The system of characters in Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time” is called concentric, since all the heroes gather around the main one - Pechorin, and serve only as a kind of background for him. The main task of each of them is not so much to demonstrate their own character traits or feelings, but to emphasize Pechorin’s individual qualities.
Heroes of the novel “A Hero of Our Time”
For example, Kazbich And Azamat in the chapter “Bela” they focus on the fact that Pechorin does not need anyone or anything. Kazbich and Azamat are solid natures, they have a specific goal: to get a horse. But Pechorin has no goal in life, he can only worry about an unpleasant society.
Task Maxim Maksimych- emphasize Pechorin’s intelligence. Although this hero is quite observant and attentive (the story is sometimes narrated on his behalf), he is not able to truly understand Pechorin, since he is obviously stupider than him.
Dr. Werner, who was a second in the duel, highlights Pechorin’s inability to make friends and be faithful. Pechorin has no friends because he doesn’t need anyone. He is selfish and arrogant, he is incapable of loyalty.
It is worth noting here the image officer Vulich, with whom Pechorin argues about whether there is fate in the next world (chapter “Fatalist”). Vulich wants to shoot himself, but the pistol misfires; later he still dies due to the fault of a drunken man, and Pechorin neutralizes this criminal, thereby saving own life. Consequently, Vulich resigned to his fate, and he was destined to die on that day. Pechorin told him that fate can be outplayed. It turns out that Vulich sets off Pechorin’s disobedience to fate.
Female characters are very important in the novel: Vera, Bela And Princess Mary. The stories associated with them show that Pechorin is no longer capable of true love. All three of his romantic “adventures” end very sadly: the married Vera leaves Pechorin and leaves with her husband, Bela dies, and because of his courtship of Princess Mary, a duel occurs between Pechorin and Grushnitsky. Pechorin kills his opponent, and for this he is exiled to the fortress. Thus, we see that love literally destroys Pechorin himself, the women he loves, and his rival (Grushnitsky).
Image Grushnitsky in the novel he is especially interesting: he is a kind of parody double of Pechorin, and this is what irritates him so much. Grushnitsky trumps the fact that for Pechorin it is a disgrace - not wanting to make his young age public, he, explaining the position of ensign, calls himself demoted; in fact, Pechorin has been demoted, and is very ashamed of it. Lermontov concludes that such a double must be destroyed for the sake of the peaceful existence of Pechorin himself. This is what happens in their duel.
By building a system of characters in this way, Lermontov wanted to reveal the character of his main character as comprehensively as possible. Minor characters are just means for this. In addition to using minor characters to reveal the image of Pechorin, Lermontov also used
"Hero of Our Time" - a legendary work unique person- Lermontov. In the story great amount images that you want to recognize and talk about.
Pechorin
Grigory Pechorin is the main character of the novel A Hero of Our Time. He is a non-standard personality. The young man is full of contradictions in love and friendship. Gregory in search of the meaning of life and his path.
Sometimes Pechorin exposes people to suffering and ruins their lives. However, he has an innate charm that attracts people to him and makes them fall in love with him. People treat the hero with compassion because he has no meaning in life.
The novel is divided into parts, where each part is a story from the life of Grigory Pechorin. In each part there are people who are important to the main character and help him find the meaning of life.
Maxim Maksimych
This young man is truly worthy of respect. He is open, sincere and kind. Listening to his story about Bel, the reader sees how Maxim Maksimych strives to see Pechorin. He considers the hero his friend, to whom he has become very attached.
At the same time, for all his simple-minded charm, Maxim Maksimych is a limited man, he has no idea what motivates the young officer, and he doesn’t even think about it. The man does not understand why the staff captain treats him so coldly and is offended by him. The main character and Maxim Maksimych different tempers and outlook on life. You can say that these are people of different origins. Like many other heroes of the work, Maxim Maksimych makes the reader wonder why Pechorin is so cold and selfish towards him and others.
