How does the author explain the title of the novel?
The central image of Mikhail Lermontov's novel “A Hero of Our Time” is Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin. According to reviews of another hero, Maxim Maksimych, who knew him personally, he “was very strange.” So why is Pechorin a “hero of our time”? What outstanding merits prompted the author to award him such a high title? Lermontov explains his decision in the preface.
It turns out that this name should not be taken literally. Pechorin is not a role model, not someone to look up to. This is a portrait, but not of one person. It is composed of the vices of “the entire ... generation, in their full development.” And the author’s goal is simply to draw it, so that readers, looking at this phenomenon from the outside and horrified, can do something to improve the society in which the appearance of such ugly characters became possible.
Pechorin is a typical representative of his generation
Social setting
The novel was written during the so-called “Nikolaev reaction”.
Tsar Nicholas I, whose ascension to the throne could have thwarted the Decembrist uprising, subsequently suppressed any manifestations of free thought and kept all aspects of public, cultural and private life under strict control. His era was characterized by stagnation in the economy and education. It was impossible to show oneself as an individual at this time, which we observe in the novel using the example of Pechorin.
Inability to realize oneself
He rushes about, not finding his place, his calling: “Why did I live? For what purpose was I born?.. And, it’s true, it existed, and, it’s true, I had a high purpose, because I feel immense powers in my soul... But I didn’t guess this purpose, I was carried away by the lures of empty and ungrateful passions.”
The study of science brought him one disappointment: he saw that only the ability to adapt brings success, and not knowledge and abilities. He did not find himself in the monotonous military service. Family life he is not attracted. He has only one thing left to do - to look for more and more new entertainments, often very dangerous both for himself and for others, so as not to get bored.
Boredom as a characteristic state of representatives of high society
Boredom is Pechorin’s usual state. “...what did you do?” - Maxim Maksimych asks him when they had the chance to meet again after a long time. “I missed you!” - Pechorin answers. But he is not the only one in this state. And this is one of the reasons why Lermontov called Pechorin “a hero of our time.” “It seems like you’ve been to the capital recently: are all the young people there really like that?
“- Maxim Maksimych is perplexed, turning to his fellow traveler (the author plays his role). And he confirms: “... there are many people who say the same thing... there are probably those who tell the truth... today those who are really bored the most are trying to hide this misfortune as a vice.”
Can Pechorin be considered a hero of his time?
Can Pechorin be called a “hero of our time”? Even taking into account the cartoonish meaning that was put into this definition Lermontov, this is not easy to do. Pechorin’s unseemly actions, the way he treated Bela, Princess Mary, the unfortunate old woman and the blind boy from the chapter “Taman” raise the question: were there really many such people in Lermontov’s time, and Pechorin is just a reflection of the general trend? It is possible that not everyone experienced such a change in character. But the fact of the matter is that in Pechorin this process manifested itself most clearly; he took a little from everyone, and therefore fully deserved this title (but only with an ironic tinge).
Mikhail Lermontov himself is from that generation “ extra people" It is he who owns the lines reflecting state of mind his contemporaries:
“And it’s boring and sad, and there’s no one to give a hand to
In a moment of spiritual adversity...
Desires!.. what good is it to wish in vain and forever?..
And the years pass, all the best years"
Therefore, he knows well what he is talking about.
Work test
(314 words) The novel “A Hero of Our Time” is considered a transitional link between romanticism and realism in Lermontov’s work. In it, the author diagnosed his generation with restlessness, a disease of the soul. The hero of that time is Pechorin - tired of everything, a slightly cynical man who hides his tormented heart under a mask of detachment.
In his main character, Lermontov portrays a representative of the brooding, aloof, but talented and capable youth, whose image many writers have strived to convey but few have ever surpassed. Guided by the author's frank narration, the reader follows Pechorin through a series of dramatic adventures in which gamblers, smugglers, Circassian partisans and pistol-wielding duelists play their roles. Page by page, with unmistakable psychological insight, Lermontov reveals his protagonist as a master manipulator who plays both men and women. With callous indifference, Pechorin takes pleasure at the expense of the worries and suffering of others, as his “exploits” destroy the lives of many characters: Bela, the innocent Circassian maiden whom Gregory buys with a horse; Grushnitsky, a madly in love cadet whose romantic hopes are pinned on Princess Maria Ligovskaya, a fragile, beautiful young woman. Struck by his own destructive power, Pechorin tries to comprehend both his motives and his destiny, but all to no avail. In his radical egoism, Pechorin fascinates and repels. He is both a vile swindler, and, in the words of Maxim Maksimych, “ wonderful person, just a little weird.”
