Description of the presentation on individual slides:
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help students analyze the third chapter of M.Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time"
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How many stories does the novel "A Hero of Our Time" include? Features of the composition and genre of M.Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time" Do the described events develop consistently? What is the nature of the composition of the novel? What is the task of the disturbed chronology of the novel? What is the innovation of the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov?
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Take Lermontov's story "Taman" - in it you will not find a word that could be thrown out or inserted; all of it from beginning to end sounds like one harmonic chord; what a wonderful language...! D.V. Grigorovich The story of M.Yu. Lermontov "Taman"
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M.Yu. Lermontov's story "Taman" Lermontov's story "Taman" was first published in 1840 in the second issue of the eighth volume of the journal "Domestic Notes" Who is the narrator in the story "Taman"? The narrator is Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin. We read Pechorin's journal - records of a personal nature, in which a person, knowing that they will not become known to others, can present not only external events, but also internal movements of his soul hidden from everyone. Pechorin was sure that he was writing "this magazine ... for himself", which is why he was so open in their description.
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The story of M.Yu. Lermontov "Taman" Changing the narrator Pechorin Maxim Maksimych examines the events as if through inverted binoculars and shows the general plan of events. As a storyteller, Pechorin has the greatest advantages, because. not only knows about himself more than others, but is also able to comprehend his thoughts, feelings and actions
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“Taman is the nastiest little town of all the seaside towns of Russia. I almost died of starvation there, and besides, they wanted to drown me” Taman by M.Yu. What will an ordinary person do in moments of extreme physical fatigue? What does Pechorin do when he gets into a "bad" place? Why? Late night He began to demand He didn’t sleep for three nights He was exhausted He began to get angry Pechorin lays out things ... (?) Inspects the pier .. (?) Stands on the shore for a long time .. (?) Talks about people .. (?) Talks to the boy .. (?) Takes a weapon..(?)
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Once in an unfamiliar environment and in emergency situations, Pechorin makes mistakes and miscalculations. Which? How does he get out of trouble? What features of Pechorin's personality are manifested in the story of the "peaceful smugglers"? Show Pechorin's exceptional powers of observation, for example, in relation to a blind boy and a girl. What conclusion does the hero come to at the end of the story? How does this characterize him? The story of M.Yu. Lermontov "Taman"
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What character traits does Pechorin show in Taman? The story of M.Yu. Lermontov “Taman” The first meeting with a blind boy Observation of a girl and the first conversation with her The scene of “enchantment” by Pechorin with an undine Observation of the meeting of a blind man and Yanko Interest in a person Interest in the unusual in a person “Youthful passion” Sadness Interest in everything mysterious Decisiveness, courage The active principle makes you go on a date The ability to sympathize with someone else's grief
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Two worlds: Pechorin and smugglers The story of M.Yu. Lermontov "Taman" Pechorin and smugglers are united by a secret and a desire for it. Watching the crying boy, Pechorin realizes that he is just as lonely as the blind orphan. He has a feeling of unity of feelings, experiences, destinies. Both Pechorin and other heroes of the story are not perfect. All of them are infected with vices and passions. But Pechorin is not able to penetrate the environment of ordinary people. Here he loses his intellectual advantages of a civilized man, he is alien to the natural world and a life full of dangers.
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“Yes, and what do I care about human joys and misfortunes? ..” exclaims Pechorin ... Indeed, Pechorin’s activity is directed only at himself, it does not have a lofty goal, he is just curious. The hero is looking for real action, but finds its semblance, a game. He is annoyed with himself for the fact that, invading people's lives, he does not bring them joy, he is a stranger in this world. The story of M.Yu. Lermontov "Taman" Activity aimed at oneself, and is activity for a great goal?