Grushnitsky
Young Grushnitsky is a very ordinary person who, due to his age, wants to stand out from the crowd, making a positive impression. Grushnitsky appears spectacularly, he gets pleasure and pleasure from it. He can be called the antipode of Pechorin. What I've experienced main character- loneliness, mistrust, in Grushnitsky it’s just window dressing. Unfortunately, Grushnitsky is a hero who is ready for meanness.
Initially, it appears that Werner and the main character are very similar. Werner can be called a skeptic; he loves to observe people. Behind the mask of a man who can be sarcastic and bicker, Werner hides his real face. He hides his true feelings and compassion for others. As Pechorin himself said, they are very similar, because they are indifferent to everyone except themselves.
Bela
Bela was raised on folk traditions and customs. He experiences passion and wildness for the world around him, but lives in harmony with himself. This is what Pechorin likes about Bel. After a while, feelings awoke in this heroine, to which she surrenders herself wholeheartedly. However, happiness does not last as long as she would like and she wants to be free again. She is a princess, the daughter of a prince, and wants freedom.
Mary
Mary - Princess of high society. Her image is probably described in more detail than anyone else. female images. The girl seems to live in her own world, which is so naive and romantic. She feels the world and people. Mary can distinguish where the game is for the public and where the real thing is. Unfortunately, Mary falls in love with Pechorin and receives a harsh lesson in fate.
Faith
Mary was given a special place in the work, and Vera, in turn, received very little. The reader sees only her love for the main character. As Lermontov says, this is the only person that Pechorin could not deceive. The girl accepted the main character completely, with all his advantages and disadvantages. She loved Pechorin with all her soul, she was very sincere and naive and would never cheat on him. However, love requires sacrifice, and Pechorin was not ready for this.
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M.Yu. Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time” is “the story of the human soul,” one person who embodied the contradictions of an entire era in his unique individuality. Each chapter is a separate story, which, of course, has its own main characters. One character unites them all - Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin. Despite the fact that Lermontov brings him into contact with many people, he is very lonely. Most readers and critics consider Pechorin negative character. It brings only pain, disappointment, and sometimes death.
Today in class we will try to understand the complex relationships between the main character and the people he was destined to meet (view 1 slide).
Speaking about the novel, one cannot help but notice that the author devoted great attention female images. Pechorin himself immediately warns us that he is not ready for a serious relationship.
(Slide No. 2)
In the work, our hero will meet several women.
– Is he capable of falling in love, of giving himself entirely to this feeling?
Pechorin is disappointed in love, he is in constant search, but, unfortunately, does not find what he was looking for.
(Slide No. 3)
Once in Pyatigorsk, he finds himself in the “water society”. What awaits him there? All the same people, envious intriguers, devoid of noble aspirations and basic decency. A disgust for them is brewing in his soul. To annoy his longtime acquaintance Grushnitsky, Pechorin begins to court Mary.
– Under what circumstances does acquaintance occur?
(Slide No. 4)
- Let's turn to Mary's description.
- What attracted Pechorin to her?
- How does Mary's doubt about Pechorin's feelings manifest itself?
- How does the explanation happen with Mary? What feelings does Pechorin experience at this?
- How does their relationship end?
In relation to Mary, Pechorin, of course, acted meanly.
- Why do you think Pechorin hurts Mary so painfully?
– How does he feel about his actions?
The next heroine of the novel is Bela. This is a proud Circassian woman who did not avoid meeting Pechorin.
(Slide No. 5)
- What attracted Bela Pechorin?
- How does Pechorin behave in the house?
- Why did she begin to accept the hero's advances?
- Who did Bela consider herself to be in Pechorin’s house?
- Was Bela happy?
- When did you feel that Pechorin stopped loving her?
- Was Bela's death a solution for Pechorin?
- What feelings does one have before death?
Bela attracts Pechorin with his wildness and unbridledness. Seeing her, he can no longer control himself. Achieving her favor becomes the main task for Pechorin.
– Did Pechorin love Bela?
One of the main female images is Vera. This is the only heroine for whom Pechorin has genuine feelings.
(Slide No. 6)
- Let us remember the description of Vera.
- Did they know Pechorin before?
- How did Vera react to the meeting?
- What feelings did Pechorin have for her?
- How does Vera feel when she leaves Pechorin?
