The image of Maxim Maksimych in the novel by M. Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time"
“The history of the human soul ... is almost more curious and not more useful than the history of a whole people,” wrote M.Yu. Lermontov.
One of the most interesting characters in M.Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time" is Maksim Maksimych. This is a sensitive nature, retaining its attachments for a long time (it is enough to recall how Maxim Maksimych met Pechorin). He loved him like his own, and was very offended by the cold and strained meeting, but remained faithful to him to the end. He loved Bela very much, loved him like a daughter. He was very sorry that she had died, and yet he understood that Pechorin would have abandoned her in the end, and for the poor mountain woman it would have been much worse than death. Maksim Maksimych's love for Bela is precisely paternal love with a hint of severe pity. And the fact that he was capable of such feelings proves the breadth of his soul. He could understand the actions, orders and customs of the highlanders, which seemed to be completely alien to his ideas. He spoke about the murder of Bela's father by Kazbich: "Of course, in their language, he was absolutely right." He was a man capable of ardent love and forgiveness. Rare quality!
Like other heroes, he allows us to better understand the image of the main character of the novel - Pechorin.
Maxim Maksimych is an ordinary army officer. Service and life in the Caucasus influenced his soul and perception of life. He has seen a lot, he has a lot of experience behind him. Maxim Maksimych spent a lot of time in distant impregnable fortresses. Life among the soldiers, of course, affected his character. We see that he has a rather narrow outlook. But this is not a consequence of his nature, but a consequence of the fact that for many years his entire circle of contacts consisted of Circassians and soldiers.
It is worth mentioning the attitude of Maxim Maksimych towards his enemies - the Circassians. Despite the fact that he speaks of them with obvious disdain, he nevertheless studied their language, knows their customs and customs well. Through his eyes we look at the Circassians, their traditions and way of life.
The whole life of Maxim Maksimych was spent among ordinary people. He didn't experience true love. He didn't even have anyone to love. He gives all his unspent feeling of love to Bela. Being very devoted to Pechorin, he still cannot forgive him for the death of the girl.
Forgetting about himself, he serves people without demanding gratitude in return. Serving people is the meaning of his life. He appreciates even small manifestations of affection for himself. Moreover, we understand his grief that before his death, Bela did not remember him. Although it is immediately stipulated that he is not such a person to think about him before his death.
Army life taught him discipline. Call of duty for him above all. While waiting for Pechorin at the station, “perhaps for the first time in his life he abandoned his service for his own needs ...” Maxim Maksimych is a typical best representative of his environment. Despite the hardships of life, he retained a beautiful soul. He is kind, sympathetic, he has a “golden heart”.
Maxim Maksimych allows us to understand Pechorin, and Pechorin highlights the best qualities of a “man of the people”. This man believes in friendship. Comparing these heroes, we see how a simple officer is morally superior to the aristocrat Pechorin, jaded with life. This is especially clearly shown in the episode of the meeting between Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin.
“After all, now come running!” - he proudly declares, having learned from the footman that in the city of Pechorin. Maxim Maksimych is patiently waiting for the one who once brought him a lot of anxiety and grief. But Pechorin would have forgotten about him, and if the staff captain had not come running in time, he would have left without remembering Maxim Maksimych. When meeting with Pechorin, Maxim Maksimych cannot hold back his tears, he is so glad to see a friend. He is ridiculous in his sentimentality, but his weakness is worth much more than Pechorin's cold selfishness. A person who, after many years of separation, has carried love for his random comrade, is capable of much for the sake of friendship. Such people illuminate life with a soft, kind, hearty light, help to understand what is good and what is bad, to recognize and correct their mistakes. There are few such people. They are almost never famous, noble, rich, rarely occupy high positions. They give everything to their friends, everything they have, and even themselves.
When they are pushed away, as happened when Maxim Maksimych met Pechorin, they are very worried about this. It seems to me that people like Maksim Maksimych cannot be deliberately offended. This can only be done by a very insensitive or bad person. In my opinion, a person who has offended such a “Maxim Maksimych” should deeply experience his guilt, try to make amends for it, mitigate it. Therefore, sometimes it is quite difficult to communicate with such people.
And one more thing: such people are rarely offended. It may seem contradictory, but this is exactly what it is. The offender feels more offended than the offended.
