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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 25 page essay that records the writer's impressions as this epic novel is read for the first time. The writer while giving a synopsis of the action discusses how the characters and plot are developed by Tolstoy as the novel progresses. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
25 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Warpeace.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Russian names and a convoluted plot. I quickly found the preface to be somewhat reassuring. This particular edition was translated by Princess Alexandra Kropotkin (1949) and she eliminated Tolstoys
use of multiple Russian diminutives for the same character precisely because it is so confusing to the foreign reader. With a deep breath, I plunged into the text. My first
reaction was confusion-there are quite a lot of characters. Additionally, to be painfully honest, my other most prominent reaction was intense boredom-none of these people struck me as particularly interesting.
I found myself nodding off occasionally as I struggled though the opening chapters. Keeping notes on the variety of characters proved to be helpful and to keep my interest involved.
Tolstoy introduces his cast at a soiree given by Anna Pavlovna Scherer, the maid of honor and friend of the Empress Maria Feodorovna. The time is July, 1805 in St.
Petersburg, part of Tsartist Russia. A brief paragraph at the beginning of this section establishes the historical context and, obviously, the career of Napoleon Bonaparte will provide the backdrop for
the novels action. Indeed, he is the topic of the first conversation in the novel which occurs between the hostess, Anna Pavlovna, and Prince Vasili Kuragin. Also through their
conversation, the reader is first introduced to Prince Vasilis sons, Ippolit and Anatol. The Prince states that both of his sons have turned out to be "imbeciles. Ippolit is at
least only an inoffensive idiot, but Anatol is a "nuisance" (p. 3). Also at the soiree are Pierre, a young man who is recently back in the country from studies
abroad and seems to be inexperienced in society, and Prince Andrei, who is there with his pregnant wife of one year-Lisa. Andrei and Pierre seem to be old friends and
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