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How do people treat an "unclean" place in the city? Why doesn’t it repel Pechorin, doesn’t scare, but attracts? Who in the story "challenges" Pechorin? What is the secret here? Why does Pechorin talk about what he saw at night to the blind man and the “undine”, but does not say anything to his orderly? I decided to firmly get the key to this riddle "... M.Yu. Lermontov's story "Taman"
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“And why did fate throw me into a peaceful circle of honest smugglers? Like a stone thrown into a smooth spring, I disturbed their calmness, and like a stone almost sank by itself!” The hero is well aware that he rudely invaded someone else's life, violated its calm, slow flow, brought misfortune to people. Thus, Pechorin is clearly aware of his role in the fate of other people. Thoughts about this disturb him constantly, but in this story they are expressed for the first time. In addition, the moral result of these reflections is also important. Pechorin confirms the guess about his complete indifference to the misfortunes of other people: he does not see his personal guilt in what happened, shifting all responsibility to fate. The story of M.Yu. Lermontov "Taman" And again boredom, indifference, disappointment ...
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Pechorin and the past Pechorin does not want to remember the past. Lonely, yearning, embittered by misfortunes, he wants only one thing - to be left alone, not to be tormented by memories, hopes. Of course, he remembers everything and suffers from the memories. Pechorin runs not from Maxim Maksimych, but from his memories. The past seems to him unworthy of attention. And although he writes that his diary will be a "precious memory" for him, in the present he is indifferent to the fate of his notes. Pechorin and the present Pechorin's demeanor depicts a depressed person who does not expect anything from life. The meeting with Maxim Maksimych emphasizes the gulf between them - between the common man and the nobleman. In addition, the boredom inherent in Pechorin may indicate some of his indifference to his real life. His life has no purpose, he sees no way out either in the present or in the future. In this, as in many other things, Pechorin is typical of his time. The story of M.Yu. Lermontov "Taman" Pechorin and time
Synopsis of a lesson in literature in grade 9 "Pechorin and smugglers"
During the classes
1. Introductory part of the lesson.
teacher's word : We continue to study the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov "The Hero of Our Time". In previous lessons, we analyzed the stories "Bela", "Maxim Maksimych". We saw Pechorin in a clash with the "savage" Bela, the highlanders Azamat and Kazbich, with the "good" Maxim Maksimychev. Lermontov shows that Pechorin is superior to them, is able to subordinate them to his will, or turns out to be morally nobler than them.
What is the difference between the narrative in "Taman" and the narrative in "Bel" and "Maxim Maksimych"?
(In "Bel" the narrow-minded, impenetrable Maxim Maksimych talks about Pechorin, and in the story "Maxim Maksimych" - a wandering officer, objectively, sympathetically), and in "Taman" the tragic confession of the hero begins to sound.
Our task: analyze the story "Taman", understand the inner world of the hero, who is the narrator here, find an explanation for his actions, feelings that possess him, and answer the question at the end of the lesson:
Why did Pechorin so passionately want and could not enter the circle of smugglers?
2. Heuristic conversation:
(Yes. Fast-paced plot. Sounds like a detective story.)
Why did Pechorin end up in Taman?
(Goes to the active detachment on official duty). He does not go of his own free will, but of official necessity.
Why does Pechorin write: “Taman is the nastiest little town of all the seaside towns of Russia”? Is there a detailed description of this town?
(No. Only a passing mention of dirty alleys and dilapidated fences).
(And the epithet "bad" probably reflects Pechorin's attitude to the events that took place in this place.)
And what are these events? How will Pechorin write about this in his diary? Read out.
(1. “I almost died of hunger there, and besides, they wanted to drown me.”
(2. "... a blind boy robbed me, and an 18-year-old girl almost drowned me")
Thus, ironically about what happened, the hero names the two main participants in the drama that has unfolded: a blind boy and a girl.
But is Taman really a “bad little town”? Read the landscapes aloud. Note the central images of these descriptions. What do they add to the story? And what can be said about Pechorin?
(Moon, month, clouds, restless sea. These are forces that fill the night with life. Landscapes give the story romance and mystery. Pechorin sees the beauty of nature and loves nature).
How do people treat an "unclean" place in the city?
(With prejudice, with fear, people are afraid: "unkind people" live there)
And why doesn’t Pechorin repulse, doesn’t scare the “unclean” place, but attracts? Why is he attracted to people in this place?