These are weak people. Weak in relation to their friends. Forgiving people. They may scold their friends in front of them, but behind their backs they will always speak well of them. And when they scold in the face, they will experience it much more than those whom they scold.
These are strong people. They do not forgive themselves for their weaknesses. Even when Maxim Maksimych says that he cried, looking at Pechorin with Bela, he corrects himself: “It’s not that he cried, but that’s stupidity!”
Such people rarely talk about themselves. Yes, it happens and is not necessary. It is clear what kind of person he is - from his first words.
These are those “first comers”, sent by fate, who usually find it so easy to express their anxieties and who can help you with a parable, a story or just a word!
It seems to me that you can check your actions by such people. You just need to think not about what they would say to you, but about how they would act in a similar situation.
Such people cannot and should not be many.
But if such a person becomes your friend, that's great.
He is poor, not high in status, and not very educated. But on the other hand, being just an ordinary army officer, he told a lot in his lifetime and has a lot of life experience. Maksim Maksimych is very dedicated to his official duty. Humanity and selflessness are the main features that have become established in him as an officer. For many years, his main social circle was soldiers and Circassians. This explains his rather narrow outlook. But this does not mean that he is far from beautiful, on the contrary, he perceives everything around him quite sensitively. In addition, he is very affectionate, knows how to take care of another person. Despite his rich inner world, Maxim Maksimych was never able to start a family, he was very lonely. And so he poured out all his kindness on Bela, whom he loved like his own daughter. He always tried to support, console her in difficult times. Even being very devoted to Pechorin, he could not forgive him for the death of the girl.
In the image of Maxim Maksimych, Lermontov expressed a simple man, close to the people, very devoted to service and duties.
The protagonist of the novel M. Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time" - Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin. It is his fate, the fate of the "superfluous person", that is at the center of the story. In the first part of the work, we get acquainted with Pechorin thanks to the story of Maxim Maksimych, included in the notes of a wandering officer. Maxim Maksimych is both the hero of the work and the narrator. Lermontov himself attached great importance to the development of this image, as evidenced by the sketch adjoining the novel, entitled "Caucasian":
The role of Maxim Maksimych in different parts of the novel is different. So, in the story "Bela" he is presented not so much as a character, but as an attentive witness and a talented storyteller. This is Lermontov's amazing find: Maxim Maksimych is not only a witness to the event he tells, but his personality is united with this event, as if Maxim Maksimych himself is his hero. The writer managed to look at the event through the eyes of an "old Caucasian" and tell this event in a simple, rough language, but always picturesque, always touching and amazing.
Attention should be paid to the peculiarities of the speech of Maxim Maksimych, a simple and modest narrator, in which the tradition of a tale-like manner is noticeable, characteristic of A. S. Pushkin's "Tales of Belkin" ("The Stationmaster"). In his speech, Maxim Maksimych actively uses expressions and phrases from professional military terminology: “a transport with provisions has arrived”, “girls and young guys stand in two lines”. The same feature is also emphasized by the completely familiar, local, "Caucasian" words and expressions that have come into use: peaceful prince, kunak, dzhigitovka, saklya, dukhanshchina, beshmet, giaur, kalym, etc.
Sometimes in my story Maksim Maksimych, as it were, finds it difficult to recall any local Caucasian expression and replaces it with the corresponding Russian words: “The poor old man strums on a three-stringed ... I forgot how they say it ... well, like our balalaika.” This originality of Maxim Maksimych's speech manner is a direct expression of his attitude towards people, towards the surrounding reality. The image of Maxim Maksimych outlined in the story "Bela" is revealed by the author in the story of the same name. Here he himself is a character, and the author tells us about him.
