The Power of Interior Monologues in War and Peace Essay -- War and Pea

War and Peace probed into the human essence and its search for the truths of life. Tolstoy focused on both men to represent and carry the burden of finding those ethe legitimate values. Throughout the novel, he utilized numerous images, symbols, dialogue, and foreshadowing to advance the progress of his characters. Yet, his most impelling use of technical device can be found in describing the psychological thoughts and interior monologues of the characters. Most notably, the thoughts of Pierre and Andrei served to portray their spiritual changes better than by what they did, and also helped to foretell and build suspense to upcoming actions. By doing so, Tolstoy furthered the plot and created a realistic world from which to study characters who acted, talked, and most importantly, thought as real human beings do in the same situations. The magnanimity of Tolstoys use of internal actions rather than external actions has far reaching effects to this day. Pierre and Andrei underwe nt a drastic change, and because of this critics compare them to Tolstoy himself. Tolstoy grew up in an aristocratic household, but because he wanted to live life as it should be lived, he also searched for the answers to the problem of life. same(p) Pierre and Andrei, he faced many difficulties in his journey, but eventually found salvation in the basic values of simplicity, understanding of life and death, and hunch forward of all creatures. Thus, Tolstoy, Pierre, and Andrei transformed themselves through pain and suffering to attain a higher level of spirituality, notably mimicking the legendary change of St. Paul the Apostle. In increase to his connections with the Christian St. Paul, Tolstoy also laid down the foundations for Buddhist Zen in the wester... ...rn, The Rise of the Russian Novel, Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1973. John Fennel, Nineteenth Century Russian Literature, London, Faber and Faber, 1973. Ed. Malcolm Jones, New Essays on Tolstoy, Bristol Cambrid ge University Press, 1978. Ed. Harold Bloom, Modern Critical Interpretations - War and Peace, New York, Chelsea House Publishers, 1988 Daniel Rancour - Laferriere, Tolstoys Pierre Bezukhov - A Psychoanalytical Study, Melksham Bristol Classical Press, 1993. Helen Edna Davis, Tolstoy and Nietzsche, New York Haskell House Publishers Ltd., 1929. I Cannot be dumb - Writings on Politics, Art and Religion by Leo Tolstoy, Chippenham The Bristol Press, 1989. E. H. Carr, What is History?, St Ives Penguin Books, 1987. Pauline Marie Rosenau, Post-Modernism and the Social Sciences, Princeton Princeton University Press, 1992.