Looking out near Braunau, Tolstoy begins his depiction of the war of 1805. The review scene clearly reveals the main problems of the war of 1805, which will later be depicted in more detail by Tolstoy.
Even before the review, turmoil reigns in the Russian camp: no one knows in what form the commander-in-chief wants to see the soldiers. According to the principle: “It is better to bow than to fail,” the soldier is ordered to put on a dress uniform. Then an order comes that Kutuzov wants to see marching uniforms on the soldiers. As a result, the soldiers, instead of resting, spend the entire night working on their uniforms. Finally Kutuzov arrives. Everyone is excited: both soldiers and commanders: “The regimental commander, blushing, ran up to the horse, with trembling hands took hold of the stirrup, threw the body over, straightened himself out, took out his sword and with a happy, determined face...prepared to shout.” The regimental commander “performed his duties as a subordinate with even greater pleasure than the duties of a superior.” Thanks to his efforts, everything was fine in the regiment, except for the shoes that were supplied by the Austrian government. It is precisely this deplorable state of the shoes of Russian soldiers that Kutuzov wants to show the Austrian general, who also accepts the review on a par with Kutuzov.
The main character of this episode is Kutuzov. Already in this short scene, the author shows Kutuzov’s attitude towards soldiers and military officers: “Kutuzov walked through the ranks, occasionally stopping and speaking a few kind words to the officers whom he knew from the Turkish war, and sometimes to the soldiers. Looking at the shoes, he sadly shook his head several times and pointed them out to the Austrian general.” Walking past the formation, the commander-in-chief notices Captain Timokhin, whom he remembers from the Turkish campaign, and praises him for his bravery: “...At the moment the commander-in-chief addressed him, the captain stood up straight so that it seemed that even if the commander-in-chief had looked at him for a little more time, the captain would not would have stood it; and therefore Kutuzov, apparently understanding his position and wishing, on the contrary, all the best for the captain, hastily turned away.” The soldiers, feeling Kutuzov’s attitude towards them, also pay him with love and respect. They are happy to fight with a commander in chief who understands all their needs and aspirations.
But not everyone shares this feeling. Tolstoy contrasts the attitude towards Kutuzov of ordinary soldiers and officers of the retinue: retinue officers talk to each other during the review, one of the hussar officers, Zherkov, imitates the regimental commander, who did not deserve this at all. The demoted Dolokhov approaches Kutuzov to remind himself, saying that he will make amends and prove his loyalty to the emperor and Russia. Kutuzov turned away and winced, as if he wanted to express that everything that Dolokhov told him, and everything that he could tell him, he had known for a long, long time, that all this bored him and that it was not at all the same. what is needed.” Kutuzov can perfectly distinguish between the silent devotion of Timokhin, whom the author will later make one of the heroes of the Battle of Shengraben, and the desire of Dolokhov at any cost to regain the officer rank that he lost for his drunken antics and outrages. The true value of the relationship between the retinue officers can be seen in the conversation between Zherkov and Dolokhov. Zherkov once belonged to the violent society led by Dolokhov, but, having met him abroad, he pretended not to notice, and after Dolokhov talked with Kutuzov, “entered into favor,” Zherkov himself drives up to and starts a conversation with him. They cannot have any sincere feelings, sincerity is only a desire to rise at any cost in both one and the other.
For the first time in the scene of the review near Braunau, Tolstoy shows us the soldier’s world, the unity of all the soldiers who received a charge of vigor from Kutuzov, faith in victory. The songwriter wonderfully portrays a spoon holder who, “despite the weight of his ammunition, quickly jumped forward and walked backwards in front of the company, moving his shoulders and threatening someone with spoons.” This joy of the soldiers is conveyed to the passing Kutuzov; they are connected by a single feeling. But Tolstoy does not forget to remind us that these wonderful people are going to fight, to give their lives, that now, at the moment, they are cheerful and happy, but soon they may be maimed and killed.