in the story and the behavior of Maxim Maksimych, we see how different his perception of reality is from Pechorin's views and attitude to life. The central event of the story is the capture of a young Circassian woman. Attention is drawn to the fact that Maxim Maksimych at first has a negative attitude towards Pechorin's act, but gradually his attitude is changing. In the sketch “The Caucasian”, Lermontov noted that under the influence of the harsh Caucasian reality, the old officers acquired a sober, prosaic outlook on life: “Cossacks do not tempt him, but at one time he dreamed of a captive Circassian woman, but now he has forgotten this almost unrealizable dream.” In the story of the kidnapping of Bela, told by Maxim Maksimych, Pechorin turns out to be fulfilling the "almost impossible dream" of every "Caucasian", including, perhaps, Maxim Maksimych himself. This is also evidenced by the fact that he sympathizes with Pechorin, who for a long time fails to "tame" the recalcitrant captive,
Maxim Maksimych notes that he is used to her as to his own daughter. His memories are full of sympathy and sadness that Pechorin gradually became disillusioned with his love and began to move away from his beloved. Moreover, knowing the character of Pechorin, Maxim Maksimych tries to distract the girl from her sad thoughts:
cold shine his eye reflected the cold gleam of his soul. We are once again convinced of this in the episode of the meeting between Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin after a five-year separation. Maxim Maksimych is convinced that the sad events of the past, memories of tragic incidents should bring people together, even if they part for a long time, but Pechorin has a different opinion. Perhaps that is why he does not show much joy when he sees his old comrade. Moreover, he seeks to avoid unpleasant memories and unpleasant conversations, and yet the poor old man was in such a hurry to see him that even “for the first time of his life, perhaps, he abandoned the affairs of the service for his own need, speaking in paper language - and how he was awarded !" The final chord of the story, the author's reflections finally place accents in the characters' characters.
Usually, when thinking about the system of narrators in the novel A Hero of Our Time, researchers talk about three narrator characters: Maksim Maksimych, a wandering officer, and Pechorin. However, in our opinion, J. Siladi is right when he writes not about three, but about “two fictitious narrators” - a wandering travel officer and Pechorin. The story of Maxim Maksimych (in the definition of Siladi, “secondary narrator”), although large in volume, was recorded by the wandering companion of the staff captain and reproduced by him from memory. Maksim Maksimych does not appear directly anywhere in the story as a narrator, he is really a "fictitious" narrator.
But whether to consider Maxim Maksimych an independent storyteller or not, the important question remains: what is the artistic function of the image of Maxim Maksimych? why did the writer need a simple-hearted hero-narrator? The answer seems to be simple: to convey the first and most preliminary impressions of the image of the main character Pechorin, which will later be refined by the perception of other consciousnesses - a secular traveler and the confession of Pechorin himself. This is partly true, but does not exhaust the artistic function of the image of Maxim Maksimych.
The old servant, who for the first time introduces the reader to the protagonist of the novel, creates not only, or rather not so much the image of Pechorin himself (whom he understands little and therefore perceives as a “strange” person), but rather allows the writer to objectively and accurately, through the observations of an experienced Caucasian, recreate atmosphere of the "wild" Caucasus, unfamiliar to the Russian reader.
Initially, one gets the impression that the story is being told in the traditional literary romanticized (“marlinized” - A.S. Pushkin) vein, when, in the spirit of A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, the “old Caucasian” depicts the atmosphere of a “wild people”, among which almost every “beast”, “devil”, “devil”, “robber”, “guitar”, “desperate head”, where “every day there is danger ”, where the blood in the veins of the heroes is “robber”, where even the horse is “robber”.
A significant proportion of expressive emotional epithets are clearly drawn by the experienced staff captain from literary (mostly romantic) works. But gradually the stories of the experienced and habitual observer Maxim Maksimych become more and more realistic. The hero describes pictures of the everyday life of the highlanders, with knowledge of the details recreates their manners and customs, singing and dancing, competitions and games. The speech of the hero is filled with folk formulas and expressions, replete with local "Tatar" (Turkic) names, includes folklore phrases. With all the persuasiveness of an experienced Caucasian, the staff captain not only accurately reproduces the traditions of the mountain peoples, but also allows the artist, through the consciousness of a familiar person, to erase the literary clichés of the romanticized depiction of the life of the Caucasian tribes. It is no coincidence that against the background of a young, enthusiastic writer-traveler, Maxim Maksimych looks emphatically laconic and reserved. The delight and admiration of the wandering traveler is extinguished by the knowledge and experience of a sophisticated and practical staff captain.
