Three essays on War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy
1. HOW, IN YOUR OPINION, IT AFFECTS THE BOOK. DO
YOU THINK HE EVER OVERSTEPS THE BOUNDARIES OF
WHAT’S APPROPRIATE FOR A NARRATOR IN A
“REALISTIC” NOVEL?
2. FAMILIES. WHAT MAKES THEM
HAPPY AND UNHAPPY IN THE NOVEL? In Anna
Karenina Tolstoy would state: “All happy families are
alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Does this sentiment apply as well, in your opinion, to
the families in War and Peace ? Why does Natasha end
up with Pierre?
3. PEASANTS. TOLSTOY’S
PORTRAYAL OF PEASANTS. PLATON KARATAEV.
TIKHON. SERFS. What strikes you most about his
fictional peasants?
