Research On The Construction Of Soldiers’ Image In "War And Peace"

Leo Tolstoy stands for the highest peak of Russian realistic literature in the 19 th century.Having taken part in several wars,he is also a soldier familiar with military culture and laws of war.Leo Tolstoy’s literary creation shows his rich insights in war,army and soldiers,which is related to his long-term service in the army.His early work The Story of Sevastopol covers a lot about Russian military culture,military camp life and the image of Russian soldiers.All of the above laid a solid foundation for his creation of War and Peace.Literature is the mirror of people’s recognition of the world.As an epic masterpiece famous around the world,Tolstoy’s War and Peace is a faithful reflection of the vicissitudes of Russia and Europe in the early 19 th century.By reading the masterpiece,we could understand why Russian people,who have gone through twists and turns,have such deep feelings and strong resilience.The work reflects all aspects of Russian social life and has profound aesthetic and philosophical value by interweaving the two themes of war and peace.Numerous characters are involved in the work,each with distinct characters and rich emotions.Judging from the proportion of characters,soldiers are the mainstay in War and Peace.Tolstoy depicts three types of soldiers,including “aged but ambitious warriors”,“soldiers as the backbone” and “the heroic generation”.Each group has distinct features.The description of the whole group shows Leo Tolstoy’s profound understanding of soldiers,military culture and the concept of war and peace.Under the brilliant depiction of Tolstoy,each character,leading or supporting,is vividly displayed on paper.Based on textual analysis,the thesis categorizes soldiers in War and Peace into three groups: “senior officers”,“soldiers as the backbone” and “soldiers growing into heroes through wars” and analyzes some of its typical characters.The thesis also summarizes the writing method Tolstoy employed in character shaping,which is setting contrasts between the destiny and fate of positive and negative figures from the general,third party and history perspectives,so as to explore Leo Tolstoy’s deep insights in war and peace behind characters.By means of collation and induction,comparative analysis,text comparison and interdisciplinary analysis,from the perspective of character origins,the thesis analyzes in full typical characters’ growth,mental journey and fate and explores Leo Tolstoy’s holistic and systematic contrast method in character shaping and his unique view on war and peace and deep historical philosophy thoughts.