Tolstoy's main idea in describing the war of 1805 is the unnecessaryness of violence and death, the author shows the unity of people who should have a different goal than the destruction of their own kind, and the scene of the review near Braunau confirms this idea.
The novel “War and Peace” was conceived by L.N. Tolstoy after the story “The Decembrists,” which the author began in 1860. At the early stage of writing the epic, the composition of the work was determined by the Decembrist theme and was supposed to expand into the volume of a large work telling about the history of Russian society. But in the early 60s, Tolstoy's views on the world changed somewhat. He sees the enormous role of the people in the history of the country. It is no coincidence that the main character of his work “War and Peace” also becomes the people.
The author sets himself the most difficult task - to show the character of the entire people, which is equally manifested both in everyday, peaceful life, and during the war, in historical events, in moments of painful defeats and glorious victories.
The epic side of the work depicts peaceful and war scenes in its entirety. Moreover, war is not only direct military action in the literal sense, but the hostility of people, the absence of peace between them. In turn, peace is the whole life of a people; it is not only the understanding of this word in the literal sense, as not being in a state of war, but it is also the brotherhood of people, which does not depend on principles such as national or class differences. The closest neighbors - war and peace - go through life side by side, closely intertwined, penetrating and conditioning each other.
In the first volume of the novel, the author talks about “peace” and the first stage of the war between the Russian army and the French. Moreover, the first picture that Tolstoy presents to us is not about battle or defense. This is a review that could well have been held in peacetime.
At the very beginning of the conversation about the war, we understand the author’s opinion about it and agree with him: no one needs this war: neither the Russian people, nor the Austrian people.
Tolstoy sends us following the Russian army to the small Austrian town of Braunau, where Kutuzov’s main apartment is located. Russian troops are gathering here. Separately, it is worth dwelling on the description of the infantry regiment. Soldiers from Russia walked a thousand miles. Their boots are broken, there are no new shoes. It was supposed to be provided by the Austrian department, but did not fulfill its obligations, however, the regimental commander does not care much about this.
The regiment is completely unprepared for combat operations, because it is clear to everyone that it is impossible to fight barefoot, but the regimental commander wants to demonstrate to the commander-in-chief that everything is in order in the regiment, he is ready to fight. Kutuzov has a completely different opinion on this matter. He intended to show the Austrian general the deplorable state of the Russian soldiers, because he perfectly understands that shoes are of great importance.
All words and actions of Kutuzov are opposite to the words and actions of the regimental commander. Kutuzov is already old, his voice is weak, his gait is slow and sluggish. But he is natural in every movement, he simply handles the soldiers. The regimental commander is also no longer young, but he tries to look younger, there is no simplicity and naturalness in him.
When Kutuzov walked through the ranks of the troops, he suddenly noticed his Izmailovo comrade Timokhin - “The Captain with the Red Nose.” The commander-in-chief remembered Timokhin from the Turkish war, because he knew how to see and understand his subordinates.
In the battle of Izmail, Kutuzov lost an eye, and Timokhin also remembered this battle.
Kutuzov was delighted at this meeting, but turned away because he saw how Timokhin stretched out like a string; it even seemed that when the commander-in-chief looked at him, he would not stand it. And Kutuzov did not want to further aggravate the situation of his old comrade.
The commander-in-chief of the Russian army knows people well, but in addition, he understands and pities them. Kutuzov behaves like a simple Russian person. According to Tolstoy, a historical figure is not capable of influencing the course of history and changing it; only the people are capable of this. Therefore, the activities of a true hero of history must be connected with the movement of the people. The image of Kutuzov combines folk simplicity and historical greatness. It is he who becomes the true historical hero in the novel.
Effective preparation for the Unified State Exam (all subjects) -
Review in Braunau (Austria) volume 1, part 2, chapters 1, 2
The novel “War and Peace” is an epic work that tells the story of outstanding national-historical events in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century related to the Patriotic War against Napoleon’s army.
