- a brilliant work, where the writer described in detail the military events of such years as 1805, 1809 and 1812. At the same time, the author set himself the goal of depicting not the war, but the people in wartime. sought to reveal the characters of people, including such significant historical figures as Napoleon and Kutuzov. In the novel, through the prism of all events, the images of these military leaders, their strategies, behavior, and attitude towards their wards were revealed. So how does the reader see Napoleon and Kutuzov? Their comparative characteristics will help answer the question.
When you read a novel, you do not immediately see Kutuzov. The first chapters of the novel are silent about him, in contrast to Napoleon, who is discussed at the evening from the very first lines. Kutuzov high society is also discussing. They speak of him mockingly, sometimes even forget, but at the same time, the whole country and all the people hope for him.
Kutuzov, in comparison with Napoleon, is more like a tired old man who can fall asleep at military councils. But this did not stop the soldiers from calling Kutuzov a father. Yes, he does not impose any strategies on others, he simply acts. He does not praise his ranks, does not shout about it, and does not go to the field after the battle, as Bonaparte did. He took up arms and fought alongside other soldiers, because everyone was united in the fight for freedom. There were no ordinary peasants, ordinary men, there were no generals. The battlefield leveled everyone.
Kutuzov is not an insensitive person, so he often rubbed his eyes from tears, as he was worried about his people. For him, a soldier is not meat, but a person. He painfully perceives information about deaths and injuries. He treats each battle responsibly, calculates and does not risk the lives of soldiers in vain. His faith was very strong, and he managed to convey this faith to every person. This became decisive in the battle with the French.
With - the French emperor, we get acquainted with the first lines of the novel War and Peace. People from high society discussed the personality of Napoleon at the evenings. Despite the fact that many admired the emperor, plunging into the annals of the novel, we learn how cruel and cynical he was. For him, human life was nothing, only cold calculation and cunning were important, with the help of which he wanted to conquer the whole world. The army for him is only a tool that must always be ready to carry out any order. Napoleon was also a self-confident person who failed to see the great power of the Russian people, who united his forces and defeated such an invincible French army. The battle of Borodino became shameful for Napoleon, just as his defeat was shameful, which prevented his great plans from being realized.
Roman L.N. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" tells in detail about the military campaigns of 1805, 1809 and the war of 1812. Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy had his own view of the world order, and he also had his own theory about the role of man in history and its significance in the context of eternity. In this article, we will analyze the image of Kutuzov and Napoleon in L. N. Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace", and a table of comparative characteristics of Kutuzov and Napoleon will be presented below.
At first it seems that Napoleon has a much larger place in the novel than Kutuzov. His image is already revealed from the first lines. Most argue that "... Bonaparte is invincible and that all of Europe can do nothing against him ...". Kutuzov is almost absent in whole parts of the work. He is ridiculed, scolded and often forgotten. In the novel, Vasily Kuragin mocked Kutuzov more than once, but they hope for him, although they don’t talk about it out loud.
