Tolstoy's Concept of Power and Leadership. War and Peace - Research Paper Example

War and Peace The ability to manage interpersonal behavior and motivate others is referred to as leadership. Effective communication plays a significant role in proper leadership skills. Leadership is tremendously significant in the fight against employee dissatisfaction. Other essential components of successful leadership include appropriate delegation of authority and power. Being a dynamic process, leadership entails a lot of leader-follower relationship changes. This is because this relationship is reciprocal due its two-way nature (Feuer 45). The process of leadership inherently implies the theory of power. In relation to this context, power is described as the ability of an individual to exert some influence on others. The capability to alter the behavior or attitude of groups individuals. Power is listed according to five bases such as expert power, referent power, reward power, coercive power, and legitimate power. Leadership efficiency and potentiality is directly proportional to the amount of power sources at reach. Leadership is well depicted in the novel War and Peace. It was published in 1869 and involves epic work. In this book, the author: Leo Tolstoy graphically represents the surrounding events of how the French invaded Russia. It also illustrates the Napoleonic era‘s impact on Tsarist society, clearly shown among five families, which are Russian aristocratic. Initially, the book was referred to as The Year and in the year 1865 and 1867, some of its portions featured in The Russian Messenger magazine (Wilson 78). War and Peace was not only novel, but also a poem and more still a historical chronicle. The novel is largely a philosophical discussion rather than a narrative. Tolstoy explained that Russian literature abides to standard norms. In his novel, Tolstoy organized a historical research which was extensive. Novels such as the Crimean War and a Veteran greatly influenced the military history incorporated in the novel War and Peace. Tolstoy personal views on how history should be written are discussed in War and Peace third volume. In the second volume, his objective is to unfold the truth by blurring the line in between history and fiction. The novels setting is done 60 years prior to when it was written. The book is ethnography fictionalized as a result of Tolstoy having spoken to individuals who witnessed and survived the war. The author intensively read autobiographical, journals, letters, and many other materials in reference to historical casts in War and Peace. Many characters are named in the novel most of which are real individuals (Tolstoy 92). Andrew Bolkonski- is the son of Prince Bolkonski, a retired commander of the military. He is ambitious, disciplined and intelligent. More so, he is neither emotional nor analytical. After his wife’s death, Andrew is left lonely and ends up falling in love with Natasha. However, he cannot pardon her passion for a man named Anatole (Green 78). Lise Bolkonskaya- Andrew’s wife who losses her life at childbirth Prince Bolkonski – an old-fashioned, stodgy man who lives in the country. He is Andrew’s father and a retired military commander. Bolkonski is harsh on his daughter Mary; this is due to his stern nature. During the Napoleon war, he goes back to the military. Unfortunately, as French gets close to his estate, Prince dies (Green 78). Mary Bolkonswa - Prince Bolkonski’s daughter and Andrew’s sister. She is plain, forgiving and lonely. Finally, she gets married to Nicholas Rostov. Julie Karagina – Mary’s pen pal. She lives in Moscow. Boris weds her Countess Natalya Rostov – she is the wife of Rostov. She is saddened by Petya’s death who is her youngest son Natasha Rostov – Daughter of count Rostov. She is irrepressible, charming and lively. After falling in love with different men, she is eventually married to Pierre. Nicholas Rostov – Rostov eldest son. He is a member of Russia’s military. Nicholas weds Mary Bolkonswa thus saves his family from financial crisis War and peace starts in Russia in the city of peters burg, west of Europe. The Russian troops are mobilized in the alliance within the Australia Empire which is currently resisting Napoleons onslaught. Andrew and Nicholas both go to the font; Andrew is wounded during the battle at Austerlitz. He survives no longer presumed death. Pierre is the inheritor of his father’s wealth; he marries Helen in a daze. She cheats on him, and he challenges her seducer to kill her man (Tolstoy 45). Power transition theory, begun to develop on the competition of power and the likely hood of war among the power states in the order of an international system. Dominant power and create a set of political and economic structures of behavior which enhances the stability of the system while still advancing its systems. Different rates led to rise and fall of different states. The likelihood of a war is highest when a rising and dissatisfied state, which hopes to establish new political new international order with benefits commensurate within its own growing power. Lise gives birth to a son. As Andrew arrives home from his estate, as she is giving birth she dies living the son under the care of Andrew. Meanwhile, Pierre devotes to take care of the baby. He applies teaching of estate management and to sharing the teaching with his friends who does the work to help the Russian government (Tolstoy 45). Meanwhile, Rostov family fortunes are decreasing, thanks to Nicholas gambling debts. The Rostov’s do consider selling of