Pechorin Grigory Alexandrovich - the main character of the novel, in his type associated with the characters of psychological novels by R. Chateaubriand, B. Constant (the origin of the surname Pechorin from the name of the Pechora River, as well as the surname Onegin - from the name of the Onega River, was noted by V. G. Belinsky) The history of his soul is the content of the work. This task is directly defined in the Preface to Pechorin's Journal. The history of the disappointed and dying Pechorin soul is set forth in the confessional notes of the hero with all the ruthlessness of introspection; being both the author and the hero of the "magazine", P. fearlessly speaks of his ideal impulses, and the dark sides of his soul, and the contradictions of consciousness. But this is not enough to create a three-dimensional image; Lermontov introduces other narrators into the narrative, not of the "Pechorinsky" type - Maxim Maksimych, a wandering officer. Finally, Pechorin's diary contains other reviews about him: Vera, Princess Mary, Grushnitsky, Dr. Werner. All descriptions of the hero's appearance are also aimed at displaying the soul (through the face, eyes, figure and clothing details). Lermontov treats his hero not ironically; but the very type of Pechorin's personality, which arose at a certain time and in certain circumstances, is ironic. This sets the distance between the author and the hero; Pechorin is by no means an alter ego of Lermontov.
The history of P.'s soul is not presented sequentially chronologically (the chronology is just fundamentally shifted), but is revealed through a chain of episodes and adventures; The novel is built as a cycle of short stories. The plot is closed by a circular composition: the action begins in the fortress (Bela), and ends in the fortress (Fatalist). Such a composition is characteristic of a romantic poem: the reader's attention is focused not on the external dynamics of events, but on the character of the hero, who never finds a worthy goal in life, returning to the starting point of his moral quest. Symbolically - from fortress to fortress.
P.'s character is set from the very beginning and remains unchanged; he does not grow spiritually, but from episode to episode, the reader plunges deeper into the psychology of the hero, whose inner appearance, as it were, has no bottom, is fundamentally inexhaustible. This is the story of the Pechorin soul, its mystery, strangeness and attractiveness. Equal to itself, the soul cannot be measured, does not know the limits of self-deepening and has no development prospects. Therefore, P. constantly experiences "boredom", dissatisfaction, feels over himself the impersonal power of fate, which puts a limit to his mental activity, leads him from catastrophe to catastrophe, threatening both the hero himself (taman) and other characters.
This section provides essays on the novel "A Hero of Our Time" as a whole, its individual characters and their relationships.
Important information for students. Essays are introductory and are not intended for direct rewriting. They have an educational function, showing an example of a finished task.
If you were asked to write an essay on this work, then the best option would still be to read and write it yourself. There are several reasons for this:
Pechorin is unhappy, he is bored all the time, even the threat of death eventually ceases to evoke emotions in him. Pechorin's desire to color his life, to become happy, in total with his mind, understanding of psychology and rather low morality, constantly lead him to extraordinary, but, unfortunately, tragic situations.
"A Hero of Our Time" is not just the first psychological novel in Russia, but also a real "history of the human soul." M.Yu. Lermontov in his work repeatedly shows the search for the hero, his experiences, throwing, disappointment. The main character, Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin, is very hampered by his own egoism and an incorrect attitude towards life and its values, which leads to boredom.
Of course, both heroes have similar character traits, such as selfishness and narcissism. But, it should be noted that in Pechorin this is real, while in Grushnitsky everything is completely saturated with falsehood. He is only trying to seem like a romantic hero, while Pechorin is one.
The action of the novel takes place around the 1840s of the XIX century, during the years of the Caucasian War. This can be said quite accurately, since the very title of the novel “A Hero of Our Time” clearly indicates that in the collective image of Pechorin, the author, in his own words, collected the vices of his contemporaries.
Grushnitsky is a “provincial” reflection of Pechorin, a rival in which the main character sees his own traits, vices and virtues. The tragedy of Grushnitsky is the realization that, despite all his attempts, he is inferior to Pechorin in terms of those qualities that he appreciates in himself.
Review of the book by M. Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time", written as part of the contest "My Favorite Book 2015". Reviewer: Petrochenko Ekaterina.
I really like Lermontov: the theme of loneliness, of course, occupies a special place in his work. Probably, each of us went through this work at school: we analyzed in detail each written word. Someone liked it, someone was incredibly burdensome. But, one way or another, the majority took up reading this work later and enjoyed speaking about the book with great enthusiasm.