|
Comparative characteristics Kutuzov and Napoleon |
|
|
Kutuzov |
Napoleon |
|
Appearance: Slightly plump face, mocking look, expressive facial expressions, scars on the face, confident gait. Quote -“Kutuzov smiled slightly, while, stepping heavily, he lowered his foot from the footboard ...” Quote -“A barely perceptible smile ran across Kutuzov’s plump, wounded face ...” Quote -“Kutuzov, in an unbuttoned uniform, from which, as if liberated, his fat neck floated onto the collar, sat in a Voltaire chair, putting symmetrically plump old hands on the armrests, and almost slept. At the sound of Weyrother's voice, he forcefully opened his single eye... |
Appearance: Small stature, fat personality. Big belly and thick thighs, an unpleasant smile and a fussy gait. A figure with broad thick shoulders in a blue uniform. Quote -“Napoleon stood a little ahead of his marshals on a small gray Arabian horse, in a blue overcoat ...” Quote -". He was in a blue uniform, open over a white waistcoat, descending on a round stomach, in white leggings, tight-fitting fat thighs of short legs, and in over the knee boots. His short hair, obviously, had just been combed, but one strand of hair went down over the middle of his wide forehead. His plump white neck protruded sharply from behind the black collar of his uniform; he smelled of cologne. On his youthful, full face with a protruding chin, there was an expression of gracious and majestic imperial greeting ... " Quote -“His whole plump, short figure with broad thick shoulders and an involuntarily protruding belly and chest had that representative, portly appearance that people of forty years of age have in the hall ...” |
|
Personality and character: Kind, considerate, calm and unhurried person. He has his own weaknesses and interests, he always behaves calmly and affectionately with the soldiers. Kutuzov is a believer, he knows German and French, he can give free rein to his emotions. A wise and cunning commander, in the war he believed that the most important thing is patience and time. Quote -"Kutuzov, apparently understanding his position and wishing, on the contrary, all the best for the captain, hastily turned away ... " Quote -» Kutuzov turned to Prince Andrei. There was not a trace of excitement on his face ... " Quote - Kutuzov walked through the ranks, occasionally stopping and saying a few kind words to the officers, whom he knew from the Turkish war, and sometimes to the soldiers. Glancing at the shoes, he sadly shook his head several times ... " Quote -"Well, prince, goodbye," he said to Bagration. “Christ is with you. I bless you for a great feat ... " Quote -"Continued the conversation started in French..." Quote -“And at the same time, the smart and experienced Kutuzov accepted the battle ...” |
Personality and character: Napoleon Bonaparte is Italian by birth. Quite self-satisfied and self-confident person. He always considered war to be his “craft”. He takes care of the soldiers, however, most likely, he does it out of boredom. He loves luxury, is a purposeful person, loves when everyone admires him. Quote -"With the Italians' ability to arbitrarily change facial expressions, he approached the portrait and pretended to be thoughtful tenderness ... " Quote -"On his face was a radiance of complacency and happiness ... " Quote -"The love and habit of the French emperor for war..." Quote -"Bonaparte, when he worked, went step by step towards his goal, he was free, he had nothing but his goal - and he achieved it ... " Quote -“For him, the conviction was not new that his presence at all ends of the world, from Africa to the steppes of Muscovy, equally strikes and plunges people into the madness of self-forgetfulness ...” |
|
Mission: Salvation of Russia. |
Mission: Conquer the whole world and make it the capital of Paris. |
Kutuzov and Napoleon are two wise commanders in the novel who played a huge role in history. Each had its own purpose and each used different approaches to defeat the enemy. L.N. Tolstoy gives us some idea of the appearance, character of the characters, as well as their thoughts. Such a representation helps us to put together a complete image of Kutuzov and Napoleon, as well as to understand which priorities are more important for us.
| Character | Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov | Napoleon Bonaparte |
| The appearance of the hero, his portrait | “…simplicity, kindness, truth…”. This is a living, deeply feeling and experiencing person, the image of a “father”, an “elder”, who understands and has seen life. | The satirical image of the portrait: “fat thighs of short legs”, “a fat short figure”, unnecessary movements that are accompanied by fuss. |
| Hero speech | Simple speech, with unambiguous words and a confidential tone, respectful attitude towards the interlocutor, a group of listeners. | Ornate, confused speech, dismissive attitude towards the interlocutor, the group of listeners. |
| His interests | Complete subordination to the interests of Russia and its people, readiness to go against the opinion of the majority and sacrifice one's position for the sake of the Motherland (episode "Council in Fili"). | Megalomania, the cult of personality in all its possible manifestations. |
