Leo tolstoy russian literature

It talks about biography and facts about Leo Tolstoy, a Russian Writer.

1. Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) By: Sohail Ahmed Kalhoro

2. Biography Birth: September 9, 1828 Place: Tula Province, Russia Education: University of Kazan Literary: Realism Death: November 20, 1910

3. Life Leo Tolstoy was a Russian novelist, moral philosopher, and religious reformer. He is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He studied law and oriental languages at Kazan University. His teachers described him “Both unable and unwilling to learn.” He left university in the middle of his studies . After running up gambling debts, and dull meaningless life he and his brother had to join army. He was promoted to lieutenant for his outstanding bravery and courage. It was about this time that he started writing.

4. He wrote his battlefield observations in Sevastopol Sketches and this raised his profile as a leading Russian writer. In 1862, he married Sofia and the couple had 13 children. He condemned capitalism, private property, and the division of labor. Tolstoy was very much interested in childhood education and self-improvement. He had a habit of keeping a diary or journal of this thoughts, plans, and actions. He followed a rigorous course of self-study throughout his life.

5. Major Works: War and Peace Anna Karenina HadThe Death of Ivan Ilyich Hadji Murad The Kingdom of God is Within you Resurrection

6. War and Peace: War and Peace (1869) is one of his most famous and best known novels tha has 580 characters; some are real and historical while others are invented. About love, in this novel, he says, “Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly. It is the one thing we are interested in here.” War and Peace A portion of the novel was first published in the  Russian Messenger  in 1865, under the title "The Year 1805." By 1868, he had released three more chapters. A year later, the novel was complete. Both critics and the public were buzzing about the novel's historical accounts of the Napoleonic Wars, combined with its thoughtful development of realistic yet fictional characters. The  Crimean War  took place from October 1853 to February  1856 . It was a conflict which involved Russia against an alliance of Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire, Sardinia and the Austrian Empire.

7. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TRILOGY Childhood, boyhood and youth Tolstoy's earliest work was the autobiographical trilogy: Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852–1856). In these novels the most of the Tolstoy’s life is revealed. ‘Childhood’ (1852): Tolstoy put all his childhood memories in his ‘Childhood’. In 1852, Tolstoy submitted the sketch to  The Contemporary , the most popular journal of the time. The story was eagerly accepted and became Tolstoy's very first published work. Boyhood (1854): Tolstoy still managed to continue writing while at battle during the Crimean War . During that time, he composed  Boyhood  (1854), a sequel to  Childhood , the second book in what was to become Tolstoy's autobiographical trilogy. Youth (1857): Once the Crimean War ended and Tolstoy left the Army, he returned to Russia. Declaring himself an anarchist, he made off to Paris in 1857.He publish  Youth , the third part of his autobiographical trilogy, in 1857.

8. Philosophy, Religious Conversion Tolstoy was adhered to two philosophies: non-violence ( Ahinsa ) and pacifism. Pacifism is the belief that disputes should be settled by peaceful means and that war and violence are unjustifiable. His philosophy of Non-violence had profound influence on others – most notably Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Tolstoy suffered a spiritual crisis and grew depressed even after completing his Anna Karenina. He struggled to uncover the meaning of life. Tolstoy first went to the Russian Orthodox Church, but did not find the answers he sought there. He came to believe that Christian churches were corrupt. Hence, he developed his own beliefs. He decided to express those beliefs by founding a new publication called  The Mediator  in 1883. He espoused unconventional and controversial beliefs in his ‘The Mediator’. Tolstoy was ousted by the Russian Orthodox Church. He was even watched by the secret police.

9. His religious beliefs can be seen in his short story " Where Love Is, God Is " Over the last 30 years of his life, Tolstoy established himself as a moral and religious leader. His ideas about nonviolent resistance ( Ahnisa ) to evil influenced the likes of social leader Mahatma Gandhi. When Tolstoy's new beliefs prompted his desire to give away his money, his wife strongly objected. The disagreement put a strain on the couple's marriage., until Tolstoy begrudgingly agreed to a compromise: He conceded to granting his wife the copyrights — and presumably the royalties — to all of his writing predating 1881.

10. In what can one find the meaning of life? (a) Tolstoy believes that only  irrational knowledge  or faith makes it possible to live. He particularly cites the faith of the working people. (b) Faith, alone, can give life meaning. To live humanly is to believe in something beyond proof. (c) The faith that Tolstoy characterizes is faith in the relation of the finite to the infinite. He states that real faith is that which alone gives meaning and possibility to life. Reflection, arts, and sciences are mere pampering of appetites. The meaning given to this life is "truth.“

11. View of writer about Tolstoy: Dostoyevsky calls the greatest of all living novelists Gustave Flaubert "What an artist and what a psychologist!" Anton Chekhov "When literature possesses a Tolstoy, it is easy and pleasant to be a writer Matthew Arnold opined that "A novel by Tolstoy is not a work of art but a piece of life.“ Arthur Conan Doyle wrote "I am attracted by his earnestness and by his power of detail. Virginia Woolf declared him "the greatest of all novelists.”

12. Death: Tolstoy died of Pneumonia in 1910 at the age of 82. He died at a railway station on his way to spend his remaining years at a monastery.

13. Keep laughing, laughing is a tranquilizer with no side effects.