L. Tolstoy, "After the ball
The story "After the Ball" is one of the masterpieces of L.N. Tolstoy. The author was able to convey an interesting story where the life of the protagonist turns over in one morning. And the story itself begins with the fact that people of different status and rank gather at the ball.
The main character, on whose behalf the story goes, falls in love with the beautiful girl Varya. There he meets her father, the general. The whole evening went amazingly well. The hero is happy because he is dancing with a beautiful creature. Then he admires how Varya dances with her father. And there is so much love in their eyes.
But the first part of the story is just a preparation. The real events begin after the ball. They decided to punish one tararin.
All the soldiers beat him. The protagonist saw this scene. He was horrified that a general was actively involved there. Just now he was a sweet and caring father, and a few hours later he became a despot who beats a person on the first day of fasting.
Of course, the hero cannot and does not want to judge the general. After all, he is not in his place. But this picture changed his life. He made the decision never to serve so that he would not have to go against his conscience.
Tolstoy called his story "After the Ball", as he wanted to draw the reader's attention to the second part of the work. It was after the ball that the hero saw the whole reality of what was happening and was able to draw conclusions.
Updated: 2017-05-15
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>Compositions based on the work After the ball
Why is the story called "After the Ball"?
As you know, the story of Leo Tolstoy "After the Ball" was based on real events. In it, the writer told about a story that happened to his older brother in his student years. Living in Kazan, Sergei Nikolayevich was in love with the daughter of a local military leader and diligently looked after her, even going to get married, if not for one circumstance. So the main character of the story, Ivan Vasilyevich, was in love with the daughter of Colonel B., Varenka, and carefully looked after her.
Once he was invited to the provincial ball, where all the time he danced only with her. The girl's father was also present, who looked very solid and stately for his age. The student returned home in the morning, tired but happy. Unable to sleep, he decided to take a walk around the city. There he saw a terrible sight. A fugitive soldier was led outside his beloved's house and severely beaten. The same colonel commanded all this action. After that, his feelings for the girl disappeared, and he abandoned his intention to marry.
Initially, the story was called "Daughter and Father", then "And you say." But in the end, the writer gave the story a new name - "After the Ball." It was the best fit for this story, since it was the events that occurred after the ball that predetermined the fate of the young boy. It is noteworthy that the story begins with reflections on what a person needs for personal improvement. Many believe that for this you need to change the environment, and the narrator is sure that everything is decided by chance.
After that ill-fated morning, he not only abandoned the feeling of love, but also from military duty. He thought for a long time whether what he saw at the house of his beloved Varenka was right? Could people be so ambivalent? At the ball, the colonel behaved like a well-bred man and a loving father, and in the service he showed himself to be a cruel and heartless person.
In my opinion, the story "After the Ball" touches not only on moral and universal issues, but also on the army problems that existed at that time. L. N. Tolstoy wrote his story in 1903, shortly before his death. Narrating the events of the 40s of the 19th century, he seemed to draw a parallel between the two eras.
Leo Tolstoy is the greatest figure in Russian and world classical literature. His work is multifaceted, but there is one common feature that unites almost all of his works. This is a measure of the moral responsibility of a person for all the actions that he performs in his life.
History of creation
The work “After the Ball” was written by Tolstoy not by chance. Once his brother fell in love with the daughter of a Kazan commander and even wanted to marry her. But one day he witnessed how the punishment of a soldier took place, and, to the horror of Sergei Nikolayevich, it was the father of his beloved who led him. The shock was so strong that there was no question of any wedding.
I remember this story and Lev Nikolaevich. And a few decades later, being already a recognized writer, he created on its basis about the orders prevailing in the Russian army. At the same time, the author changed the title three times: “Daughter and father”, “And you say” and, finally, chose the option under which it entered the literature.
Let's try to figure out why the story is called "After the Ball."
Composition and artistic techniques
The work is built on the principle of "story within a story", which gives the story more credibility. Ivan Vasilyevich, the hero-narrator, is trying to explain to his interlocutors that if not everything, then much in life depends on chance. And he recalls how one single night changed his fate: he broke up with whom he was in love, and forever abandoned the idea of \u200b\u200bbecoming a military man. This is the key to understanding why the story is called "After the Ball."
Compositionally, Ivan Vasilyevich's monologue is divided into two contrasting parts: a description of the ball and what happened in the early morning after it ended. They are united by common heroes: the young Ivan Vasilyevich and the already elderly Colonel B., Varenka's father.
Tolstoy describes in detail everything that happens at the ball in the governor's house. The hero is in love, so everything around him seems wonderful: the guests, and the sounding music, and the beloved Varenka, and her gray-haired, but still vigorous and full of strength father, the colonel. What is happening makes him dizzy and fills his soul with immense happiness.
