The War Fictions Of Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a long-lived and prolific Russian writer. Ever since his first production of war-themed short novel " " during his military service in Caucasus, this talented writer had been destined to writing many more war fictions.Compared with other contemporary literary works on war, Tolstoy's war fictions broke with the conventional romantic and heroic mode of writing about war, and were trying to depict war as it is. In his writings there is not only a deep patriotic passion, but also insightful humanistic spirit, which is a strong note against wars.From the perspectives of historic settings, family background and development of his ideas, this thesis makes an in-depth analysis about the causes of Tolstoy's views on war. Through a comprehensive analysis of his war fictions such as "A Raid", "The Wood-Felling", " Sevastopol Sketches", "War and Peace", "Hadji Murad", this thesis also discusses the complexity of and contradictory relationship between war experiences and understandings about war. It also touches upon the literary characteristics of Tolstoy's war fictions and their impact on succeeding writings, and further suggests the necessity of studying Tolstoy's war fictions.