War & Peace Podnotes, A Study Guide

Tolstoy hardly ends the novel with the revelation imparted to Andrei. Instead, it continues for another 1000 pages, in substantial part, exploring the triviality so paramount to those without such vision. The story moves back to earth to focus on the historic disgrace for Alexandr and Francis. It is entirely the opposite for Napoleon, who came out on top of The Battle of Three Emperors.  Yet the bravado with which men enter a fight for those like Bonaparte, has lost some of the luster.So many of us can be brought to both planes by the right presentation – either recognizing the responsibility of answering a call to arms; or appreciating the Sublime. Tolstoy is presenting this contrast as one of the great humanists, who wrote his masterpiece 60 years after Austerlitz.The segue of Nicholas taking on his futile mission with such fervor after Andrei takes in the infinite sky, highlights how vulnerable we are to mindsets of emperor worship and patriotic devotion – more so at younger ages without the experience of