3. Group work. People living on the seashore, Pechorin's attitude towards them.
Tasks 1-2 groups. Tell about the old woman and the blind boy.
Orally draw portraits of heroes at the moment when Pechorin looks at them.
What is Pechorin's initial attitude towards the blind boy and the old woman?
How does Pechorin's attitude towards these characters change in the course of the story?
Tasks 3-4 groups. Tell about Janko and the Undine.
Orally draw portraits of the heroes at the moment when Pechorin looks at them.
What is Pechorin's initial attitude towards Yanko and Undine?
Prepare an expressive reading on the roles of the dialogue between the blind man and the girl when they are waiting for Yanko on the seashore.
Why did this “real” mermaid seem “charming” to Pechorin, although “she was far from beautiful”?
How does her appearance change in the boat when she wants to drown Pechorin? Motivate the choice of comparisons "... she, like a snake, slipped between my hands", "she, like a cat, clung to my clothes" ... ".
How did Pechorin's attitude towards these characters change in the course of the story?
4. Group performances.
Conclusions:
The blind boy first aroused Pechorin's prejudice. With his dexterity, he made him suspect in feigned blindness. At the end of the story, Pechorin calls him "poor blind" and showed him in sincere grief.
Yanko appears strong and fearless on the night when Pechorin is watching the “brave swimmer” with “an involuntary heartbeat”. At the end of the story, Janko turned out to be mercilessly cruel to the boy, the old woman. He retreats before the threat of a possible, as the undine thinks, denunciation to the authorities. Yanko's sober remarks about wages for work, about the place where rich goods are hidden, his stinginess in rewarding the blind dispel the legendary idea of \u200b\u200bthe "violent head".
Undine. First - a very sincere and passionate feeling for Yanko. The image of a girl - a smuggler is truly romantic. This girl is characterized by changeable moods, “quick transitions to complete immobility”, “she gazed into the distance, then laughed and reasoned with herself, then again hummed a song.” Her speeches are cryptic, and in form they are close to folk proverbs and sayings; her songs, reminiscent of folk, speak of her desire for freedom. There is a lot of vitality, courage, determination, poetry of "wild freedom" in the undine. A rich, peculiar nature, full of mystery, it is, as it were, created by nature itself for the free, risky life that she leads.
Admiring the strength, dexterity, courage of these people, Lermontov, faithful to the truth of life, reflects their meager spiritual world. Their aspirations and hourly worries are limited to easy money and deception of the authorities. Money determines their relationship. Janko and the girl become violent when it comes to dividing up stolen goods. The blind man receives only a copper coin from them. And the now unnecessary old woman Yanko orders to convey, "that, they say, it's time to die, it's healed, you need to know and honor."
5.Continuation of the heuristic conversation. How is Pechorin's attitude towards smugglers changing? Why interest in them, admiration give way to bitterness?
What made Pechorin watch the boy at night?
(Pechorin is still naive, gullible, makes mistakes, not seeing who is in front of him. The mystery of the situation, interest in a new circle of people for him, a thirst for activity.)
However, all this does not disturb and capture him so much that he forgets about what happened in the recent past. Reread the passage: “I wrapped myself in a cloak ...” What was Pechorin thinking about? What did he remember?
How did the appearance of the girl affect him?
How did the landscape affect him?
(This is a means of characterizing the hero. The landscape enhances the motive of loneliness)
Why does Pechorin talk about what he saw at night to the blind man and the undine and does not inform his orderly about this?
(Unusual people seem to him bold, spontaneous natures. He wants to get close to them. The mystery of their behavior promises exciting adventures.)
Why did Pechorin go for an undine at night?
("get the key to this riddle")
Did he believe her calls?
(No. Subsequently, he himself will say that he has long lived not with his heart, but with his head. When going on a date with an undine, he does not forget to take a pistol with him, to warn the Cossack orderly so that he, upon hearing a shot, runs ashore).