The culmination of the ball is a dance that the colonel performs in tandem with his daughter. Ivan Vasilievich is touched most of all by the old man's boots: old-fashioned, calcined, with square toes. No one has worn these for a long time, from which the hero concludes that he lives only for the sake of his daughter. But Tolstoy probably wanted to emphasize one more detail: the colonel's adherence to the old rules and foundations. To a certain extent, this will explain how one and the same person could be (not play a role, namely be!) a loving father, and after a few hours lead the brutal beating of a guilty soldier.
But back to the plot. Ivan Vasilyevich, overwhelmed with a sense of delight, could not sit at home after returning from the ball. He went outside, where he witnessed a terrible picture. It is she who will explain why the story is called "After the Ball."
First, the hero heard strange sounds, then he saw something black ahead. It turned out that in the early morning there was a punishment of a runaway soldier. He was led along the line, and with each step, sticks fell on his mutilated back from two sides. And led this process, to the great horror of the young man, the father of his beloved. At some point, the colonel's gaze rested on Ivan Vasilyevich, but he immediately hurried to turn away, as if ashamed of something.
Why is the story called "After the Ball"
And Ivan Vasilyevich could no longer see Varenka. Now between them stood an insurmountable barrier - the colonel and the Tatar punished by him. The narrator tried to understand his act, but the main idea that he came to as a result determined his future life. “Let me not be able to change the world and destroy the evil that exists in it, but only I can decide for myself whether or not I participate in this evil,” - this is how one can determine the outcome of his thoughts. So the story after the ball identified several important problems for Russian society. What is the destructive power of the existing regime in Russia? What makes one person go to destroy another? What is the share of moral responsibility of people for their actions?
Meaning of the story
Written in 1903, shortly before, the work showed the shortcomings of the country, in which bureaucracy and a strict reactionary regime that prevail not only in the army, but also in other areas of life, prevail over moral laws. And then humanity and a sense of responsibility for one's own actions fade into the background. However, a person has the right to decide for himself what his fate should be, and the main theme “After the Ball” proves this.
The story of L.N. Tolstoy's "After the Ball" raises important universal problems: what is honor, duty, conscience, how one should behave in order to be called a real person, what is more important - the judgment of people or the judgment of God.
This work draws two episodes from the life of one person - Colonel B. First, we see him at the ball on the occasion of the end of Shrove Tuesday. Here he appears before us and before the narrator in the most favorable light - as a loving father and a good military man: “Varenka's father was a very handsome, stately, tall and fresh old man. His face was very ruddy, ... and the same kind, joyful smile, like that of his daughter, was in his brilliant eyes and lips. And further: “He was beautifully built, with a wide, not richly decorated with orders, protruding military-style chest, with strong shoulders and long slender legs. He was a military commander of the type of an old campaigner of the Nikolaev bearing.
The highlight of that evening was undoubtedly the colonel's dance with his daughter Varenka, with whom the narrator was deeply in love. All the guests looked with tenderness and admiration at the loving father and daughter, at the tenderness and care with which they treat each other.
The narrator was especially touched by the colonel's boots, "covered with stilettos - good calcined boots, but not fashionable, with sharp, but antique, with square toes and without heels." Ivan Vasilievich thought that the colonel did not buy good ones for himself because he had to take his daughter out into the world. This was another confirmation of the love of this hero for Varenka. And when the colonel handed over his treasure - his daughter - into the hands of Ivan Vasilyevich, he simply "fell in love" with him.
Full of bright hopes and enthusiastic emotions, the narrator leaves the ball and, unable to sleep, goes to wander around the city. The first morning of Great Lent is coming, the time when a person must think about his soul, about his actions, about his life. And this morning, Colonel B. opens up to the hero from a completely different side - as a stupid executor of orders, as a man without a soul and heart.
Ivan Vasilyevich sees how the fugitive Tatar is being punished on the parade ground. This picture is simply terrible, it is impossible to read it without a shudder: “At each blow, the punished, as if surprised, turned his face wrinkled with suffering in the direction from which the blow fell, and, baring his white teeth, repeated some of the same words. ". Approaching, Ivan Vasilyevich heard them: “Brothers, have mercy. Brothers, have mercy." And all this shame was led by Colonel B.!
Undoubtedly, he could cancel the punishment due to the onset of Lent, or at least soften it. But Tolstoy not without reason notices that this hero was "a servant of the Nikolaev bearing." He was used to stupidly obeying orders without thinking about their meaning. We understand that the colonel does not think about his soul, about what he does.
But what he saw made the narrator think about many things. He made a decision never to serve, so as not to defile his soul and not to soil his hands by carrying out the inhuman orders of anyone. This hero decided to take his fate into his own hands and be responsible only for his actions. This, in his understanding, meant to remain an honest person, thinking about duty and conscience.