At the end of the 1830s. Lermontov, following Pushkin, was striving for a new and modern - realistic - style of writing. However, the writer's task was not to acquaint the reader with the ethnographic and national characteristics of Muslim Caucasians, even if in a realistically commonplace perspective. Appeal to the experience of the owner of "clear common sense" allowed the writer to overcome another romantic (almost utopian) tradition, the idea of "natural man" J.-J. Rousseau. According to the writer-educator, the moral superiority of a “natural” person over a “civilizational” person is determined by the fact that the former is guided by feelings and the heart, while the latter reflects and resonates. Rousseau's followers hoped for the transformation of civilized man under the influence of nature and the world of natural feelings and passions. And Lermontov, it seems, directed his hero along this path. However, next to the young "heir" of Rousseau, Lermontov finds Maxim Maksimych - a kind of Voltaire's "innocent", who can be an intelligent and objective observer of life, who is almost unemotionally able to convey to the listener a chronicle of recreated events. The combination of genre features of the travel notes of an enthusiastic romantic and the everyday story told by an experienced Caucasian soldier formed a realistic objectivity, due to the debunking of the usual literary paradigms and schemes.
It seems that in "Bela" the story is not so much about the fate of a Russian officer who found himself in an exotically unusual environment, but about the fate of the youngest Circassian woman, torn from her native element (the title of the story is "Bela"). However, the love of a Circassian woman is not a goal that the traditional “cultural European” longs to achieve, but only a means for the “strange” person Pechorin in an attempt to find himself and the meaning of his own life. Lermontov seems to double the antinomy: the hero not only ruins the life of a young Circassian woman, but he himself does not find a way to get rid of boredom. It is no coincidence that Maxim Maksimych observantly exclaims: “No, she did well that she died! Well, what would have become of her if Grigory Alexandrovich left her? And it would happen, sooner or later ... ". For the simple-hearted Maksim Maksimych, the love of a young maiden would be the highest happiness and the highest reward, the death of the heroine would be his greatest loss. However, the feeling that permeates Pechorin after the death of a young Circassian is not the bitterness of loss, but increased boredom. Pechorin admits: "... if you want, I still love her, only I'm bored with her ...".
So, at first glance (especially when the story was published in a journal), it might seem that Lermontov, in the tradition of the “Caucasian stories” of the early nineteenth century. immerses the secular European hero Pechorin in the exotic atmosphere of the Caucasus, conveyed by the impressions of an experienced campaigner Maxim Maksimych, in order to either continue the traditions, for example, Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, or destroy them (which V. G. Belinsky wrote about in his first responses to the story). But in violation of all the usual literary canons, Lermontov's hero Pechorin not only does not dissolve in a fertile foreign environment, not only does not find peace for his raging heart, but also destroys the established foundations and orders of the highland prince's family, provoking with his own will and inexplicable whim a series of deaths that could have been to avoid. However, this intention is not a desire to even more poeticize the “wild” land (full of its own contradictions), not a desire to debunk civilization (as it might seem), but an attempt to comprehend the essence and essence of the character of the “strange” hero Pechorin, to etiologize the origins of his boredom.
In the final part of Bela, the story of Pechorin's soul appears as an (almost) "delayed exposition". According to the hero: “In my early youth, from the moment I left the care of my relatives, I began to enjoy furiously all the pleasures that money can get, and, of course, these pleasures disgusted me. Then I set off into the big world, and soon I also got tired of society; I fell in love with secular beauties and was loved - but their love only irritated my imagination and pride, and my heart remained empty ... I began to read, study - science was also tired; I saw that neither fame nor happiness depend on them in the least, because the happiest people are ignorant, and fame is luck, and to achieve it, you just need to be clever. Then I got bored ... Soon they transferred me to the Caucasus: this is the happiest time of my life. I hoped that boredom did not live under Chechen bullets - in vain: a month later I was so used to their buzzing and to the proximity of death that, really, I paid more attention to mosquitoes - and I became more bored than before, because I had almost lost my last hope » .
Pechorin's "Autobiography", as presented by Maxim Maksimych and transmitted by a wandering officer, allows us to comprehend the origins of the character of Lermontov's hero and reveals that the character is surprisingly similar to the heroes of the beginning of the century, and not our century, which appears in the title of the novel. Evidence of this is the classical texts of Russian literature.