| Character traits | Modest, sincere, simple, truthful, courageous, a person close to ordinary people who knows and understands their feelings, Kutuzov is the highest degree of manifestation of the wisdom and talent of a commander. | Vain, narcissistic, arrogant, hypocritical, fake poseur. Napoleon is the highest degree of manifestation of narcissism. |
| Attitude towards the vanquished (the vanquished) | Humane, fair treatment | Absolutely indifferent to the fate of the vanquished, in general to the fate of the surrounding people. |
| Attitude towards war | War is evil, fear and murder. To win it, you need to calculate a lot and think over a lot. It is impossible to make rash decisions that will entail the death of thousands of people, “brave men”, “sons of the fatherland”. Kutuzov is a people's commander, embraced by patriotic feelings, who absorbed all the wisdom of the people. | "War is a game, and people are pawns" (1805) A cruel and treacherous opponent, capable of great sacrifices in the name of victory, in the name of glory. War is a way to gain world fame, to exalt oneself in the eyes of others, to go down in history. But Napoleon, according to the author, is "the most insignificant instrument of history", "a man with a clouded conscience." |
| army commander | Brave, brave, capable of exploits, engulfed in patriotic feelings, the army, "the children of Father Kutuzov" | An army of robbers, marauders and murderers, the embodiment of all the negative traits of Napoleon. |
| Years, key in understanding the nature of the character | 1805, 1812, 1813. | 1803, 1805, 1812 Napoleon on Saint Helena. |
| Leo Tolstoy's attitude to the character | A hero expressing the author's thought regarding the war: the war is ruled not by individuals, but by the people, the masses of the people. M.I. Kutuzov is the "strongest spirit" commander, man. | "The child who, holding on to the ribbons tied inside the carriage, imagines that he rules." "... the most insignificant instrument of history ...". |
| The idea embodied in the sawn-off hero | The idea of peace, calm and quiet. | The idea of war, senseless and bloody. |
| Conclusion | Comparative characteristics of the images of Kutuzov and Napoleon are built on antithesis, opposition of these heroes and the ideas that they personify, the embodiment of which they are. The merciful Kutuzov is opposed to the selfish Napoleon. They became the embodiment of two ideas: war and peace. It is worth noting that the images created by Leo Tolstoy in his novel are very different from real historical figures. Kutuzov and Napoleon in history are only prototypes of Kutuzov and Napoleon in War and Peace, endowed with many artistic features, edits and notes by the author of the epic novel. | |
The great epic novel "War and Peace" is not only an outstanding work about the search for the meaning of life, about love and truth, but also a large-scale depiction of real historical events that left a huge mark on the life of Russia and Europe. However, any story is made by people, and therefore those personalities to whom L.N. Tolstoy, echoing reality, gives this right to creativity. These are M.I. Kutuzov and Napoleon I Bonaparte.
Napoleone, a Corsican who rose from the rank of junior lieutenant to the French emperors, conquered almost all of Europe and became a truly outstanding figure. His military and state experience, even genius, served as a pretext for creating a legendary halo. But what do we learn when we get to know Napoleon in the novel "War and Peace"? We are presented with a small man with a round belly, thick shoulders, a plump neck, fat thighs of short legs, a youthful, full face, and "overgrown with fat breasts." In just 7 years, from 1805 to 1812, Napoleon lost his slender appearance, his agility and courage. There, the luxury and festivity that he cultivated at his court "gave" him the "groomed body" of a narcissistic selfish nobleman. Napoleon could no longer be called a brave soldier capable of military exploits. Moreover, L.N. Tolstoy paints us the image of a commander who cares little about his army or about anyone else except himself. For him, the death of thousands of other people, their devotion to him, the cruelty of war and its bloodiness are commonplace. He considers himself the main player in the world, who is destined to win all chess games with brilliance, regardless of others. And Napoleon plays brilliantly, showing himself as an unfortunate, albeit self-confident, poseur with no hint of sincerity or virtue.
The reader sees the Russian commander-in-chief M.I. Kutuzov. The commander was already an old man by the time the war began, and therefore it is not surprising that L.N. Tolstoy describes to us the senile appearance of Mikhail Illarionovich with a fat body, a thick neck, puffy arms and a wrinkled face. But, unlike Napoleon, all Kutuzov’s shortcomings fade into the background when his soul “appears” with a kind smile on his face. His gait, in comparison with Bonaparte's decisive and abrupt step, is "diving, swaying", unhurried. M.I. Kutuzov, without pretense, takes care of his soldiers, he treats them like a father, trying to save as many lives as possible, understanding the horror of war. He is calm and passive, unlike the French emperor, but this is seen as a positive trait. The Russian commander understands that the course of history cannot be productively influenced by impulsive pressure, such an approach can only leave bleeding wounds that other generations will have to heal.