Pechorin is deeply worried when he learns about Vera's departure. When he gallops after her, we see the true Pechorin, who does not hide his feelings and experiences under the mask of indifference.
The three heroines presented to us are very different. They have one thing in common - they loved Pechorin.
– Did he love any of them?
Male characters are also widely represented in the novel. Let's take just a few heroes. Pechorin had a hard time getting along with people, considering male friendship something unnecessary and optional.
(Slide No. 7)
– Do you think Pechorin’s opinion is fair and why does he think so?
(Slide No. 8)
- Who is Maxim Maksimych?
- Description of the hero.
- Under what circumstances did they meet?
- What distinguishes Maxim Maksimych from other heroes?
- When is the next meeting and how does Maxim Maksimych expect it?
– How can we explain Pechorin’s behavior at the meeting?
– What did Maxim Maksimych remind him of?
Pechorin’s cruelty towards the old man is an external manifestation of his character, and underneath this external lies the hero’s doom to loneliness.
One of the most interesting characters the novel is Grushnitsky. He is the complete opposite of Pechorin. Remember the meeting of heroes.
– What feelings does Pechorin experience?
(Slide No. 9)
- Description of Grushnitsky.
- What irritates Pechorin?
- What is the meaning of life for Grushnitsky?
- How does the scene of the duel with Pechorin characterize the hero?
Doctor Werner is the only person with whom Pechorin finds mutual language. They are not friends - buddies. They spend a lot of time together.
(Slide No. 10)
- Werner's description
- Character traits.
– What brings the heroes together?
– Why do their paths diverge?
Pechorin, like Werner, is in conflict with noble society. But Werner is passive. His protest is limited to caustic, secret ridicule. Werner's inactivity sets off Pechorin's activity.
We looked at the characters and actions of the minor characters. And what about Pechorin?
(Slide No. 11)
- How does Maxim Maksimych describe the hero?
- What do we know about Pechorin’s character?
- What is striking about his appearance?
- How does he approach life?
Pechorin is very lonely. Charter of high society, he goes to the Caucasus to experience new sensations and find the meaning of life.
Pechorin is a moral cripple, but he was not born that way. Society raised him. Nature gave him a deep, sharp mind, a responsive heart, and a strong will. He is capable of noble deeds and humane impulses.
*What is Pechorin’s opinion about his life?
In the novel “A Hero of Our Time” M.Yu. Lermontov deliberately introduces such a number of minor characters. In a collision with them, the image of the main character, Pechorin, is revealed. All characters are individual. They have nothing in common, but they are the ones that allow us to understand the essence of Pechorin and give his correct description.
– Who is to blame that the wonderful impulses of Pechorin’s soul were doomed?
Society is to blame, the social conditions in which the hero was brought up and lived.
(Slide No. 12)
M.Yu. Lermontov deeply and comprehensively revealed the inner world of his hero, his psychology, told the “history of the human soul,” and compared several types of human characters.
(Slide No. 13)
It is impossible to give a definite answer to the question: positive or bad guy Pechorin. But, of course, this is a person who deserves our attention.
The cult novel “A Hero of Our Time”, the description of the heroes and its storyline have gone down in history Russian literature like an undying classic. Each character is written in such a way that the reader involuntarily gets the feeling of being present in the unfolding actions of the novel.
History of the creation of the work
Mikhail Lermontov, obviously, did not even imagine that the characters in his story about the notorious ensign Pechorin would forever go down in history and would be perceived by contemporaries as heroes of our time. The description of the characters leaves no doubt that the author made a lot of effort to turn separately existing stories into a coherent novel. Lermontov wrote it for three years, publishing each chapter separately in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski.
The development of events in the novel is determined by the writer’s stay in exile in the Caucasus. Literary scholars have not fully established the chronological sequence of writing individual chapters of the work, but have found many facts indicating the similarity of the characters with some personalities with whom Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov came into contact in exile.
The author's literary techniques to convey the image of characters
The description “Hero of Our Time” cannot be reliable unless it is indicated that this is one of the first in history Russian literature a novel written in the style of socio-psychological realism. It should be noted that the writing of the work was influenced by the global changes that reigned in those days in the literary field, when novelists switched to fundamentally new level descriptions of your characters.