“In my first youth, I began to enjoy wildly all the pleasures that you can get for money ...” - and the image of the hero of “War and Peace” L.N. Tolstoy, "Decembrist" (according to the original title of the novel) Pierre Bezukhov, with his revels and boyish drinking parties in 1805 in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
“Then I set off into the big world, and soon I was also tired of society ...” - with all certainty, an appeal to Eugene Onegin or A.P. who is bored in the salon is acceptable. Sherer to Andrei Bolkonsky.
"... fell in love with secular beauties and was loved - but their love only irritated my imagination ..." - again Eugene Onegin, who comprehended "the science of tender passion."
“... I saw that neither fame nor happiness depend on them at all, because the happiest people are ignorant, and fame is luck ...” - for example, the Famus society, Alexei Molchalin and so on.
“Then I got bored…” One can imagine how great is the variety of those literary characters and their real prototypes that could and did arise in the minds of Lermontov's contemporaries while reading Bela. The hero of the beginning of the century was recognizable and distinguishable in every (half) phrase of Pechorin.
"Translation to the Caucasus" was inevitable and historically determined for the freethinker hero, and fundamental for the creator of the novel.
At the end of the story about Pechorin (and about his boredom), Maxim Maksimych asks the wandering writer: “Tell me, please, you seem to have been in the capital: is it really all the youth there?” . It is clear that the hero (and the author) appeal to the generation. And the interlocutor replies: “... there are many people who say the same thing, and there are probably those who tell the truth; and that now those who really miss the most are trying to hide this misfortune as a vice ... ". In the meantime, in Bel, almost in the spirit of the hero Griboedov, the staff captain will ask the young officer from St. Petersburg one more, almost affirmative question: “And that’s it, tea, have the French made it fashionable to be bored?” . And he will receive the answer: “No, Englishmen”, in which the representation of the generation of the beginning of the century is obvious: the name of Byron appears and after him the image of Childe Harold is born associatively, a rebel hero who inspired the ideas of freedom of many Russian romantics, among whom the Decembrists were among the first .
Thus, the observations made allow us to suggest that at an early stage of work on the "chain of stories" Lermontov was thinking and going to embody in the image of Pechorin one of the heroes of the beginning of the century, and not of our time, the Decembrist heroes or heroes close to the Decembrist circles. An important proof of this is the original title of the novel "One of the heroes of the beginning of the century." Life circumstances - death of A.S. Pushkin, the poem "The Death of a Poet", a translation to the Caucasus, to the place of exile of the Decembrist officers - naturally aimed Lermontov at creating a portrait of this particular type of hero, historically and literary localized by the idea not in our time, but at the beginning of the century. The originally conceived hero of Lermontov was a representative of Pushkin's time - "strange" and "bored", thinking and disappointed, deprived of an ideal and rejected by society, i.e. “sick” (later in the Preface to the novel - “the illness is indicated”). But the plot of the novel will change. It is no coincidence that in "Princess Mary", i.e. much later, when the mention of P.P. Kaverin, he will be called "one of the most dexterous rake of the past, once sung by Pushkin." By that time, the narrative will have already undergone transformation and will be conducted from other artistic and ideological positions, and a hero of our time will really come to the fore. In the meantime, in "Bel", the story of Maxim Maksimych represents the hero of the beginning of the century, the hero of the "strange", cast down, seeking deliverance from boredom-disappointment (including through the love of a savage), but hoping for a cure hopelessly.
Bibliography
1. Lermontov M.Yu. Hero of our time // Lermontov M.Yu. Complete works: in 1 vol. Kaliningrad, 2000. 1064 p.
2. Siladi Zh. Secrets of Pechorin (the semantic structure of the image of the hero in the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov) // M.Yu. Lermontov: Pro et contra: an anthology. T. 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2014. 998 p.
Everything in the novel is subordinated to the main task - to show the state of mind of the protagonist as deeply and in detail as possible, in the image of which a portrait is given not of one person, but of an artistic type that has absorbed the features of a whole generation of young people of the thirties of the 19th century. The whole system of images in the novel is also subordinated to the main task - the disclosure of Pechorin's personality.
Most readers and critics perceived Pechorin as a negative hero. So did Emperor Nicholas I. Getting acquainted with the first part of the work, he decided that the "hero of our days" would be an unpretentious, honest campaigner Maxim Maksimych.
