bolkonsky. He is a nobleman of strict upbringing, thanks to his father. Prince Bolkonsky instilled in his children a lack of laziness and constant activity, a thirst for knowledge, honor and dignity.
Andrei Bolkonsky sees only falsehood in the secular society around him. Only the appearance of Pierre Bezukhov made Andrey happy. He treats the illegitimate heir of Count Bezukhov well. Andrei considers Pierre the only living and sincere person.
Bolkonsky Andrey is constantly searching for the meaning of his life. At the very beginning of the novel, Andrei Bolkonsky admires Napoleon Bonaparte. The thirst for fame and recognition forces Andrei to enlist in military service and rush into battle. He, having the advantage with the banner, rushes first into battle, showing an example of patriotism and courage to his soldiers.
After being wounded on the battlefield, looking at the endless sky above Austerlitz, Andrei understands the futility of his aspirations and dreams. Andrey goes home to the estate. He decides to live not for fame and recognition, but for himself. Bolkonsky is busy with the estate, thinking about how and what reforms to carry out to make life easier for the peasants. This lifestyle turns out to be depressing for the highly spiritual Andrei. He decides that his life will not change over time.
However, everything changed with the meeting of Andrei Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova in Otradnoye. A thaw sets in in the prince’s soul, and tender, deep feelings for Natasha awaken.
After her betrayal, Andrei again goes to the front. During military operations, Andrei feels unity with the soldiers. Living for others is what matters. Andrey receives a mortal wound in battle. In the last days before his death, Natasha takes care of Andrei. He does not feel negative emotions towards her or Anatole. He forgives and leaves for another world.
The image of Kutuzov in the novel “War and Peace”
Option 2
Andrei Bolkonsky is rich, handsome, married to a charming woman. What makes him give up a successful career and a quiet, prosperous life? Bolkonsky is trying to find his purpose.
At the beginning of the book, this is a man who dreams of fame, popular love and exploits. “I love nothing but fame, human love. Death, wounds, loss of family, I’m not afraid of anything,” he says. His ideal is the great Napoleon. To be like his idol, the proud and ambitious prince becomes a military man and performs great feats. Insight comes suddenly. The wounded Andrei Bolkonsky, seeing the high sky of Austerlitz, realizes that his goals were empty and worthless.
Having left the service and returned, Prince Andrei strives to correct his mistakes. Evil fate decides otherwise. After the death of his wife, a period of depression and despondency begins in Bolkonsky’s life. A conversation with Pierre makes him look at life differently.
Bolkonsky again strives to be useful not only to his family, but also to the Fatherland. Engagements in government affairs briefly captivate the hero. A meeting with Natasha Rostova opens one's eyes to Speransky's false nature. The meaning of life becomes love for Natasha. Again dreams, again plans and again disappointment. Family pride did not allow Prince Andrei to forgive the fatal mistake of his future wife. The wedding was upset, hopes for happiness were dispelled.
Bolkonsky again settles in Bogucharovo, deciding to start raising his son and arranging his estate. The Patriotic War of 1812 awakened his best qualities in the hero. Love for the Motherland and hatred of the invaders force them to return to service and devote their lives to the Fatherland.
Having found the true meaning of his existence, the main character becomes a different person. There is no longer room in his soul for vanity thoughts and selfishness.
The spiritual quest of Pierre Bezukhov - the path of the hero's quest
Option 3
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 until his death from wounds in the Rostov house, Bolkonsky’s life is subject to its own internal logic.
And in military service, and in political activity, and in society, and, what is most strange, in love, Andrei remains lonely and misunderstood. Closedness and skepticism are the distinctive features of Andrei, even in his communication with his loved ones: his father, sister, Pierre, Natasha. Marya tells him: “You are good to everyone, Andre, but you have some kind of pride of thought.” But he is far from a misanthrope.
With all his soul he wants to find a use for his mind and abilities, “with all the strength of his soul he was looking for one thing: to be completely good...” But his life is not like a search for the new, but like an escape from the old. A sharp mind pushes him to activity, but the inner feeling of the elements of life stops him, pointing out the futility of a person’s efforts. Andrey's endeavors end in disappointment. His sincere desire to serve his homeland and cause is faced with general indifference.