It is important that even Ivan Vasilievich's love for Varenka B., after what he saw on the parade ground, began to wane. Can a person brought up by such a father have other ideas about honor, conscience, duty? I don't think so. And, in my opinion, the narrator thought so in the depths of his soul.
Thus, this story is called “After the Ball” because it is in the second episode that the true character of General B., his essence and worldview are revealed. Tolstoy shows us how terrible it is when a person does not live by the dictates of his heart, but only follows the instructions of others. You need to listen to your heart, yourself - it will always tell you the right decision. And if it seems to you that you do not know the correct answer to the question “What is duty, conscience, honor?”, Then you need to turn to the Bible. After all, the precepts of this book are the universal principles of morality and morality, human wisdom, gathered together.
L.N. Tolstoy called for turning to just such a morality, and not to the morality of temporary rulers, interchangeable sovereigns. You need to account for your actions before your soul, that is, before God, says the great Russian writer. And I completely agree with him on this.
Leo Tolstoy is the greatest figure in Russian and world classical literature. His work is multifaceted, but there is one common feature that unites almost all of his works. This is a measure of the moral responsibility of a person for all the actions that he performs in his life.
History of creation
The work “After the Ball” was written by Tolstoy not by chance. Once his brother fell in love with the daughter of a Kazan commander and even wanted to marry her. But one day he witnessed how the punishment of a soldier took place, and, to the horror of Sergei Nikolayevich, it was the father of his beloved who led him. The shock was so strong that there was no question of any wedding.
I remember this story and Lev Nikolaevich. And a few decades later, being already a recognized writer, he created on its basis a work of art about the orders prevailing in the Russian army. At the same time, the author changed the title three times: “Daughter and father”, “And you say” and, finally, chose the option under which it entered the literature.
Let's try to figure out why the story is called "After the Ball."
Composition and artistic techniques
The work is built on the principle of "story within a story", which gives the story more credibility. Ivan Vasilyevich, the hero-narrator, is trying to explain to his interlocutors that if not everything, then much in life depends on chance. And he recalls how one single night changed his fate: he broke off relations with the girl he was in love with, and forever abandoned the idea of \u200b\u200bbecoming a military man. This is the key to understanding why the story is called "After the Ball."
Compositionally, Ivan Vasilyevich's monologue is divided into two contrasting parts: a description of the ball and what happened in the early morning after it ended. They are united by common heroes: the young Ivan Vasilyevich and the already elderly Colonel B., Varenka's father.
Tolstoy describes in detail everything that happens at the ball in the governor's house. The hero is in love, so everything around him seems wonderful: the guests, and the sounding music, and the beloved Varenka, and her gray-haired, but still vigorous and full of strength father, the colonel. What is happening makes him dizzy and fills his soul with immense happiness.
The culmination of the ball is a dance that the colonel performs in tandem with his daughter. Ivan Vasilievich is touched most of all by the old man's boots: old-fashioned, calcined, with square toes. No one has worn these for a long time, from which the hero concludes that he lives only for the sake of his daughter. But Tolstoy probably wanted to emphasize one more detail: the colonel's adherence to the old rules and foundations. To a certain extent, this will explain how one and the same person could be (not play a role, namely be!) a loving father, and after a few hours lead the brutal beating of a guilty soldier.
But back to the plot. Ivan Vasilyevich, overwhelmed with a sense of delight, could not sit at home after returning from the ball. He went outside, where he witnessed a terrible picture. It is she who will explain why the story is called "After the Ball."
First, the hero heard strange sounds, then he saw something black ahead. It turned out that in the early morning there was a punishment of a runaway soldier. He was led along the line, and with each step, sticks fell on his mutilated back from two sides. And led this process, to the great horror of the young man, the father of his beloved. At some point, the colonel's gaze rested on Ivan Vasilyevich, but he immediately hurried to turn away, as if ashamed of something.
Why is the story called "After the Ball"
And Ivan Vasilyevich could no longer see Varenka. Now between them stood an insurmountable barrier - the colonel and the Tatar punished by him. The narrator tried to understand his act, but the main idea that he came to as a result determined his future life. “Let me not be able to change the world and destroy the evil that exists in it, but only I can decide for myself whether or not I participate in this evil,” - this is how one can determine the outcome of his thoughts. So the story after the ball identified several important problems for Russian society. What is the destructive power of the existing regime in Russia? What makes one person go to destroy another? What is the share of moral responsibility of people for their actions?
Meaning of the story
Written in 1903, shortly before the war with Japan, the work showed the shortcomings of the state structure of the country, in which bureaucracy and a strict reactionary regime that prevail not only in the army, but also in other areas of life, prevail over moral laws. And then humanity and a sense of responsibility for one's own actions fade into the background. However, a person has the right to decide for himself what his fate should be, and the main theme “After the Ball” proves this.