V.G. Belinsky recognized in Maksim Maksimych "a purely Russian type." He wrote: “... You, dear reader, surely did not dryly part with this old baby, so kind, so sweet, so humane and so inexperienced in everything that went beyond the close horizon of his concepts and experience. And God grant you to meet on the path of your life Maksimov Maksimychi!".
Maxim Maksimych is, according to Belinsky, "a kind simpleton who does not even suspect how deep and rich his nature is, how high and noble he is." The image of Maxim Maksimych is important for understanding the democratic aspirations of Lermontov's work. A similar image was encountered earlier in the works of the poet: it was the image of a mortally wounded soldier, a man of duty in the poem "Testament", brave and noble soldiers and commanders in "Borodino", "Valerika", and, finally, in the essay "Caucasian", where given a generalized image of an officer, a representative of a democratic environment, who for years exposed himself to military danger, and in the future a lonely, unsettled old age awaited him.
Maxim Maksimych is poor, does not have a high rank and is not very educated. His life was difficult, and military service left a certain imprint on his character. He is an ordinary army officer who has seen a lot and has a lot of life experience. Call of duty is above all for him, while Maxim Maksimych is characterized by love of life and the ability to subtly perceive the beauty of the world around him. The staff captain is endowed with a sense of beauty, humane and selfless, he knows how to take care of people.
In relation to Pechorin, Maxim Maksimych is kind and hospitable. The old officer sincerely becomes attached to Grigory Alexandrovich and gives him tenderness and attention.
The kindness of the soul of Maxim Maksimych is also revealed in relation to Bela. He fell in love with the wild Circassian woman like his own daughter, deeply worried about her fate when Pechorin lost interest in her. Maxim Maksimych took care of Bela, trying to smooth her feelings. He even tried to talk with Pechorin about the fate of the girl, did not approve of his indifferent attitude towards Bela. Despite his kindness and sincerity, Maksim Maksimych is very lonely. He was unable to create a family and spent all the time in a lost fortress, regularly fulfilling his duties. "For him to live means to serve, and to serve in the Caucasus," wrote Belinsky. Maxim Maksimych knows the life of the highlanders and local customs very well: "These Asians are terrible beasts! I already know them, they won't deceive me."
Maxim Maksimych is a completely different character than the protagonist of the novel. The staff captain compares favorably with Pechorin in his simplicity and artlessness, reflection is not characteristic of him, he perceives life as it is, without philosophizing or analyzing. Maxim Maksimych is close to the surrounding reality. He understands the highlanders with their simple and primitive way of life, with their feelings, which find expression not in long speeches, but in actions. In the life of the highlanders, Maxim Maksimych sees nothing incomprehensible, inexplicable. On the contrary, Pechorin's character and behavior are completely incomprehensible to him. Pechorin in the eyes of Maxim Maksimych is "strange": "... he was very strange." The characteristics that Maxim Maksimych gives Pechorin speak not only of the simplicity and naivety of his soul, but also of the rather limited abilities of his mind, of his inability to understand the complex and searching inner world of the protagonist: "It seems that in childhood he was spoiled by his mother." It is significant that the author trusts Maxim Maksimych to tell the story of "Bela", since the hero is too simple to understand Pechorin - basically Maxim Maksimych sets out external events. Maxim Maksimych's affection for Pechorin has been preserved over the years. This can be observed during the meeting of the heroes, five years later. Maxim Maksimych is so happy to meet that he quits "for the first time of his life ... the affairs of the service", forgetting about his years, runs to Pechorin, wants to "throw himself on the neck" from an overabundance of feelings. However, Pechorin meets his friend only with a dry, polite greeting. Maxim Maksimych accuses him of class arrogance: “What is in me for him? I’m not rich, I’m not official, and he’s not at all good for years ...” Maksim Maksimych took wishful thinking, so Pechorin’s attitude at the last meeting turned out to be a heavy blow of fate for staff -captain.
