What social function of art does Tolstoy emphasize?

• A. Art expresses shared emotions and experiences to foster unity across diverse backgrounds.
• B. Art serves as entertainment for elites.
• C. Art records historical data about societies.
• D. Art focuses on technical mastery rather than human experience.

Answer: (A)

Tolstoy argues that art’s purpose is to communicate feeling from creator to audience, so that others recognize and share those emotions. When art succeeds, it sparks the same emotional response in diverse people, creating a sense of unity across different backgrounds. That makes the option describing art as expressing shared emotions and experiences to foster unity the best fit, because it captures both the communicative act and the social result Tolstoy values. The other ideas miss this emphasis on emotional connection and moral communication—art as mere entertainment for elites, as a record of history, or as focused on technique alone—none of which align with Tolstoy’s view that art should bind people through shared feeling.