their beloved family estate in otradnoe. He is encouraged to marry rich heiress. Despite his promises that he had made earlier to marry Sonya, his career as an army continued and he grew up. When the power, of power is developed into an influential research program, the disadvantage of its scope to greater power behavior leaves and unable to express the vast conflicts that occurred in the half century. The aims to correct this subsystem which are nested within the overarching international order, Andrew departs, his father becomes irritable and cruel towards Mary, who accepts the cruelty with Christian forgiveness. In 1812, Russia was invaded by the Napoleon, and Tsar Alexander reluctantly declares war on to Napoleon threat and develops a crazy sense he is a mission and wants to assassinate Napoleons. The French approaches the bolkonski estate, Mary and the old prince are advised to leave (Tolstoy 45). The prince died just after the French troops arrived Mary is forced to leave her estate, and she goes looking for a pleasant hostile. Nicholas happens to find her and saves her. The Russians and French war decisive battle Borodino, the smaller Russian army, defeats the French army. Pierre becomes deranged and leaves his companion, wandering alone in Moscow. Meanwhile, Rostov’s packs up their belonging preparing to escape, and abandon their possession to convey the wounded soldiers (Tolstoy 92). After being liberated from the French, he falls ill for three months. He recovers and he realize the love to Natasha he also builds Mary’s house. One critical region he does not stress is Europe which is included in the global powers. This tests a meaning full power transition theory against the balance of power hypothesis. Extreme concentration of power cannot lead to stability and peace under a dominant power. Instead, they lead to the formation of balancing coalitions under the increased probability of war. However, local systems are essential in each region; he demonstrated substantial empirical support for his main theoretical extension of power transition theory. In doing so, he provided a superb model for the rigorous and systematic, quantitative empirical research in the face of some difficult methodological problems (Tolstoy 45). Responses From the novel, a large part of it focuses on war. This is a concept associated in one’s mind with clear-headed technique and sensible reasoning. The author constantly emphasizes on rational motives in relation to human power and leadership. However, in reference to the argument from different motives human behavior, they all emphasize on peace and war. There is the connection between leadership and action; others argue that the relationship is between in terms of reason be philosophy out rules the idea. We can prove that General Kutuzov ends up being an outstanding leader because he is capable of developing a logical plan, and later asks everyone to follow it guidelines. He depicts these admirable characteristics because he has the interest of adapting the events as they are within his reach. Nevertheless, there is an illustration of the opposite of the opposite of what is evident in the General. This refers to the characteristics of Nicholas. He makes an abrupt decision to wed Mary immediately after his resolution to go back to Sonya. Natasha also surprisingly gets married to Pierre. This happens despite the irrational actions evident in the novel. From the above response, we can learn that leadership is not directly related to reasoning but the enthusiasm to institute it (Feuer 45). Many individuals in the novel are after abetter life. This is evident because different characters have sudden revelation in their absurdity of existence. In this, power comes in so as to enhance the achievement of these targets. An ideal example is Andrew, who almost experiences the taste of death at Austerlitz. This situation proves that death has the power over human. Everyone in the novel wonders why life is empty and artificial. The highly affected individuals are Pierre, as a result of the wrong choice of a marriage partner. He tries to execute his power but in return turn out with no material fruits. This is because there is a difference between power and leadership. From this instance, we can learn that, in leadership, one has a mandate to command respect unlike the one with power alone. We also see Pierre’s involvement with politics; this is in the aim of extending the powers. He also aims at leadership, as well. From this case, we can conclude that in some instances, there is a relationship between leadership and power. Meaning that leadership it brings about power. However, the interests on politics are short lived (Jespen 69). In War and Peace, Tolstoy explores characters on both the lowest and highest rungs of the social ladder. This gives us realistic impressions of emperors, servants, peasants and tsars. Consequently, not only do we get a vivid look at lofty leaders like Alexander and Napoleon, but also a chance to analyze them against the society as a whole, an opportunity to scrutinize these leaders’ overall role and usefulness on a general level. In this respect, Tolstoy demonstrates a democratic, no-nonsense evaluation of supposed leaders, generals and princes – and the results are not amusing. Nicholas’s first sight of Alexander shows surprise at the fact that he is just an ordinary man. The view of Napoleon is even worse: when he is portrayed in the bathroom being massaged; it is hard to view him as the great conqueror of Europe. Tolstoy’s cynicism towards leaders