M.I. Kutuzov and Napoleon I are completely different personalities in the novel. They are not similar externally and internally. But such dissimilar figures only help the author to strengthen the main idea of the novel: the truth is in virtue, in the ability to unite with all people and the whole Universe on the basis of mutual understanding and care. This is the only way to leave a positive mark on history.
§ Tolstoy's main task was to reveal the "character of the Russian people and troops", for which he used the images of Kutuzov (a spokesman for the ideas of the masses) and Napoleon (a person who personifies anti-people interests).
§ Antithesis for Tolstoy is the main way of expressing philosophical and historical thought. The images of the two great commanders, also opposed to each other, represent the psychological and moral poles of the work. Kutuzov and Napoleon are the light and shadow of the novel.
Criteria The author's attitude Napoleon Kutuzov The author expresses his attitude to Napoleon through portrait sketches, which are distinguished by their realism and irony: “A little man in a gray frock coat. . . He was in a blue uniform, open over a white waistcoat, descending on a round stomach, in white leggings, fitting fat thighs of short legs. Love, respect, understanding, compassion, delight and admiration. With each new meeting, the author more and more reveals the image of the people's commander. From the first minutes of our acquaintance, we begin to respect this person, just like the author himself.
Character Completely indifferent person with no moral sense. According to its subjective qualities, it is a spokesman for a sad historical necessity - “the movement of peoples from west to east”. Napoleon, according to Tolstoy, was destined "by providence for the sad, unfree role of the executioner of peoples", he performed "that cruel, sad and difficult inhuman role that was intended for him." The wise, free from the passion of vanity and ambition, easily subordinated his will to “providence”, saw through the “higher laws” that govern the movement of mankind, and therefore became a representative of the people's liberation war. The popular feeling that Kutuzov carried in himself told him the moral freedom that appeared in the insight of the “higher laws”.
Image Napoleon - commander Kutuzov - leader of the army of robbers, people's war of marauders and murderers Portrait of a little man with a fake smile, fat shoulders and thighs, a round belly and colorless eyes. All this speaks of the author's satirical, ironic attitude towards the French commander. Obese, overweight, with senile debility. These details make the appearance of the commander especially natural, humane, close, because in the appearance of this person his true high moral qualities are visible. Personal task Imagines himself as a hero, ruler of peoples, on whose will their destinies depend. He does not think about himself, does not play any role, but only wisely leads the spirit of the troops entrusted to him.
Attitude towards soldiers He is indifferent to the fate of the army. He indifferently looks at the death of the lancers crossing the river, he is indifferent to the death of ordinary soldiers, since they are only a tool for achieving their goals. Reading the novel, we feel how Kutuzov suffers, seeing Russian soldiers fleeing from the battlefield. The great commander lives one life with ordinary soldiers, their thoughts. Attitude towards war Napoleon refers to war as something natural in human history: "War is a game, people are pawns that should be correctly placed and moved." Kutuzov is one of the few who understood the absurdity, uselessness and cruelty of this war.
The opinion of those around Idol of his time, they bowed before him, imitated him, saw him as a genius and a great man. His fame spread all over the world. A truly popular commander, who was not perceived by high society, who condemned his tactics of warfare. However, he is loved and honored by ordinary soldiers and people. Features of the generals in the heroes Kuragina, Anna Pavlovna Sherer, Vera Rostova and others Tushin, Timokhin, Denisov, Natasha Rostova, brother and sister Bolkonsky ideals.
Greatness Tolstoy does not recognize Napoleon as great, because Napoleon does not understand the significance of the events taking place, in all his actions only ambitious pretensions and pride are manifested. Tolstoy sees the significance of a great personality in the insight of the popular meaning of events. Kutuzov, who carries the people's moral feeling in his chest, with his experience, mind and consciousness, divines the demands of historical necessity. Comparison in the novel Napoleon is compared to a chess player who is guided by rational, rational rules of the game. Kutuzov can be compared with the "club of the people's war".
“For us,” L. N. Tolstoy concludes his reasoning, “with the measure of good and bad given to us by Christ, there is no immeasurable. And there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.”