The epic genre can be defined using two definitions: 1. An extended narrative that focuses on prominent historical events. 2. A long and complex story involving many events and characters.
Parts of the novel “War and Peace” narrate either peacetime or military events, with the exception of the last volume, which also presents the philosophical reflections of L.N.
Tolstoy about the Patriotic War of 1812.
The first part of the first volume immerses the reader in the atmosphere of peacetime in the salon of Anna Pavlovna Scherer, showing the life, interests, and moral values of the highest noble society of the early 19th century in Russia. From this moment the story begins about the fate of the main characters Pierre Bezukhov and Andrei Bolkonsky.
Part two of the first volume is the first epic film dedicated to wartime events. The action takes place in October 1805 near the Braunau fortress (Austria), where the apartment of Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov is located. The infantry regiment that arrived the day before, on the orders of Kutuzov, is preparing for review. All night, without closing their eyes, two thousand people, who have completed a thousand-mile journey, turn from a disorderly crowd into an orderly mass, where everyone knows their place and their job.
At the Braunau fortress, unlike Anna Pavlovna's secular salon, there is no place for personal passions, moods, fatigue, when military discipline, subordination, and military duty are above all. And the reader, in order to navigate what is happening, needs some knowledge about the structure of military formations: a regiment consists of battalions, and battalions - of companies.
The episode contains a large number of characters, including: Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov, regimental commander (general), commander of the third company, Captain Timokhin Prokhor Ignatievich, demoted to private Dolokhov.
The regiment commander failed to predict Kutuzov's intentions. He prepared the regiment for the parade, while Kutuzov wanted to demonstrate to the allied Austrian general the sad situation of the Russian troops in order to avoid an undesirable, from Kutuzov’s point of view, connection with the army of General Mack.
Wanting to correct the mistake, the regimental commander ordered everyone to urgently put on their military overcoats. Nervous, he began to meticulously criticize the actions of his subordinates, shouting at everyone, when Dolokhov, “dressed up as a Hungarian,” caught his eye. His bluish overcoat seemed too smart to the boss. In this situation, Dolokhov besieged the general, who had lost control of himself, and instead of giving orders, he turned to insults.
In the presence of Kutuzov, the regimental general performed the duties of a subordinate with even greater pleasure than the duties of a superior. As strict as he was with his subordinates, he was as servile with his superiors. In contrast, Kutuzov behaved simply, addressed the officers known to him from the Turkish war, and sometimes even the soldiers.
The captain of the third company, Timokhin, who had just received a reprimand from the regiment commander for Dolokhov, was also known to Kutuzov as a brave officer since the storming of Izmail (1790). Kutuzov remembered the virtues, weaknesses and faults of those who served under his leadership; I saw each person as a person, not as a follower of orders. In the third company, Dolokhov was introduced to Kutuzov, who expressed an ardent desire to make amends and prove his loyalty to the Emperor and Russia.
Kutuzov turned away and winced, because what was said was “not at all what was needed.” It did not escape his attentive gaze that half of the people were wearing boots that had been broken during the long march, and the Austrian department did not provide new boots. The soldiers are practically shoeless, backward and sick 217 people - how can military operations begin in such conditions? Such a decision would be disastrous for the army, so Kutuzov is trying to avoid it.