Why is this man the hero of his time? Firstly, because he is an idle nobleman who has not found a worthy calling. Almost all the young people of that era surrounding Lermontov fit this description. He was like that himself. Therefore, all of Pechorin’s problems are what worried all thinking young men who were lost in the endless tsarist Russia. Secondly, because Gregory follows the fashion for romanticism, which ascribes to all “exceptional” people to drive themselves into depression, wander around the world and not burden themselves with either work or family. At that time, many readers professed this way of thinking. Pechorin is depicted even in front of himself, and the author condemns this desire to fit life into a beautiful template. Thus, Lermontov’s hero truly personifies an entire generation, because he embodied all his characteristic features.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!M. Yu. Lermontov introduces us to the main character of Pechorin’s work as a person with typical features of his era. He is rich, handsome, not stupid, but has a drawback: he constantly makes fun of everyone. This character trait does not make it possible to establish friendly relations, although he himself does not want this.
Despite the fact that at first glance Pechorin may seem like a cruel and soulless person, he still has romantic traits character.
They can be seen, for example, when he communicates with Vera. But although Vera was his true love, he constantly caused her pain and suffering in the same way as he did to someone he did not love, for example, Mary. Pechorin was unable to sacrifice himself to his love, as Vera did, so he was doomed to a sad outcome of their relationship.
Pechorin is a person who cannot find his place, he constantly opposes himself to society, he is alienated from it. He cannot direct his strength and skills in any direction that would bring him good. This is probably why he is doomed to a lonely and unhappy fate. As Pechorin himself said to Maxim Maximych: “...I have an unhappy character: whether my upbringing made me this way, whether God created me this way, I don’t know; I only know that if I cause misfortune to others, then I myself am no less unhappy..”
Updated: 2017-06-06
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When you get acquainted with the plot of the work “A Hero of Our Time,” you completely involuntarily stop your attention on psychological portrait main character Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin. After all, he is an extraordinary, very complex and multifaceted personality of the 19th century. It seems that it is in it that the author represents himself, his vision of the world, his attitude towards friendship and love.
Faith
However, the hero still had strong feelings and affection for the girl Vera. It was some kind of unconscious love in Pechorin’s life. An essay on this topic should indicate that it the only woman, which he could never deceive. His love brings her a lot of suffering, because she married woman. They had known each other for a long time, and their chance meeting again made them feel an uncontrollable passion for each other. Vera cheats on her husband. Love for Pechorin took away long years. He simply exhausted her soul.
Late revived soul
Only when Pechorin lost her forever did he realize that he loved only one woman in the world. He searched all his life, but the realization came to him too late. The hero will say about her: “Faith has become dearer to me than anything in the world - more valuable than life, honor, happiness!
It is in this episode that the hero Pechorin reveals himself completely. It turns out that he also knows how to love and suffer, he is not always cold and insensitive, calculating and cold-blooded. He begins to dream, his soul has come to life in him, he wants to make Vera his wife and go somewhere far away with her.
Love in Pechorin's life. Essay 9th grade
All women who encountered Pechorin became his unwitting victims. Bela was killed by the mountaineer Kazbich, Vera died of consumption, Princess Mary was also doomed, as she had lost trust in people. They all truly loved him and behaved with great sincerity and dignity when he rejected their love. And Pechorin himself was not capable of deep feelings, so he did not get what he wanted from life. Perhaps if he learned to love, he would be happy.
Love could not play an important role in Pechorin’s life. The (short) essay on this topic is exactly what it says. He comprehended this feeling only when he lost his loved one forever.
In the lyrical and psychological novel “A Hero of Our Time,” M. Yu. Lermontov aims to fully convey the character of the main character and the reasons for his failures. Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin finds himself in the Caucasus because of some regular “story” that happened to him in St. Petersburg. Life confronts him with the most different people from different backgrounds and fields of activity. Throughout the work, the character of the hero is tested in love, friendship and emergency situations.
We see that his relationships are not working out, and his personal life makes him sad. Pechorin is characterized by contradictory character, and the author also attributes to him a considerable amount of egoism and skepticism. But his main enemy is still boredom. Everything he does is only to somehow fill his spiritual emptiness. Despite the fact that the hero is endowed with courage, willpower, high intelligence, insight, vivid imagination, and a special form of morality unique to him, he lacks warmth.
He treats friends either coldly or indifferently, without giving anything in return. Women are all the same for him and make him bored. Pechorin has a wealth of experience communicating with the opposite sex, and only one woman managed to hold his attention for many years. This is Vera, with whom fate again confronted him in Pyatigorsk at the Ligovskys. Despite the fact that she is married and seriously ill, she still devotedly loves Gregory with all his shortcomings. She alone manages to look into his vicious soul and not be afraid.
However, the hero did not appreciate this devotion either, so at the end of the story Vera leaves him, and with her faith in life, faith in a bright future. We see that Lermontov's hero is deeply unhappy. This is a person who does not know how to love. He would like to, but he has nothing. In parting, Vera tells him that “no one can be as truly unhappy as he is,” and in this, alas, she is right. In the Caucasus, he made other attempts to get closer to women, but they all ended tragically.