Mikhail Lermontov was the first to present to readers the image of the main character from the perspective of several sides. Main actors Ensign Pechorin, Princess Mary, princely daughter Bela, Kazbich, staff captain, son of Prince Azamat, cadet Grushnitsky perform. The story of the intertwining of their destinies in the novel is revealed by three narrators. The author specifically used this technique so that the “heroes of our time” would appear before the readers as accurately as possible. Thanks to this, the description of the heroes came out complete and symbolic. The fact is that Mikhail Yuryevich not only came up with a good idea of describing events from the perspective of three different personalities, but also resorted to a psychological trick, where three types of people acted as narrators: the central character of the events, an outside observer and, finally, a person not involved in events.
A special technique with which the author masterfully coped with the task assigned to him - to illuminate all the subtleties of Pechorin's soul - a violation chronological sequence in chapters. Lermontov, who decided to combine individual stories into a novel, intended to heat up the atmosphere and make the reader tremble in anticipation of the denouement.
“Heroes of our time” (description of heroes) is the quintessence of the author’s vision lost souls, defiled by inconsistency, rushing about in the gloomy environment of existence of that time. The main role is assigned to Pechorin, who became the connecting link between all the independent fragments of the novel. The remaining characters are needed in order to reveal additional facets of the ensign's personality through the prism of their interaction.
in the novel "A Hero of Our Time". Description of the heroes Bela, Kazbich and Azamat
The extremely capacious image of the young ensign became a reflection of a typical young man of the 30s of the 19th century. Being endowed with beautiful appearance, wealth and opportunities, this hero did not feel satisfaction from life, could not enjoy all the benefits that surrounded him. However, contrary to the ingrained stereotype that a character with such spiritual content was supposed to go with the flow, Lermontov attributes to Pechorin a passionate desire to find the meaning of life through constant “argument” with fate.
The novel “Heroes of Our Time”, the description of heroes and events with absolute accuracy reflect all the spiritual depravity of Lermontov’s generation. The author describes with absolute accuracy not only the characters’ characters, but also their external appearances, so that the reader can better understand how Pechorin’s “never laughing eyes” can look in a certain situation.
An important role in the work is played by the contradictory and capacious characters of Bela, Kazbich and Azamat. Lermontov endows each of these characters with a unique limited soul despite seeming organicity. The author hints in the novel that the power of traditions and customs has a strong influence on human behavior, but this does not at all indicate the development of personality.
Lermontov places the main emphasis in the image of Kazbich on describing the integrity of his nature. Perhaps for this purpose the writer is trying to limit himself in simple words, telling about the external features of the hero. Kazbich appears before the reader as a strong-willed and decisive man who values freedom and exploits most of all - a true highlander. Lermontov is not trying to make him into some kind of romantic warrior, but points out a strong connection with established traditions mountain people, for whom duty and honor are valued above all else.
Azamat looks no less traditional, from the point of view of describing the mountaineers. He is like a young prototype of Kazbich, who has not yet lost his mischief and daring, but over the years he will turn into his brother.
Bela, thanks to the efforts of Lermontov, appears before the reader passionate nature capable of love from the heart. In it, from the very beginning, one can read a person who wants to be treated with dignity. She is not deprived of her spirit, which cannot be broken by expensive gifts or voluptuous advances. She got sparse lines in the novel. Apparently, the author wanted the reader to guess for himself about the raging passions in the girl’s heart by analyzing her actions.
Social meaning of the novel
The description of the novel “A Hero of Our Time” demonstrates that Lermontov is the first among his contemporaries who managed to reach the center of development storyline stage not the events themselves, but central character. He was able to describe Pechorin's spiritual search as an ongoing process, and not a static state. The writer managed to achieve this effect thanks to a literary trick with violation chronological events in the story, which makes it impossible for the reader to concentrate on the events, he is forced to direct his attention to the only object familiar to him that unites all the chapters - Pechorin.