Effective preparation for the Unified State Exam (all subjects) -
Looking out near Braunau, Tolstoy begins his depiction of the war of 1805. Russia did not need this war, the young Emperor Alexander the First and the Austrian Emperor Franz simply demonstrated their ambitions, because of which the blood of Russian soldiers was shed. The review scene clearly shows the main problems of the war of 1805, which will later be depicted in more detail by I Tolstoy
Even before the review, turmoil reigns in the Russian camp: no one knows in what form the commander-in-chief wants to see the soldiers. According to the principle: “It is better to bow than to fail,” the soldiers are ordered to put on their dress uniform. Then an order comes that Kutuzov wants to see marching uniforms on the soldiers. As a result, the soldiers, instead of resting, spend the entire night working on their uniforms. Finally Kutuzov arrives. Everyone is excited: both soldiers and commanders: “The regimental commander, blushing, ran up to the horse, with trembling hands took hold of the stirrup, threw the body over, straightened himself out, took out his sword and with a happy, determined face...prepared to shout.” The regimental commander “performed his duties as a subordinate with even greater pleasure than the duties of a superior.” Thanks to his efforts, everything was fine in the regiment, except for shoes, which were supplied by the Austrian government. It is precisely this deplorable state of the shoes of Russian soldiers that Kutuzov wants to show to the Austrian general, who also accepts the review on an equal basis with Kutuzov.
Kutuzov is the main character of this episode. Already in this short scene, the author shows Kutuzov’s attitude towards soldiers and military officers: “Kutuzov walked through the ranks, occasionally stopping and speaking a few kind words to the officers whom he knew from the Turkish war, and sometimes to the soldiers. Looking at the shoes, he sadly shook his head several times and pointed them out to the Austrian general.” Walking past the formation, the commander-in-chief notices Captain Timokhin, whom he remembers from the Turkish campaign, and praises him for his bravery: “...At the moment the commander-in-chief addressed him, the captain stood up straight so that it seemed that even if the commander-in-chief had looked at him for a little more time, the captain would not would have stood it; and therefore Kutuzov, apparently understanding his position and wishing, on the contrary, all the best for the captain, hastily turned away.” The soldiers, feeling Kutuzov’s attitude towards them, also pay him with love and respect. They are happy to fight with a commander in chief who understands all their needs and aspirations.
But not everyone shares this feeling. Tolstoy contrasts the attitude of ordinary soldiers and retinue officers towards Kutuzov: retinue officers talk to each other during the review, one of the hussar officers, Zhsrkov, imitates the regimental commander, who did not deserve this at all. The demoted Dolokhov approaches Kutuzov to remind himself, saying that he will make amends and prove his loyalty to the emperor and Russia. Kutuzov “turned away and winced, as if he wanted to express by this that everything that Dolokhov told him, and everything that he could tell him, he had known for a long, long time, that all this bored him and that all this was not at all what he needed " Kutuzov can perfectly distinguish between the silent devotion of Timokhin, whom the author would later make one of the heroes of the Battle of Shengraben, and Dolokhov’s desire at any cost to regain the officer rank that he lost for his drunken antics and outrages. The true value of the relationship between the retinue officers can be seen in the conversation between Zherkov and Dolokhov. Zherkov once belonged to a rowdy society led by Dolokhov, but, having met him abroad when he was demoted, he pretended not to notice, and after Dolokhov talked with Kutuzov, “entered into favor,” Zherkov himself drives up to him and starts a conversation. They cannot have any sincere feelings; only one and the other have a sincere desire to rise at any cost.
For the first time in the scene of the review near Braunau, Tolstoy shows us the soldier’s world, the unity of all the soldiers who received a charge of vigor from Kutuzov, faith in victory. The songwriter wonderfully portrays a spoon holder who, “despite the weight of his ammunition, quickly jumped forward and walked backwards in front of the company, moving his shoulders and threatening someone with spoons.” This joy of the soldiers is conveyed to the passing Kutuzov, they are connected by a single feeling: “The commander-in-chief gave a sign for the people to continue to walk freely, and on his face and on all the faces of his retinue pleasure was expressed at the sounds of the song, at the sight of the dancing soldier and the cheerfully and briskly walking soldiers of the company " But Tolstoy does not forget to remind us that these wonderful people are going to fight, to give their lives, that now, at the moment, they are cheerful and happy, but they may soon be maimed and killed.
Tolstoy's main idea in describing the war of 1805 is the unnecessaryness of violence and death; the author shows the unity of people who should have a different goal than the destruction of their own kind, and the scene of the review near Braunau confirms this idea.