In War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy clearly values ​​characteristics such as spontaneity, honesty, vitality and liveliness. He makes this evident to the reader through narratives that indicate that he values ​​forms of naturalness over forms of artificiality. In the novel, Tolstoy's exoteric message is that devotion to divine love, or love for all that exists, is the best way to live. However, in comparing two important figures, Platon Karataev and Natasha Rostova, his esoteric message seems to be that most people cannot be fully devoted to divine love, such as those who understand, or come to understand, love divine almost always do it at their own pace. peril or to their end. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Plato, a middle-aged Russian soldier taken prisoner in a French-controlled Moscow, is eventually shot dead by two French soldiers, because that he is sick and weak and cannot keep up with the rest of the prisoners. Tolstoy considers Plato an ideal for his honesty, his balance of masculinity and femininity, and his traditional Russian peasant manner which evokes vitality and earthiness. Natasha, a young Russian woman, is also very natural, and this is evident from her introduction in the novel; burst into a room, knock over certain objects and surprise certain people (Tolstoy 68). Tolstoy wants the reader to admire his lack of inhibition and his disregard for social customs and norms. However, unlike Plato, Natasha finds her authenticity questioned when she falls in love with Anatol, a handsome character who projects falsity and superficiality. After learning that her fiancé, Prince Andrei, has been wounded in battle, Natasha repents of having considered running away with Anatol. After Prince Andrei dies from his war wounds, she marries and grows old with another character, Pierre who is neither as superficial as Anatol nor as ultimately enlightened as Prince Andrei. Initially, it seems that Tolstoy is casting a harsh judgment on Natasha for succumbing to the temptations of earthly romantic relationships, but when we compare a character like Natasha to a character like Plato, as well as others like them, he becomes clear that even though Tolstoy believes Plato's more ideal character, he understands that most people cannot achieve this ideal and eventually forgives. A comparison of these two characters highlights Tolstoy's otherwise esoteric message that total devotion to divine love is optimal but not expected, given the price those who achieve it sometimes end up paying. Tolstoy values ​​characteristics and themes of the natural, such as spontaneity, vitality, and rejection of social customs. He considers the opposing traits of artificiality and rigid conformity to be the characteristics of a superficial person. War and Peace opens with a scene taking place at a party hosted by Anna Pavlovna. The gathering is clearly dominated by the customs and social norms of the upper classes who are too absorbed in the royal system, which Tolstoy obviously does not like. Each guest performed the ceremony of greeting this unknown, uninteresting and useless aunt. Anna Pavlovna followed these greetings with solemn and melancholy attention, silently approving them. My aunt repeated to everyone exactly the same sentences concerning her health, her own and that of Her Majesty who, thank God, was better today. (Tolstoy 34) Tolstoy's disdain for the social ritual ofupper class consisting of meeting Anna Pavlovna's aunt is evident in his narrative description of the aunt as "unknown, uninteresting and useless". He also points out how repetitive and generic the ritual is and that it also doesn't make sense to the aunt. What Tolstoy finds interesting and meaningful is the authenticity and liveliness of a character. Describing Natasha, it becomes clear that she exhibits this trait of liveliness:The visitor's daughter was already smoothing her dress and looking questioningly at her mother when suddenly, from the next room, the footsteps of boys and girls running towards the door, the crash of an overturned chair, then a thirteen-year-old girl hiding something. in the folds of her short muslin skirt, rushed forward and stopped short in the middle of the room... The little girl, not pretty but half full of life, with her black eyes and her wide mouth, her childish shoulders 'where the bodice had slipped in its rapid flight, the black curls thrown back, the thin and bare arms... (Tolstoy 68, 69). Tolstoy's meticulous description of Natasha's appearance, which describes her as unconventionally pretty, but nonetheless clearly attractive, as well as her sudden and spontaneous burst into the room, which he describes as "full of life", seem to indicate that Natasha demonstrates qualities. appreciated by Tolstoy, from the first introduction. Characters who demonstrate complete devotion or full understanding of Tolstoy's ideological notion of divine love eventually die. Plato and Prince Andrei are an example of this theme. Plato, whom Tolstoy admirably describes as kind or spontaneous, tries to reassure a frightened Peter who has been thrown into a prison cell: “You've seen a lot of trouble, sir, eh? the little man said suddenly. And there was such simplicity and kindness in that singing voice that Pierre tried to respond, but his jaw was trembling and he felt tears welling up in his eyes. “Hey, don’t worry, my dear man,” he said in that soft, caressing, singing voice with which old Russian peasant women speak. (Tolstoy 1157) In addition to his comforting voice, Tolstoy emphasizes Plato's affinity for animals, as well as his portrayal of traditional, down-to-earth Russian culture and spirit, which Tolstoy associates with the natural in the novel. Yet, despite these admirable traits, Plato still died at the hands of French soldiers in Moscow (Tolstoy 1271). Initially, it seems tenuous to say that Plato's death was somehow caused by his characteristic spiritual understanding of his connection to the world, but the nature of Prince Andrei's death begins to demonstrate the message from Tolstoy. As a character, Prince Andrei ignored previous opportunities to reflect on himself; and only really has a revelation when he sits on his deathbed: “Love? What is love?' he thought. “Love prevents death. Love is life. Everything, everything I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything only exists because I love. Everything is linked by love alone. Love is God, and to die means that I, a particle of love, will return to the universal and eternal source.” (Tolstoy 1175)At first, this dialogue seems out of place. The words sound like the delirious ramblings of a Prince Andrei near death. However, Prince Andrei speaks of divine love, that is, a love for everything and everything, rather than a love for the material and the particular. He uses the word “love” several times, but this love encompasses the idea that there is a universal and eternal source. Tolstoy seems to indicate that as Prince Andrei is about to die, or is close to death, he finally understands something of.