Lermontov managed to describe the souls of the characters so organically that they are forever rooted in the minds of readers as heroes of our time.
“Hero of Our Time” is a novel by M. Yu. Lermontov (1814-1842). Written in 1836-1840. The first in the history of Russian literature, where a cycle of stories is united by the figure of the main character, and not the narrator or writer. "Hero of Our Time" is considered the first Russian psychological work, in which the author produced an in-depth psychological analysis contemporary man and society
The main character of “A Hero of Our Time” is officer Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin. The action takes place in the Caucasus, during its conquest by Russia. The novel consists of several stories in which the author shows Pechorin from different sides. At the same time, Lermontov draws in detail the character of Pechorin, conveys his thoughts, impressions, feelings, but passes over his biography in silence, only briefly telling the most necessary
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In the story “Bela”, Pechorin is an egoist who ruins the lives and destinies of the people around him out of boredom, in order to satisfy his desires.
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In "Taman" - Pechorin unexpectedly becomes involved in the activities of smugglers, not contributing to it, but even interfering with it, which almost leads to his death. “And why did fate throw me into the peaceful circle of honest smugglers? Like a stone thrown into a smooth spring, I disturbed their calm and, like a stone, I almost sank to the bottom!” - he complains.
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“Maksim Maksimych” is not a story about Pechorin at all. Its main character is an elderly officer Maxim Maksimych, an acquaintance of Pechorin. In "Maxim Maksimych" Lermontov is the first and last time gives a portrait of Pechorin:
“He was of average height; his slender, thin frame and broad shoulders proved a strong build, capable of enduring all the difficulties of nomadic life and climate changes... his gait was careless and lazy,... he did not wave his arms - a sure sign of some secretiveness of character. There was something childish in his smile. His skin had a certain feminine tenderness; blond hair, naturally curly, so picturesquely outlined his pale, noble forehead... Despite light color his hair, his mustache and eyebrows were black - a sign of the breed in a person, he had a slightly upturned nose, teeth of dazzling whiteness and brown eyes; I must say a few more words about the eyes. First of all, they didn't laugh when he laughed! ... Because of their half-lowered eyelashes, they shone with some kind of phosphorescent shine, ... it was a shine similar to the shine of smooth steel, dazzling, but cold; his gaze - short, but penetrating and heavy, left an unpleasant impression of an indiscreet question ... "
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“Fatalist” is another episode of Pechorin’s biography. The action takes place in a Cossack village, where Pechorin, in company playing cards, gets involved in an argument with Lieutenant Vulich about fatalism...
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“Princess Mary” - Pechorin’s adventures on the waters, in Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk, his dishonest behavior towards Princess Ligovskaya, the duel with Grushnitsky...
"Hero of our time". Distribution by chapters
- "Bela"
- "Maksim Maksimych"
- "Taman" - first part
- "Princess Mary"
- "Fatalist" second
However, if you install chronological framework novel, then the following will happen
- On the way from St. Petersburg to the Caucasus, Pechorin stopped in Taman (“Taman”)
- After participating in a military expedition, Pechorin went to the waters of Kislovodsk and Pyatigorsk, where he fell in love with Princess Mary and killed Grushnitsky (“Princess Mary”)
- For this, Pechorin is exiled to a remote fortress, where he met Maxim Maksimych (“Bela”)
- Pechorin left the fortress for 2 weeks to Cossack village, where he met Vulich
- Five years after these events, Pechorin, who lived in St. Petersburg, went to Persia and on the way met Maxim Maksimych “Maksim Maksimych”
- On the way back from Persia, Pechorin died (preface to Pechorin's Journal)
The history of the creation of the novel “A Hero of Our Time.” Briefly
- 1836 - Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov began writing the novel “Princess Ligovskaya”, in which the guardsman Pechorin first appeared. Romn was not finished. The image of Pechorin from “Princess Ligovskaya” is more autobiographical. Lermontov denied his resemblance to Pechorin “Hero of Our Time”
- 1839, first half of March - In the journal “Otechestvennye zapiski” signed “M. Lermontov" was published "Bela. From an officer's notes about the Caucasus."