Why was rabies born in Pechorin and did he throw the girl into the waves?
(The beauty naively thought that, having charmed Pechorin, she would become the mistress of the situation. However, Pechorin is not like that, he knows the price of female coquetry. And yet he is embarrassed, really worried, he gets dizzy when a girl kisses him. On the one hand, he calls her behavior "a comedy, and on the other hand, she lends herself to her charm. He is able to deeply feel, experience, but does not stop analyzing for a minute. Now in the boat he has to fight for his life, and the girl for hers. Hopes for love turned into hostility, a date - a fight. It is these transformations that cause Pechorin's rage, and not just the desire to defend his life).
Why did Pechorin, who saw Yanko say goodbye to the blind man, “become sad”?
(The denouement is not at all romantic. All the heroes are alive. A half-deaf old woman and a blind boy are left to the mercy of fate. Pechorin sympathetically tells how long, long the poor blind man cried.)
What does Pechorin blame himself for and why does he call the smugglers "peaceful"?
(Having called the smugglers peaceful, Pechorin already denies them exclusivity and blames himself for the intrusion into their circle, which led to the disruption of their usual life, and he himself turned out to be unnecessary. Pechorin’s irony over himself “Isn’t it funny ...” indicates that the hero is aware of the futility of his actions.The feeling of the world as a mystery, a passionate interest in life are replaced by an attempt at alienation, indifference: "What happened to the old woman ...").
The desires and real positions of the hero are divided, and this turns out to be the cause of bitterness and self-irony.
How did Pechorin show himself in a collision with smugglers?
(He is an active participant in events, seeks to intervene in events, is not content with the role of a passive contemplator of life)
What aspects of Pechorin's character can be judged by the story "Taman"?
(Activity, desire for action, attraction to danger, perseverance, self-control, love of nature, observation).
Why, having such opportunities in character, in behavior, does Pechorin not seem happy?
None of Pechorin's actions, none of the manifestations of his will has a deep big goal. He is active, but neither he nor others need his activity. He seeks action, but finds only a semblance of it and receives neither happiness nor joy. He is smart, resourceful, observant, but all this brings misfortune to the people he encounters. There is no goal in his life, his actions are random, his activity is fruitless, and Pechorin is unhappy)
Homework: A written answer to the question: “Are Pechorin’s actions in Taman aimless?
The appearance of the "bad little town" has changed little since Lermontov's times
Today is a memorable day in the history of Russian poetry: 177 years ago, Mikhail Lermontov, a 27-year-old genius, was killed in a duel. His literary legacy seems to have been dismantled and examined to the line, to the pebble that trembled under the poet's feet. But who prevents us, ordinary grateful readers of Mikhail Yurievich, from going to the seaside town of Taman, which became famous precisely thanks to Lieutenant Lermontov?
Of course, the word "sang" is not quite suitable for our case. Even a resident of today's Taman, who is far from literature, will recite to you by heart these unattractive lines from Lermontov's story: "Taman is the nastiest town of all the coastal cities of Russia." And not at all because he considers this characterization fair, not at all! You just need to understand: although Taman Lermontov did not like almost two centuries ago, he nevertheless paid attention to her and even described what happened to him here in his famous story. The very one that Belinsky called "the pearl of Russian prose."
So we came to Taman not so much to bask on the Black Sea coast, but to try to join the events that are described in Taman. The narration, as you know, is conducted on behalf of the main character - Pechorin. But the story is largely autobiographical. Lermontov stayed in Taman for only three days. Arrived from Stavropol on September 24, 1837. From here he was going to make a voyage to Gelendzhik in order to join the detachment, which was to begin military operations against the highlanders. At that time, the arrival of Emperor Nicholas I was expected in Gelendzhik. However, in Taman Lermontov learned that the tsar had canceled the operation that was being prepared. Therefore, the exiled officer had no choice but to return to the Olginskoye fortress and from there go to Stavropol. Pechorin, by the way, came to Taman to also go from there by ship to Gelendzhik. We quote: “There are ships in the pier,” I thought, “tomorrow I will go to Gelendzhik.”
