How Does Hadji Murat Influence The Cruelty Of War

Tolstoy’s last literature work Hadji Murat denounces the cruelty of war by tearing apart the romanticized images of the heroism of warfare. It is protagonist Hadji Murat, a Caucasian fighter offering his allegiance to the Russians in order to carry out his own revenge upon a feud with another Chechen warrior, is commonly taken as an enshrined hero admired for his fearless fighting, his stoic spirit and his epic death that seems so fitting to end an episode glorying the best part of humanity. However, just as with every character in the story, he is yet another victim who falls under the blind force of hatred and violence. Although Tolstoy frames the story with a touching description of an unconquerable thistle, one would misread the morality of Hadji Murat if one were to interpret it simply as an ode to the fierce courage of the Caucasians when faced with the danger of annihilation from the Russian Empire. Hadji Murat and his followers are destroyed just as all the named and unnamed soldiers die on the battlefield, however heroic their surrender to death is. The destructive evil of war ridicules the romantic idea of finding freedom in unleashing violent force in the mystic mountains, and underlies the fake heroism of bloodshed.