Leo Tolstoy

Introduction to Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was born in a noble manor. What impressed him most in childhood was the story of the little green stick that could bring happiness to everyone. While studying at Kazan University, Tolstoy developed a keen interest in Rousseau's teachings. After leaving university, Tolstoy became a young landowner and tried to improve the lives of farmers, but was not understood by the farmers. In the 1950s, Tolstoy began his literary creation while serving in the army in the Caucasus. His debut novel "Childhood" and "Youth" and "Youth" written by later writers constitute an autobiographical trilogy. While in the Caucasus, Tolstoy also published some novels reflecting battlefield life, such as "The Raid" and "Notes of a Billiard Room Scorekeeper". The charming natural scenery and simple mountain people of the Caucasus left a deep impression on him. He had a new understanding of life, and his thoughts on civilian life also sprouted. This is clearly reflected in his later completed work "The Cossacks". After the Crimean War broke out, Tolstoy stayed on the front line for a year. For this purpose, he wrote three features collectively titled "Sevastopol Stories" (1855-1856), which used harsh truth to criticize the aristocratic officers who feared the enemy and praised the patriotism of ordinary soldiers. After Tolstoy retired and returned to his hometown, he ran a school for peasant children. Later, due to the intervention of the tsarist government, the school died. In the 1960s and 1970s, Tolstoy completed the novels "War and Peace" and "Anna Calle". Nina", these two works earned him a reputation as a world-class writer. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tolstoy experienced a radical change in his worldview. He denied the life of the aristocratic class and sided with the patriarchal peasants. At this time, he not only made great changes in his lifestyle, but also strived to make his works acceptable to ordinary farmers. He wrote many folk tales and "people's dramas", as well as some excellent novels. "Resurrection" is Tolstoy's most important work in his later years. It not only summarizes the mental state of some progressive aristocratic intellectuals at that time, but also reflects the ideological contradictions of the writer himself. At the same time, "Resurrection" also shows Tolstoy's determination to "tear off all masks" and his critical passion to completely expose the old world. The novel ruthlessly attacks Tsarist Russia's laws, courts, prisons, as well as the entire state apparatus and official church. For this reason, Tolstoy was persecuted by the authorities and the church, and was excommunicated. However, Tolstoy gained increasing popularity among the people. In his later years, Tolstoy strived to live a civilian life and maintained strong creative energy, completing excellent works such as the novella "After the Ball". In 1910, he died while traveling. Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was an outstanding representative of the great critical realism of the 19th century and the greatest Russian writer. With his powerful brushwork and excellent artistic skills, he worked hard to create "first-class works in world literature", so he was praised by Lenin as a "genius artist" with "the most sober realism". Tolstoy's thoughts are full of contradictions. This contradiction is a reflection of the complex contradictions in Russian society. It is the reflection of sobriety and weakness, struggle and hesitation, cry and depression in the pursuit of a new life by an aristocratic intellectual with a sense of justice. Vivid portrayal. Even though Tolstoy's works contain reactionary and utopian elements, they are still the pride of the world's progressive mankind. He has been recognized as a literary figure all over the world.