So, Lermontov stayed in Taman from 24 to 27 September. During this short time, a very romantic incident happened to him, which was partly described in Taman. They usually arrive in the city late at night. Lermontov was here after nine in the evening. In the dark, I got to Taman and Pechorin: "I arrived on a folding cart late at night." Like Pechorin, Lermontov arrived in Taman with a Cossack batman. Until now, it has not been exactly clarified with which of the local residents the young officer communicated. As one of the first researchers of his life and work P.I. Viskovaty, in Taman, the poet quarreled with the Cossack Tsaritsykha, who mistook him for a spy who allegedly followed the smugglers with whom she communicated. What happened and formed the basis of the story.
Later, local historians found that, most likely, Lermontov settled in the courtyard of the Cossack Fyodor Mysnik, who owned two huts. One, painted with white lime, was a little away from the coast: “A full moon shone on the reed roof and white walls of my new home.” Another hut, standing at the very edge of the sea, was completely dilapidated: “In the yard, surrounded by a cobblestone fence, another hut stood sideways, less and older than the first. The shore of the cliff descended to the sea almost at its very walls. Mysnik, in addition to grazing cattle, was engaged in fishing. He owned several longboats that smugglers hired from him.
We saw both houses and the barge lying on land when, having arrived in Taman, we went to the Lermontov Museum. Along with the tickets, they bought a thin book with the famous story at the box office. Lermontov's masterpiece served as our guide to the museum. In one of the houses there were “two benches and a table and a huge chest near the stove” mentioned in the story, which “made up all her furniture. There is not a single image on the wall ... ". In the story, in addition to the pistol drowned in the sea, “a box, a saber with a silver frame, a Dagestan dagger” disappeared. They became the prey of smugglers.
The same good was stolen from Lermontov himself. True, in his case, the letters and money in the box should be added to this list. Of the missing money, 300 rubles belonged to Martynov, the future killer of the poet. Martynov's parents sent them with Lermontov from Pyatigorsk. About what happened on October 5, 1837, Martynov wrote to his father from Yekaterinodar: “I received the three hundred rubles that you sent me through Lermontov, but no letters, because he was robbed on the road, and this money, invested in the letter, also disappeared; but, of course, he gave me his!”
Years later, Martynov's relatives, justifying their son, claimed that the poet had read the letters, which contained characteristics that were unflattering for him, and did not want to give them to Martynov. This fact, they say, was one of the reasons for the fatal duel. Be that as it may, the meeting with the "honest smugglers" turned out to be a masterpiece for Russian literature - and a tragedy for it as well.
To this day, the remains of the Phanagoria fortress, which Pechorin visited, have been preserved in Taman. And, of course, Lermontov could not help but visit there, because he was obliged to report on his arrival and mark the road. The fortress was built under the leadership of A.V. Suvorov. Now, near the ramparts, a monument has been erected in his honor. Another one is dedicated to the naval commander F.F. Ushakov. On the one hand, from the ramparts, there is a magnificent view of the sea, and on the other hand, a modern factory building that produces excellent varieties of Kuban wines. According to some sources, it was during the construction of the fortress that the famous Tmutarakan stone with one of the first inscriptions in the Old Russian language, now stored in the Hermitage, was discovered.
Lermontov stopped at the Phanagoria fortress during his second visit to Taman in 1840. There he met with the Decembrist Nikolai Ivanovich Lorer, gave him a letter and a book from his niece. They met in December 1840. A little more than six months remained before the death of the poet. Lorer wrote: “At that time I didn’t know anything about Lermontov, and at that time he didn’t print, it seems, anything significant, and“ A Hero of Our Time ”and his other works came out later.” Sad lines confirming that fame came to Lermontov after his death...
A drawing by Lermontov, which he made during his stay in Taman, has been preserved. It depicts a hut with a reed roof located on a steep cliff. She stands by the sea. Nearby is a boat with an oar. A three-masted ship and a sailboat can be seen in the distance. To the left of them is a cape with two peaks, which is now called Bald Mountain. Apparently, Lermontov drew attention to the house, walking on September 27, 1837 near the fortress, located three miles from Taman. So the pictured house is not the one in which the writer stayed during his arrival in Taman.