receives justification from his philosophy of history. In his perspective, history is not a creation of eminent men and women, but is the result of millions of independent chains of cause and effect too minute to be analyzed individually. Even emperors, who imagine ruling the world, are entrapped in these chains of circumstances. Tolstoy employs motifs to bring out the principal themes of power and leadership. The loss of enormous amounts of property and money is a recurrent motif in the novel and is revealed through the Rostov family. The family’s wealth is already declining at the beginning of the novel due to irresponsibility of Count Rostov. He dissipates all his children’s inheritance through reckless spending. The family’s fortunes decline is further accelerated by Nicholas’s gambling losses. The family is forced to abandon their home and their belongings in Moscow because of the French invasion. Financial losses do not necessarily portray a sign of failure as indicated by Tolstoy. Tolstoy himself gave away most of his possessions in search of spiritual fulfillment later in life, illustrates in War and Peace that Rostovs’ material misfortunes also has a positive side. Rostov’s willful payment of Nicholas’s debts portrays a deep connection between father and son. Nicholas affirms to this connection by vowing to repay his debt in less than five years. His experience with financial losses appears to make him wiser. Later in life, Rostov becomes a successful landowner. In addition, the Rostov spirit for life, not shaken by declining finances, ends up bringing up charismatic children who wed into two of the most prosperous fortunes in Russia: the Bezukhovs and the Bolkonskis. Tolstoy hints that financial carelessness can have the capacity to instill a spiritual richness worth more than mere material wealth. Rostov’s leadership as a landowner propels him to success (Kaufman 499). Death in War and Peace in not just a biological end, but always a moral event that leads to some philosophical revelation. The first significant instance of death as a revelation is at Austerlitz. Andrew faces a near-death experience when he blissfully lies on the field aware of not worrying about the external world. Andrew does not even bother that Napoleon comments on him as he passes by, as earthly values of power and rank do not bear any meaning to him. Tolstoy portrays death’s revelatory powers to include epiphanies experienced by some characters upon the deaths of others. An example is Pierre’s powerful response to the execution of Russian prisoners of war in French camps, which prompts radical thoughts on brotherhood of mankind and insanity of war. His reverence for the inspirational Platon contributes to the latter’s execution, prompting an existing crisis in Pierre. In a similar case, Andrew’s death instigates Natasha to a change in her outlook, changing into a more serious and reflective person. In this sense, death is not the end of life, but a powerful tool in philosophy and faith that makes strong leaders (Simmons 29). Conclusion Power as outlined in War and Peace is the relation between the commander and the subjects. People always unite for a common action in certain combinations. The most distinct and imposing case of men uniting for a collective action is the army. Napoleon, who was the commander, used his powers to direct his troops to invade Russia. This relation of commanders to those they command is what constitutes to the concept called power. Tolstoy’s tales tried to understand his own actions and feelings so as to control them. War and Peace outlines the story of five families against Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. The epic tale outlines many lessons on power and leadership. For example, Napoleon who thinks he has control over everything receives the harshest judgment. The narrative depicts illustrious men as ordinary human beings who accept responsibility for the survival of the society, but do not recognize their own importance (Sokolow 430). He outlines that power is not inherent to any “great person,” like Emperor Alexander or Napoleon. He sees power as a culmination of events of the past as their importance reflects on the people who will affect the future. In simple terms, he asserts that power is transferred by a predetermined, fatalistic path to the righteous. Most of power is wielded by people who do not concentrate on the actual events they issue orders on; while the closer we view the actual commanders, the less power we see (Feuer 45). Works Cited Feuer, Kathryn B. Tolstoy and the Genesis of “War and Peace.” Eds. Robin Feuer Miller and Donna Tussing Orwin. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996. Green, Martin Burgess. Tolstoy and Gandhi, Men of Peace: A Biography. New York: Basic Books, 1983. Jepsen, Laura. “Two Immodest Proposals in Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace.” South Atlantic Bulletin 41.2 (1976): 68-70. Kaufman, Andrew D. “Microcosm and Macrocosm in War and Peace: The Interrelationship of Poetics and Metaphysics.” The Slavic and East European Journal 43 (1999): 495-510. Simmons, Ernest Joseph. Tolstoy. London: Routledge and K. Paul, 1973. Sokolow, Jayme A. “Arriving Moral Perfection: Benjamin Franklin and Leo Tolstoy.” American Literature 47 (1975): 427-432. Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. Trans. Anthony Briggs. New York: Penguin USA, 2006. Tolstoy, Lev. N. The Complete Works of Count Tolstoy: Vol. XX. Trans. Leo Wiener. AMS Press: New York, 1968. Wilson, A. N. Tolstoy. New York: Norton, 1988. Read More