Tolstoy and honesty over embellishment

In the second chapter of Hadji Murad we are introduced to Avdeev, a Russian soldier with a cheerful disposition. In conversation with his fellow soldiers he explains what he’s doing in the service; how he left a comfortable life at home to take his brother’s place in the army. Avdeev recognizes the disparity between him and his brother’s fates, and is “fed up” with living “a dog’s life.” And yet, he doesn't let it bring him down, remaining cheerful amongst his comrades. Still, the reader is meant to pick up on the idea that poor, kind Avdeev doesn't belong in the army. After transporting enemy Caucasian scouts to the prince, author Tolstoy further demonstrates Avdeev’s naivety by having him say “They really are just like Russians… Good lads!”

A couple chapters later Avdeev is shot in the stomach during battle and dies shortly after. On his death bed he says, “I envied my brother… well, now I’m glad. Let him be. Good luck to him, I’m glad.”

In so much of the media we consume – novels, movies and television – the soldier’s life is played up and romanticized. Granted, Avdeev lived before the latter two, but the sentiment remains that the ideas of glory and righteousness have lured young men to their doom for as long as war has existed on this earth. Like George McGovern once said, “I hate that old men sit in air-conditioned rooms dreaming up wars for young 

men to die in.”

Tolstoy does not seem to be in the business of perpetuating the notion of war as glory or righteousness. Like the quote on the back of the book reads: “you will see war... in its authentic expression – as blood, suffering and death.” Avdeev bought the joke, and Tolstoy kills him to make his point clear. Like the masterful writer he is, Tolstoy takes war and the enemy, the other, and gives it realism over embellishment. Unlike other authors we’ve read in this class, Tolstoy doesn't need to exaggerate or rely on stereotypes to create understanding for the reader, but shoots for the authentic. That is why he is considered such a great author and why, in the context of this class, he breaks the trend of orientalism.