“Pierre looked into the sky, into the depths of the retreating, twinkling stars. "And all this is mine, and all this is in me, and all this is me!" thought Pierre. "And all this they've caught and put in a shed and boarded it up!”
In this quote from Leo Tolstoy's novel, the character Pierre reflects on the vastness and beauty of the world around him. As he gazes at the stars in the sky, Pierre feels a sense of ownership and connection to the universe. However, his realization that others have tried to capture and confine this beauty in a shed symbolizes mankind's tendency to control and restrict the natural world. This quote highlights themes of ownership, freedom, and the human desire to possess and control nature.
In this quote from Leo Tolstoy's novel, "War and Peace," Pierre reflects on the disconnect between humanity and nature, feeling a sense of ownership and unity with the universe. This sentiment of interconnectedness and the longing for a deeper connection with the world around us is still relevant today, as many individuals seek to break free from the confines of modern society and reestablish a bond with nature.
"Pierre looked into the sky, into the depths of the retreating, twinkling stars. "And all this is mine, and all this is in me, and all this is me!" thought Pierre. "And all this they've caught and put in a shed and boarded it up!” - Leo Tolstoy"
As you reflect on this quote from Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace," consider the following questions:
How does Pierre's realization about the vastness of the universe contrast with the confinement he feels in his own life?
In what ways do you relate to Pierre's sense of connection to the world around him? Do you ever feel a similar sense of ownership or oneness with the universe?
What do you think Tolstoy is trying to convey through Pierre's contemplation of the stars and his realization about the limitations of human existence?
How does this quote make you think about the concept of freedom and imprisonment, both literal and metaphorical, in your own life?
“Pierre had for the first time experienced that strange and fascinating feeling in the Slobodsky palace, when he suddenly felt that wealth and power and life, all that men build up and guard with such effort ,is only worth anything through the joy with which it can all be cast away.”
“Sometimes he remembered having heard how soldiers under fire in the trenches, and having nothing to do, try hard to find some occupation the more easily to bear the danger. It seemed to Pierre that all men were like those soldiers, seeking refuge from life: some in ambition, some in cards, some in framing laws, some in women, some in playthings, some in horses, some in politics, some in sport, some in wine, and some in government service. 'Nothing is without consequence, and nothing is important: it's all the same in the end. The thing to do is to save myself from it all as best I can,' thought Pierre. Not to see IT, that terrible IT.”
“How can he talk like that?" thought Pierre. He considered his friend a model of perfection because Prince Andrew possessed in the highest degree just the very qualities Pierre lacked, and which might be best described as strength of will.”
“Pierre was for the first time at this meeting impressed by the endless multiplicity of men's minds, which leads to no truth being ever seen by two persons alike...What Pierre chiefly desired was always to transmit his thought to another exactly as he conceived it himself.”
“They say: sufferings are misfortunes," said Pierre. 'But if at once this minute, I was asked, would I remain what I was before I was taken prisoner, or go through it all again, I should say, for God's sake let me rather be a prisoner and eat horseflesh again. We imagine that as soon as we are torn out of our habitual path all is over, but it is only the beginning of something new and good. As long as there is life, there is happiness. There is a great deal, a great deal before us.”
“...but most of all he liked to listen to stories of real life. He smiled gleefully as he listened to such stories, putting in words and asking questions, all aiming at bringing out clearly the moral beauty of the action of which he was told. Attachments, friendships, love, as Pierre understood them, Karataev had none, but he loved and lived on affectionate terms with every creature with whom he was thrown in life, and especially so with man- not with any particular man, but with the men that happened to be before his eyes.But his life, as he looked at it, had no meaning as a separate life. It only had meaning as part of a whole, of which he was at all times conscious.”