Liev Nikolaievitch Tolstoi - A bibliography

Résumé du document

L. Tolstoï is one of the greatest Russian writers and probably considered as one the greatest novelists all over the world. During his lifetime, he was a living legend. Besides his hobbies including being an essayist and dramatist, he was an educational reformer. This made Tolstoï rise to the rank of a Russian Aristocrat. As Tolstoï grew to the rank of a Christian Pacifist, his theories were an inspiration to the reformers of the twentieth century namely Mahatma Gandhi. Thus, one can state that Tolstoï?s posterity is incontestable even in the present age and time. Many of his novels have been adapted for the big screen industry (filming) like War and Peace and Anna Karenine which depicts the Russian lifestyle in the nineteenth century. Tolstoï was not just a great writer, but like many other Russian revolutionists, he was an intellectual with strong political consciousness. In my report, I will first discuss the relationship between Tolstoï?s life and his work. Thereafter, a brief history of his family life. This factor is vital as all sociologists have confirmed that an individual's habitus lays the foundation for his/her future. In conclusion, my report will focus on Tolstoï?s political involvement in his country.

Extraits

[...] He couldn't stand the disdain of rich people towards destitute people. Tolstoï helped the poorest ; for instance he established a school in Iasnaïa Poliana in 1859 for peasants children, as he firmly believed that education is the end of people slavery. He also rose up against death penalty. In Paris, he attended an execution for the first time. He was very shocked and began to consider that execution is a murder committed by Justice, and he criticized the absurdity of the the very rational ritual of the execution, with the participation of the Church. [...]

[...] People really felt like orphans. As a conclusion, I would add and insist on the fact that Tolstoï was really an amazing writer : his style is perfect, each sentence of his novels is beautiful, the rhythm is sophisticated and built in an artistic way. He is able to transmit to the readers feelings, atmosphere, by one word, one detail, better than a very long description. That's why his characters became so mythical. [...]

[...] Liev Nikolaïevitch Tolstoï L. Tolstoï is one of the greatest Russian writers and probably one of the greatest writers all over the world. He was very famous during his lifetime, and nowadays his posterity is incontestable. Many of his novels have been adapted for the screen, like War and Peace or Anna Karenine. Tolstoï was not only a great writer, but like many other Russian writers, he was also an intellectual who had strong political consciousness. First I'll talk about the relation between his life and his work, then about his family life, which is very important, and to finish about his commitment in the political life of his country. [...]

[...] III A committed writer As I said at the beginning, Tolstoï was well-known during his lifetime in Russia and in the whole world. He was not only a wonderful writer, but a kind of prophet, a visionary. In 1901, he wrote a letter to Nicolas II, where he tells him that autocracy is a dead regime, and that the tsar has to make some reforms, because he foresees revolution. Even if he was a count, Tolstoï always felt himself very close to the common people, peasants, workers, and admired above all, their simplicity, because “They live in a natural way”. [...]

[...] Tolstoï's life was long (he died at 82) ; he travelled abroad a lot, to France, Switzerland, Germany which opened his mind, and he was a very prolific writer. He wrote everyday for at less 5 hours. II Family life His marriage, at the age of 34, corresponds to a turning point in his life, which became more quiet. He was faithful to his wife, who came from an aristocratic family too, and who gave him 13 children, but 5 of them died young. Tolstoï and his wife Sofia loved each other, but didn't understand each other. [...]