There is another place in Taman that legends associate with Lermontov. Modest at first glance, but revealing the magnificence of its architectural design upon closer examination, the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was founded by the Cossacks in 1793. Rectangular, surrounded on three sides by porticos with Doric columns, it resembles an ancient temple - and at the same time looks like a ship. Approximately according to the same principle, the famous Parthenon temple in Athens and the church of Peter and Paul in Sevastopol were built. Next to the temple is a bell tower. There is a legend that one of her first ringers was a blind boy who became a character in the story.
P.S. Since Lermontov first visited Taman, its appearance has changed little. For decades, the little houses that lined the dusty streets slumbered in provincial silence. Major highways, including the road to the ferry to the Crimea, passed to the side. But in May of this year, everything changed. The bridge across the Kerch Strait was opened, now a highway leading to the bridge passes near the city. And now many, before going further to the Crimea, decide to visit Taman, which they read about in school. And at the same time find out why Lermontov called it like this: "bad little town" ...
Details
Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin is one of the most enigmatic figures in Russian classical literature. Roman M.Yu. Lermontov's "A Hero of Our Time" retains the best features of his romantic works and stands at the origins of Russian psychological realism. Having set as his task the image of the hero of the time with a strong will and a powerful soul, but with a tragic fate, the study of the negative and positive aspects of his generation, the author creates an amazing work. “The history of the human soul is almost more curious and no more useful than the history of an entire people,” writes Lermontov. The composition of the work, built on the violation of chronology, is subject to the logic of psychological analysis. We learn about Pechorin from the lips of the simple and naive Maxim Maksimych, get acquainted with his psychological portrait, which is created by the author-narrator himself, but the introspection presented in Pechorin's journal becomes the leading way of organizing the story of the hero of time.
Pechorin's journal is opened by the short story "Taman", the "self-disclosure" of the hero begins with it. The beginning of the novel, at first glance, does not portend the romantic world that will be created later: “Taman is the nastiest town of all the coastal cities of Russia. I almost died of hunger there, and besides, they wanted to drown me.” However, the landscape of the very first pages of the novel is distinguished by its romanticism: “A full month shone on the reed roof… The shore descended like a cliff to the sea… The moon quietly looked at the restless, but submissive element…” With the help of personification, the author creates a lyrical picture. The poetics of the novel is contrasting: romantic landscapes are replaced by an accurate recreation of everyday life, the image of the exotic world of "honest smugglers" is an expression of the author's position.
Let's go with the hero into the hut. "... two benches and a table and a huge chest near the stove made up all of her furniture." This everyday sketch is interrupted by a completely romantic phrase: “The sea wind rushed through the broken window glass.” In fact, this phrase contains the hidden desire of the hero to plunge into the romance of adventure, and he will be satisfied.
Everything in the life of the people at whom Pechorin stopped alarms him. He has a "prejudice" against cripples, and here lives a blind boy. In the hut "not a single image on the wall is a bad sign." However, Pechorin seems to be acting contrary. He is already ready to plunge into the mysterious life of smugglers, instead of moving away from the world alien to him, and even glad of the opportunity given to him by fate. And the world of "honest smugglers" is not at all alien to the hero. It is no coincidence that, going down the path for the blind, the phrase of the Gospel suddenly comes to Pechorin's mind: "On that day the dumb will cry out and the blind will see." The situation in the novel is romantic, and the hero has some high spirits. His soul, rebellious, passionate, akin to the sea element, he is ready for danger and longs for worldly storms.