Maxim Maksimych's speech manner is characterized by the use of expressions and phrases from military professional terminology: "a transport with provisions has arrived"; "girls and young guys stand in two lines." At the same time, in Maxim Maksimych's speech, without any special affectation, without pressure, as completely familiar, included in daily use, the most common local, "Caucasian" words and expressions are found: peace prince, kunak, dzhigitovka, saklya, dukhanshchitsa, beshmet, giaour, bride price, etc. Sometimes in the speech of Maxim Maksimych himself, and more often in the direct speech of Kazbich and Azamat transmitted by him, individual words and phrases of the Tatar language sound: "Hey, Azamat, don't blow your head off," I told him: "Yaman will be your head!" But it also happens that Maxim Maksimych in his story seems to find it difficult to recall any local Caucasian expression and replaces it with the corresponding Russian words: "The poor old man strums on a three-stringed ... I forgot how they say ... well, like our balalaika." This originality of Maxim Maksimych's speech manner is a direct expression of his attitude towards people, towards the surrounding life.
In the most tense dramatic moments, Maxim Maksimych's language becomes especially expressive and approaches the style of the author: "He knelt beside the bed, lifted her head from the pillow and pressed her lips to her cold lips; she tightly wrapped her trembling arms around his neck, as if in this I wanted to give him my soul with a kiss ... ".
Belinsky also noted the high artistry of Maxim Maksimych’s speech: “Maxim Maksimych told the story of Bela in his own way, in his own language; but from this she not only lost nothing, but gained infinitely much. Kind Maksim Maksimych, without knowing it, became a poet, so that in each of his words, in each expression lies the endless world of poetry. We don’t know what is more surprising here: whether the poet, forcing Maxim Maksimych to be only a witness to the event he tells, so closely merged his personality with this event, as if Maxim Maksimych himself was his hero, or the fact that he was able to look so poetically, so deeply at the event through the eyes of Maxim Maksimych and tell this event in a simple, rude language, but always picturesque, always touching and amazing even in his very comic?... ".
It is significant how with the help of the word the "otherness" of the characters is set off. The inner world of Maxim Maksimych is revealed through the spoken word - a tale, the inner world of Pechorin - through the "journal" diary that he wrote for himself. Thus, such a character as Maxim Maksimych is very important for revealing the main idea of \u200b\u200bthe work and the character of Pechorin. These heroes are brought together by daring, love for nature, understanding of its greatness and beauty, courage and nobility, spontaneity and sincerity in communication, interest in the world around us, and an effective attitude towards it.
However, the kind and simple staff captain is unable to understand the character and actions of Pechorin, although he sincerely attaches himself to him. Maxim Maksimych perceives life as it is. He is a rather limited and primitive campaigner, faithful to the oath and regularly performing his duties. However, according to Belinsky, he has "a wonderful soul, a heart of gold." Of course, Pechorin and Maxim Maksimych could not become true friends, these people stand at different poles of life.
Every episode, every detail in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is not accidental. All of them serve the same purpose - to show and reveal to the reader the image of the protagonist as fully as possible.
It is known that at first criticism condemned Pechorin and opposed him to the image of Maxim Maksimych that corresponded to her ideals. Nicholas I really liked this hero with his humility - Maxim Maksimych calmly pulls the strap of military service in the Caucasus, does not protest against serfdom, what else is needed? But for Lermontov, the true hero was Pechorin - free in his actions and thoughts.
However, this does not make the image of Maxim Maksimych less important and interesting in the novel.
In the work, we find Maxim Maksimych already an old campaigner, who is about fifty years old. Nothing is told about his past, the story of his life can only be guessed from individual details and hints.
Maxim Maksimych is an ordinary officer in the Caucasus. He is poor and practically uneducated. But most importantly, he knows how to love and care for people. He has seen a lot in his life, but his horizons are narrow, since he communicated only with his colleagues and mountaineers, whose customs and language he studied, despite the fact that they were enemies.
He is an unusually kind and sensitive person - one has only to remember how he met Pechorin. Maksim Maksimych is insanely happy to meet, abandons "for the first time of his life ... the affairs of the service", forgetting about his age, runs to Pechorin, wants to "throw on his neck", and Pechorin meets him only with a dry polite greeting. Maksim Maksimych accuses him of class arrogance: "What does he have in me? I'm not rich, I'm not official, and in terms of years he's not at all a match ... ". As you can see, Maxim Maksimych chose the simplest explanation for Pechorin's behavior, and agreed with him, not wanting to "drop" deeper, more seriously to understand the reasons for the coldness of Alexander Grigorievich. Nevertheless, despite Maxim Maksimych's disappointment in the meeting, he remained faithful to this strange friendship to the end.
