War and Peace

A detailed Summary of War and Peace

The famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy wrote "War and Peace" in 1865. It is a story about the lives of the Russian royal family from 1805 to 1815. This book depicts things and events that happened during the war. The novel describes the war with Napoleon in which many countries were involved such as Russia, Austrian, Prussia, Spain, Sweden, and Britain. However, the novel mainly focuses on Russia. It reflects the different views and participation in the war of Russian aristocracy.

Showing the war, Tolstoy describes Napoleon's attack on Russia, the battle of Borodino, the slow retrieval of the Russian army, the conquest of Moscow by Napoleon, the fire in Moscow, and the retrieval of Napoleon's army during a deadly winter. Napoleon had to retreat from Russia under attacks by Russian peasants and horsemen on those who fell behind. His army also suffers from cold and hunger, since the Russians destroyed all food supplies. The takeover of Moscow by Napoleon proved to be useless, and in the long run, destroyed a large part of his army.

Alongside with these historical events, Tolstoy describes the different classes of Russian society in the terms of their participation in the war and what kind of an impact war had on t

The historical events of the novel were real, and the characters reflected the people of that time. Tolstoy brought forward the main social ideals of his time: the 3 major classes of society, and their references to the war with Napoleon, women emancipation, and view of society to historical figures such as Napoleon and Kutuzov. Tolstoy doesn't hide his negative feelings to the social class that belonged in the czar's circle, and likes the lower classes. He is fascinated by the courage and deep patriotism of the Russian peasants. He also hates war, because it destroys and changes lives.

Despite Tolstoy being a member of this class, his view is totally the opposite; he hated Napoleon and admired Kutuzov. He reflects the simple life of Kutuzov's soldiers, who trusted their lives to him. The Russian people believed in Kutuzov, and because of his strategic tactics such as giving up Moscow in order to save the Russian army, helped Russia become victorious in the war and leave Napoleon empty handed.

One important event occurs when Prince Andrei is wounded during the battle of Austerlitz, and he is given a chance to recollect on his wartime experiences. Another important event occurs when Pierre is taken prisoner by the French, (this is where he has the chance to look into his feelings and come to a peace with himself.) The climax of Pierre's story occurs when the French holds him before a firing squad. This is his climax because he is convinced that he is going to die, and after he is spared he becomes more caring and it is obvious that he will continue on this course until the end.

The climax of Natasha's life occurs when Andrei dies. It makes her reconsider the way she has lived her life, maturing her further from her seventeen year-old state of mind. The climax for Andrei occurs when he is mortally wounded while attempting to protect Moscow

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Approximate Word count = 1252
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English