In the short story, Pechorin (after all, it is he who is the author of the text, according to Lermontov) creates an amazing image of an undine, a mermaid. In fact, the heroine of the novel is a simple poor girl. But Pechorin, constantly looking for a hidden meaning behind the phenomena of the world, sees in her an image inspired by romantic German poetry. “The extraordinary flexibility of the camp”, “long blond hair”, “something wild and suspicious” in her views, “mysterious speeches”, “strange songs” - these are the components of the image of the Pechorin undine. He memorizes the mermaid's song "from word to word", because it is about free people, people of risk, people of action. Such people are close to our hero!
True, during their duel in the boat, the undine turns into a completely real and dangerous opponent: “she clung to my clothes like a cat, and suddenly a strong push almost threw me into the sea.” Pechorin even realizes that he is inferior to her in dexterity, but he is grateful for the joy of the duel. In this duel, a detail that seems to discredit the strong Pechorin attracts attention - he cannot swim! But we are already prepared by the previous narrative for the oddities and contradictions of the hero's nature.
The symbolic images of the chapter "Taman": the sea, the sail - continue the romantic theme of the work. These poetic images embody the idea of freedom, liberty, to which the hero aspires. The game, pretense, posturing that reign in secular society are alien to him, he is looking for a lofty ideal. That is why the rebellious Yanko is close to him, to whom, in his own words, “there is a road everywhere, where only the wind blows and the sea is noisy.” Yanko lives a free life in harmony with the world, and Pechorin lacks it. But the freedom-loving Yanko leaves under a white sail along with a beautiful undine. The final scene of "Taman" is symbolic: the ideal to which Pechorin's soul so strives is elusive and unattainable. Reality destroys the romantic world again. Returning to the hut, Pechorin discovers that "honest smugglers" have robbed him corny. Perhaps that is why the last phrase of “Taman” sounds disappointed and ironic: “Yes, and what do I care about human joys and misfortunes, me, a wandering officer, and even with a traveler on official duty.”
The first part of Pechorin's journal reveals to the reader precisely the romantic side of his nature. Before us appears a rebellious hero, an outstanding personality, thirsting for storms and worries, a man of reckless courage, looking for his ideal. At the same time, we see how reality, the routine of life, destroys the romantic world created by the hero in his imagination. This eternal conflict of romantic poetry!
In artistic terms, "Taman" is an example of high art. Conciseness, accuracy and simplicity of narration, richness of language make the short story an unsurpassed example of romantic prose. V.G. Belinsky compared the story with a lyric poem. A.P. Chekhov admitted that he was in love with these Lermontov pages. Yes, and how not to admire the poetic skill with which Lermontov's prose work was written! “I wrapped myself in a cloak and sat down on a stone by the fence, looking into the distance; in front of me stretched the sea agitated by a night storm, and its monotonous noise, like the murmur of a city falling asleep, reminded me of the old years, transferred my thoughts to the north, to our cold capital. Excited by memories, I forgot ... "We will also forget, reading the lovely lines of Lermontov and enjoying the Word ...
The meeting of Pechorin, the protagonist of Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time", with "honest smugglers" is depicted in the story "Taman", the first in Pechorin's Journal. The composition of the novel is unusual: it consists of separate stories with their own completed plot, united by a common main character. Lermontov adheres not to the chronology of events, but to the logic of the gradual disclosure of the character of the protagonist. Related to this is the presence of three narrators. First, Maxim Maksimych tells about Pechorin's organization of Bela's abduction, his cooling towards her and the death of the girl, then the narrator, wandering around the Caucasus, conveys the impressions of the meeting he saw between Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych. Having received Pechorin’s notes at his disposal and learning about his death, the narrator allegedly publishes his diaries (“Pechorin’s Journal”) with the aim (as he reports in the preface) to show the “story of the soul” of a person called the hero of the time and described as a portrait made up of vices today's young generation.
From the story “Taman”, the reader learns that immediately upon arrival in the Caucasus from St. Petersburg, “for official reasons”, and not of his own free will, Pechorin ended up in the “bad town” of Taman. There is no detailed description of the town, only casual mention is made of dirty alleys and dilapidated fences, but that is not why it is called “nasty”. The epithet reflects, rather, Pechorin's attitude to the events taking place in this place. Summing up everything that happened, Pechorin writes in his diary: "... a blind boy robbed me, and an eighteen-year-old girl almost drowned me." Thus, ironically about what happened, the hero names the two main participants in the drama that has played out.