A man with a sober and skeptical mind, Prince Andrei could not find a place for himself in the environment of deceitful self-interest and flattering careerism that reigned in secular and military life. His patriotism and responsibility for the cause are most clearly manifested in the service of Speransky and in the War of 1812: “He was completely devoted to the affairs of his regiment, he was caring about his people and officers and affectionate with them. In the regiment they called him “our prince,” they were proud of him and loved him.” But gradually he comes to the conclusion that all his efforts are nothing more than vanity.
The life path of Prince Andrei is a story of disappointments, but at the same time a story of comprehending the meaning of life. Bolkonsky gradually gets rid of illusions - the desire for secular glory, a military career, and socially useful activities. In a dispute with Pierre, he denies the possibility of transformation even within the estate. However, he himself reforms his farm and sets the peasants free, which was an unheard-of innovation at that time. The main thing in Andrei Bolkonsky’s nature is honesty and sincerity, so he is afraid of big words and promises. It is better to remain silent and inactive, and if you do something, then also without further ado.
Even with Speransky, he behaves warily, although in his heart he welcomes his endeavors. The prince considers any talk about love for “neighbors” to be hypocrisy. You should love yourself and your family first. And by respecting himself and acting with honor, a person will inevitably be useful to people, in any case, he will not harm them. Andrei considers responsibility for other people an exorbitant burden, and making decisions for them as irresponsible and narcissistic.
Prince Andrei's periods of disappointment are replaced by periods of happiness and spiritual rebirth. Such a happy time for him was the battles at Austerlitz, his service in the military commission, and his love for Natasha. But these happy moments were again replaced by inner devastation and disappointment.
One of the most important questions that tormented Andrei Bolkonsky was the question of man’s place in life. He is convinced that everything happens not at the behest of heroes and leaders, but by itself, by chance or by the will of fate.
This truth was revealed to him especially clearly on the eve of the Battle of Borodino. Honest and frank with himself, Andrei wants the same frankness and clarity in the expected events: “If there is war now, then war. War is not a courtesy, but the most disgusting thing in life, and we must understand this and not play at war.” He reaches the value of the life of the individual, from the marshal to the soldier.
The wound and the dying thoughts that followed it turn Andrei’s consciousness upside down. It becomes clear to him what he always carried within himself, but did not let out, an understanding of the simplicity of life and love as the main value that makes people human. Dying, he forgives Natasha, Anatoly Kuragin, and the whole world with all its shortcomings.
Andrei Bolkonsky went from ambitious egoism and pride to self-denial. His life is the evolution of the pride of the human mind, resisting the unconscious kindness and love that constitute the meaning of human life. A lonely and proud hero, even if very smart and positive in all respects, according to L.N. Tolstoy, cannot be useful to this world.
The second stage of Andrei Bolkonsky's life quest
In the future, he decides to live for himself and his family, to raise his son, who was left without a mother who died during childbirth. Bolkonsky's moral quest is undergoing changes. Andrei cannot forget the reproachful face of his dead wife, as if saying: “Oh, what have you done to me?” The feeling of guilt towards his wife for indifference to her increases the hero’s depression and disappointment.
An important stage on the path of Andrei Bolkonsky’s spiritual quest is a conversation with Pierre. Prince Andrei did a lot on the Boguchary estate: he created hospitals and schools, improved the lives of the peasants, but he still does not see the meaning of life. Pierre Bezukhov convinces him that “you have to love, you have to believe.”
An important stage in the search for meaning in life is a trip to Otradnoye, when he overheard a conversation between Natasha and Sonya. The prince is convinced that Pierre Bezukhov was right, one must live and believe in life. It is no coincidence that the green old oak tree becomes a symbol of rebirth for him.
The path of Andrei’s quest in the novel “War and Peace” takes a new turn: the prince serves in St. Petersburg, takes part in Speransky’s reform activities. However, pretty soon the hero becomes disillusioned with him, realizing that Speransky is too far from the needs of the people, too carried away by narcissism.
A new awakening to life is associated with love for Natasha Rostova. In her, Andrei finds the ideal of genuine sincerity of feelings, spontaneity and inner beauty. However, Natasha's betrayal and her attempt to escape with Anatoly Kuragin becomes a strong blow for Andrei Bolkonsky. Disappointment in his beloved and a thirst for revenge on Anatoly torment him. Along with disappointment comes the feeling that life is completely ruined.