- 1839, March 18 - in the “Literary Supplements” to the newspaper “Russian Invalid” there was a message that Lermontov’s story “Bela” was published in the March book of “Notes of the Fatherland”
- 1839, September 16 - in the “Literary Supplements” to “The Russian Invalid” it was reported that Lermontov’s story “The Fatalist” would be published in the next book of “Notes of the Fatherland”
- 1839, November 5 - editor and publisher of “Notes of the Fatherland” A. A. Kraevsky writes to censor A. V. Nikitenko: “A terrible misfortune happened to me. The typesetters and layout designer at the printing house, imagining that they had already received a clean proof of “Fatalist” from you, on the third day they printed the entire sheet on which this story was placed, thus printing 3000 copies... you can imagine all my horror..., I ask you to allow... print this article without your changes... I would not beg you...if I had not seen that this little article can pass in its original form. Lermontov is loved by both Prince Mikhail Aleksandrovich Dundukov-Korsakov and Minister S.S. Uvarov; really, there can be no harm in this..."
- 1839, November 10 - in the “Literary Supplements” to “The Russian Invalid” a message was given that Lermontov’s poem “Prayer” and the story “Fatalist” were published in the November book of “Notes of the Fatherland”
- 1840, first half of February - in the February book of “Notes of the Fatherland” “Taman” (pp. 144-154) and “Cossack lullaby song” (p. 245-246), signed “M. Lermontov".
- 1840, first half of April - the first edition of the novel “A Hero of Our Time” was published
- 1840, April 27 - in " Literary newspaper"- notice of the release of "A Hero of Our Time"
- 1840, May 5 - in the newspaper "Northern Bee" (No. 98) and in a number of subsequent issues - notice of the publication of "Hero of Our Time"
- 1840, May 14 - in “Notes of the Fatherland” - an article by Belinsky (without signature) about Lermontov’s novel
- 1840, May 25 - Literary Gazette again published without a signature a sympathetic review of the literary critic V. G. Belinsky on “A Hero of Our Time”
“Pechorin is our time, a hero of our time. Their dissimilarity is much less than the distance between Onega and Pechora. Onegin is in the novel a man who was killed by his upbringing and Savor, who took a closer look at everything, became bored with everything, fell in love with everything... Pechorin is not like that. This man does not bear his suffering indifferently, not apathetically: he madly chases after life, looking for it everywhere; he bitterly blames himself for his errors. Internal questions are incessantly heard within him, they disturb him, torment him, and in reflection he seeks their resolution: he spies every movement of his heart, examines his every thought. He has made himself the most curious subject of his observations and, trying to be as sincere as possible in his confession, not only openly admits his true shortcomings, but also invents unprecedented or falsely interprets his most natural movements.”
- 1840, June 12 - Negative review of Nicholas I about the novel “A Hero of Our Time” in a letter to the Empress
“I read the Hero to the end and find the second part disgusting, quite worthy of being in fashion. This is the same exaggerated portrayal of despicable characters that we find in modern foreign novels. Such novels spoil morals and spoil character. Because, although you read such a thing with annoyance, it still leaves a painful impression, because in the end you get used to thinking that the world consists only of such individuals who have apparent best deeds stem from disgusting and false motives. What should be the consequence? Contempt or hatred for humanity...
...So, I repeat that, in my opinion, this is a pitiful book, showing great depravity of the author.”
- 1840, June 15 - in “Notes of the Fatherland” - the beginning of Belinsky’s article about the novel by M. Yu. Lermontov
- 1840, July 14 - in "Notes of the Fatherland" - the end of Belinsky's article about the novel by M. Yu. Lermontov
- 1840, December 16 and 17 - in “In the Northern Bee” in the form of a letter to its editor, writer, journalist, literary critic F. V. Bulgarin received an enthusiastic review from the journalist, literary and theater critic V. S. Mezhevich about “A Hero of Our Time” and about the first edition of “Poems by M. Lermontov”. As contemporaries claimed, the publisher I. Glazunov asked Bulgarin to oblige him and write a laudatory review so that the public would quickly snap up “A Hero of Our Time.” He asked Mezhevich...