Creating "Taman", Lermontov relied on the literary tradition of the genre of the robber novel, romantic in nature of the depiction of heroes and circumstances. At first, one gets the impression that the author does not deviate from this genre. The plot of events - "vater", where it is "unclean", a blind man who is "not as blind as it seems", a lunar landscape, a storm at sea, a mysterious white figure, a brave swimmer - all this arouses Pechorin's interest, makes him stay awake at night, covertly monitor what is happening on the seashore. However, all this does not disturb and capture him so much that he forgets about what happened in the recent past: the monotonous sound of the sea reminds him of the “murmur of a sleeping city” and brings back sad memories. At the same time, the night adventure is not so important that, wanting to know the denouement, Pechorin postponed his departure for Gelendzhik. Having learned that the ship will not be there for another three or four days, he returns from the commandant "sullen and angry."
Subsequently, Pechorin will say that he has long been living not with his heart, but with his head. When going on a date with the "undine", he does not forget to take a pistol with him and warn the Cossack batman so that, upon hearing the shot, he runs ashore. The beauty, apparently, naively thought that, having charmed Pechorin, she would become the mistress of the situation. However, Pechorin is not like that and knows the price of female coquetry. And yet he is embarrassed, really worried, he gets dizzy when a girl kisses him. On the one hand, he calls her behavior "comedy", on the other hand, he succumbs to her charm. He is able to deeply feel and experience, but does not stop analyzing for a minute.
The climactic scene is a desperate struggle in the boat. Previously, Pechorin compared the girl with a romantic mermaid, admiring her long flowing hair, an unusually flexible figure, a golden tint of her skin, a correct nose, comparing her with a "bird, scared out of the bush." Like an educated aristocrat, he casually talked about the "little foot" and "Goethe's Mignon." Now he has to fight for his life, and the girl - for hers. And it is not at all strange that now he is talking about her: "... like a cat clung to my clothes ... her snake nature withstood this torture." However, it should be noted that, having got ashore, Pechorin was “almost delighted” when he recognized “his mermaid” in the white figure on the shore.
The denouement is not romantic at all. All the heroes are alive, but the “peaceful circle of honest smugglers” is disturbed, a half-deaf old woman, a blind boy is left to the mercy of fate. Pechorin sympathetically tells how long, for a long time the poor blind man cried, but immediately notices that "thank God, in the morning there was an opportunity to go." In the finale, he once again recalls the abandoned blind and old woman, but philosophically remarks: "... what do I care about human joys and misfortunes ...". But really he is indifferent to them or tries to convince himself of this, the reader must understand for himself, thinking about what he read and comparing what he learned about the hero in different parts of the novel.
Critic V.G. Belinsky praised Pechorin as a man with a "strong will, courageous, not blanching any danger, asking for storms and alarms." This is how we know Pechorin from the stories of Maxim Maksimych, and now, in Taman, he himself told about one of such cases. Yes, he is active, brave, resourceful, resolute, intelligent, educated, but he is driven only by idle curiosity. "Smugglers" still win against his background. They are also brave (Yanko) and resourceful (undine), and also evoke sympathy, pity (old woman, boy); they are fighting for life, and Pechorin plays with it, however, not only his own. The consequences of his intervention in other people's destinies are sad, and he understands this, comparing himself with a stone that disturbed the surface of the source, and then, in "Princess Mary", with an ax in the hands of fate. Pechorin, according to Maxim Maksimych, feels no less unhappy than those to whom he voluntarily or involuntarily does evil. In "Taman" this is indirectly confirmed.
In this part of the novel, Pechorin does not utter a single large monologue, his thoughts and feelings are still largely hidden from the reader, but they are already of great interest, thanks to omissions and omissions.
"Taman" was highly valued by Belinsky and Turgenev, Tolstoy and Chekhov for some special color, harmony, beautiful language.