To begin with, I can note the fact that the Caucasus, beloved by Lermontov, left a mark and was reflected in this novel: landscapes, descriptions of mountains and mountain people - all this turns from words in a book into an absolutely unique picture in my head. A special flavor of these fabulous places is created. Also, impregnable, majestic mountain peaks are associated with the proud soul of the protagonist, and, consequently, the author himself.
For me, this work is very close to my heart. And this is not surprising, because A Hero of Our Time is the first psychological and philosophical novel in Russian literature, which was formed from separate stories. I really liked the reflections of the protagonist about life, about people. An unusual composition helps to convey all this: first, a view from the outside, and then the protagonist's diary. The reader, as it were, gets acquainted with Pechorin's confession to himself. In the diary, he explains his strange actions, for which there was no justification.
This book is one of those that significantly replenish vocabulary, which is an important plus. For many, it can cause a change in your point of view on some things and phenomena. Everything is here! All aspects of life: love, joy, tears of disappointment, passions and rumors, duels and war. All this made the work dynamic, and the plot multifaceted.
I really liked the way Lermontov put his hero in various settings and situations, in each of which he reveals himself in his own way. And the rest of the characters also complement Pechorin and help to "show" the main character traits. The interesting development of relationships with secondary characters left an indelible mark on my imagination.
The main theme in Lermontov's work - loneliness - was reflected in this work. The hero always remains alone, despite the various, rather close ties with other characters. Here is what he says about friendship:
“I cannot be a slave, and in this case commanding is tedious work.”
The book presents a portrait of the generation of that time. These "heroes" were smart enough, educated, talented, active, but they could not find their calling and could not use their good qualities for the benefit of people, which upsets the reader. However, this work still serves as an edification to every generation.
“I have an unhappy temper; Whether my upbringing made me that way, whether God created me that way, I don’t know; I only know that if I am the cause of the unhappiness of others, then I myself am no less unhappy; Of course, this is bad consolation for them - only the fact is that this is so.
This is my favorite work of the author. Here, the author, thanks to a description of the life of the main character Pechorin, shows talented and energetic people that they cannot find a use for themselves in life, although they are capable people. The writer managed to create the image of a young man of the thirties, thereby causing a storm of admiration among progressive people, as they saw the truth in this work. But critics criticized this novel, although Lermontov's answer was immediate, because he says that critics do not believe in the image of the hero, because he is truthful and there is more truth in him than he really would like.
When you read a work, we see the hero's desire to unravel the meaning of life, but on the other hand, his aimless existence kills. At the same time, even today there are people who live their lives aimlessly, so the work is relevant in our time.
The novel consists of several stories that introduce us to the hero of the work. So in Bell's first story we meet Pechorin for the first time. Here describes the hero Maxim Maksimych. He talks about Pechorin, whose youth was spent in St. Petersburg. Next, we will learn how he is transferred to the Caucasus. Here the hero meets Bella, whose location he is trying to win, and having achieved the girl, he is bored and realizes that this is not him and he made the wrong choice.
In the chapter Maxim Maksimych Pechorin is shown to us exactly as Maxim Maksimych saw him. For him, this is a strange person who even while laughing had a cold look.
In Pechorin's Journal, the protagonist himself writes about himself. This part of the work is like a diary, where the hero tells the story of the smugglers. Having revealed the secret of the activities of Yanko and his girlfriend, Pechorin is disappointed, he is upset by his senseless interference in their lives.
The story of Princess Mary is probably the most important story where Pechorin begins to analyze his actions and his life. He meets Mary here and again tries to get the girl, but not because he fell in love, but because she is passionate about another man. Pechorin enters into a fight with Grushnitsky and this fight leads to a duel in which Grushnitsky dies.
The work of the author ends with the story Fatalist. Here the hero solves an important philosophical question about whether a person decides his own fate and writes it himself or everything depends on fate.
Pechorin appears before us as an active person who is trying to find himself in life, but he does not succeed.
In addition to Pechorin, the author also displays female images in his work. So we meet a brave smuggler with her dexterity and cunning. This is a girl who can sincerely love a young man and at the same time be cruel to the elderly and the blind.
We meet Bella, a proud girl with her human dignity, whose fate ends tragically.
There is another girl who managed to comprehend the depths of Pechorin's soul, and that was Vera. She realized who Pechorin really was and her love for him did not cool off. But Vera was married and such love does not bring her to good.
