--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started with [Leo] Tolstoy and I was…" description: "\"I started with [Leo] Tolstoy and I was overwhelmed. Tolstoy writes like an ocean, in huge, rolling waves, and it doesn't look like it was processed thr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a15/mel-brooks-2308_character_i-started-with-leo-tolstoy-and-i-was-ove_378838.png" --- # I started with \[Leo\] Tolstoy and I was overwhelmed… ![“I started with [Leo] Tolstoy and I was overwhelmed. Tolstoy writes like an ocean, in huge, rolling waves, and it doesn't look like it was processed through his thinking. It feels very natural. You don't question whether Tolstoy's right or wrong. His philosophy is housed in interrelating…” quote by Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a15/mel-brooks-2308_character_i-started-with-leo-tolstoy-and-i-was-ove_378838.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a15/mel-brooks-2308_character_i-started-with-leo-tolstoy-and-i-was-ove_378838.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a15/mel-brooks-2308_character_i-started-with-leo-tolstoy-and-i-was-ove_378838.png) > “I started with \[Leo\] Tolstoy and I was overwhelmed. Tolstoy writes like an ocean, in huge, rolling waves, and it doesn't look like it was processed through his thinking. It feels very natural. You don't question whether Tolstoy's right or wrong. His philosophy is housed in interrelating characters, so it's not up for grabs.” [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tolstoy's expansive, natural prose immerses readers in deep philosophical ideas without overt argument, using interwoven characters. **In simple terms:** Tolstoy writes naturally, letting ideas emerge through characters. Key Takeaway Appreciate storytelling that reveals philosophy subtly. Themes literature philosophy character-driven depth naturalism Mood reflective introspective Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - reading groups - creative writing workshops - literary analysis Key Concepts narrative immersion authorial voice character interrelation Questions to Reflect On - How does character focus affect philosophical clarity? - Can dense prose hinder accessibility? A Different Perspective His style may overwhelm readers unfamiliar with dense prose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Right or wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-or-wrong/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I want you to read ‘God Sees the Truth, but Waits,’ ” said Mother. “Tolstoy writes about a man, wrongly accused of a murder,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-want-you-to-read-god-sees-the-truth-but-waits-said-mother-tolstoy/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold. —Count Leo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truth-like-gold-is-to-be-obtained-not-by-its-growth-but-by-washing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Let me give you a piece of advice: Leo Tolstoy is not the only human being on this planet. Yet all I ever hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/let-me-give-you-a-piece-of-advice-leo-tolstoy-is-not-the-only-human/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I very much enjoyed Leo Tolstoy's What is Art? I can't quote it, it's been a while, but at the end of the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-avett/i-very-much-enjoyed-leo-tolstoy-s-what-is-art-i-can-t-quote-it-it-s/) [Scott Avett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-avett/) > [“The saddest instance of the lack of real freedom, arising from the lack of real knowledge, is revealed to us in Leo Tolstoy's latest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/the-saddest-instance-of-the-lack-of-real-freedom-arising-from-the/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [Leo Tolstoy said the purpose of art is to teach you to love life. And that's what I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-meyer/leo-tolstoy-said-the-purpose-of-art-is-to-teach-you-to-love-life-and/) [Nicholas Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-meyer/) > [An artist must know the reality he is depicting in its minutest detail. In my opinion we have only one shining example of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-artist-must-know-the-reality-he-is-depicting-in-its-minutest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Art is bad when ‘you see the intent and get put off.’ (Goethe) In Tolstoy one is unaware of the intent, and sees only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-carmichael/art-is-bad-when-you-see-the-intent-and-get-put-off-goethe-in-tolstoy/) Joel Carmichael > [I get the same buzz cleaning up the yard as Leo Tolstoy did from scything hay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/i-get-the-same-buzz-cleaning-up-the-yard-as-leo-tolstoy-did-from/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) > [“Everyone thinks about changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. —Leo Tolstoy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-kanter/everyone-thinks-about-changing-the-world-but-no-one-thinks-of/) Beth Kanter > [“Leo Tolstoy Cruelty is the obvious cancer of modern civilization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pravin-k-shah/leo-tolstoy-cruelty-is-the-obvious-cancer-of-modern-civilization/) Pravin K. Shah > [“Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian novelist, writer, essayist, philosopher, Christian anarchist, pacifist, educational reformer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/count-lev-nikolayevich-tolstoy-commonly-referred-to-in-english-as-leo/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Leo Tolstoy observes, “Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.”6”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/leo-tolstoy-observes-everybody-thinks-of-changing-humanity-and-nobody/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [“But in Old Rimrock, NJ, in 1995, when the Ivan Ilyches come trooping back to lunch at the clubhouse after their morning round of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/but-in-old-rimrock-nj-in-1995-when-the-ivan-ilyches-come-trooping/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Leo Tolstoy's life has been devoted to replacing the method of violence for removing tyranny or securing reform by the method of nonresistance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/leo-tolstoy-s-life-has-been-devoted-to-replacing-the-method-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by Mel Brooks > [Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful. He's poetic, but he's also a critic. He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [ Comedy is lively, comedy is joy, and that's what keeps us \[people\] going, we've got to look forward to little, little happiness's. Little, little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/comedy-is-lively-comedy-is-joy-and-that-s-what-keeps-us-people-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I don't think in terms of results at all. 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Instead of creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-realised-that-all-one-really-had-to-do-was-just-observe-observe-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/life-literally-abounds-in-comedy-if-you-just-look-around-you/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/look-i-really-don-t-want-to-wax-philosophic-but-i-will-say-that-if/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I knew it... I'm surrounded by assholes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-knew-it-i-m-surrounded-by-assholes/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I was in the army, and to me it was like a newsreel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-was-in-the-army-and-to-me-it-was-like-a-newsreel/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [But I have bad taste with a deep fount of intellectuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/but-i-have-bad-taste-with-a-deep-fount-of-intellectuality/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > ['Mad About You' was very fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/mad-about-you-was-very-fun/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. 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