Military life, of course, left its mark on the vocabulary and manner of speech of the staff captain. His conversation is replete with military professionalism. For example: "a transport with provisions has arrived"; "girls and young guys stand in two lines." But such turns sound from his lips as completely everyday, ordinary. There are also dialectisms in his speech, "Caucasian" words and expressions: "peaceful prince", "kunak", "dzhigitovka", "saklya", "dukhanshchitsa", "beshmet", "giaour", "kalym", etc. .
Sometimes in the speech of Maxim Maksimych himself, and more often in the direct speech of Kazbich and Azamat transmitted by him, individual words and phrases of the Tatar language sound: "Hey, Azamat, don't blow your head off," I told him: "Yaman will be your head!" But it also happens that Maxim Maksimych in his story seems to find it difficult to recall any local Caucasian expression and replaces it with the corresponding Russian words: "The poor old man strums on a three-stringed ... I forgot how they say ... well, like our balalaika."
The negative attitude of Maxim Maksimych towards the highlanders is expressed in his assessment of their customs and rituals. With a feeling of squeamish contempt, he says to Pechorin: "... everything is like this with these Asians: the booze was pulled, and the massacre began." Describing a Caucasian wedding, the hero condemns the custom of "inviting everyone you meet and cross to a wedding." Although, if you think about it, in such a custom you can see elements of the democratic nature of mountain society, when even a person of a simple rank can visit the prince, which was unacceptable at the wedding of a secular nobleman in Russia.
But we notice that the story of Maxim Maksimych is generally characterized by the desire to belittle the life and customs of the highlanders. He also speaks derogatoryly about the wedding ceremony itself, in which he sees neither beauty nor manifestations of the national spirit. Maxim Maksimych does not see beauty in trick riding either. For him, the highlander, who takes on the role of an entertainer for the audience, appears as "a ruffian, greasy, on a nasty, lame horse, breaks down, clowns, makes an honest company laugh."
But the nature of the hero is not as simple and mundane as it might seem. In the most tense dramatic moments, Maxim Maksimych's language becomes especially expressive and approaches the style of the author: "He knelt beside the bed, lifted her head from the pillow and pressed her lips to her cold lips; she tightly wrapped her trembling arms around his neck, as if in this I wanted to give him my soul with a kiss ... "This, in my opinion, speaks of the nobility of the hero, his ability to see the main thing in life.
As mentioned at the beginning, everything in the novel is not accidental, and the hero's speech, of course, too. If Pechorin reveals his inner world through the written word, that is, through his diary, then Maxim Maksimych reveals it through the spoken word. By his speech we can judge his inner world.
So, Maxim Maksimych is very kind, warmly and joyfully reacts to any manifestation of attention to him. But, despite this, he did not see love and did not create a family. This is probably why Maxim Maksimych fell in love with the Circassian Bela like a father. By the way, the author trusts him to tell the story about Bela, as the closest Russian person to her.
This hero is not inclined to reflection, he is completely simple, pure in the manifestations of his feelings, does not analyze and does not philosophize over life situations. But even his enemies, the highlanders, he perfectly understands. Having spent his whole life in these parts, Maxim Maksimych perfectly learned to understand and accept the highlanders, but Pechorin's impulsiveness, and indeed the character of Pechorin, remained incomprehensible and even "strange" for him: "... he was very strange."
It can be said that the staff captain judges all people from his bell tower. If Pechorin is incomprehensible to him, then "it is clear that in childhood he was spoiled by his mother."
In the research literature, the image of Maxim Maksimych is called the national type of a simple Russian person. According to the general opinion of critics, he embodies the best features of the national character - kindness, humanity, devotion, sincerity. It is traditionally believed that the image of Maxim Maksimych opposes Pechorin and is the representative of the people on the pages of the novel. Despite the fact that immediately after the release of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" fierce controversy unfolded around him, the image of the staff captain caused enthusiastic assessments. The most surprising, and even paradoxical, was that critics of various ideological trends expressed their sympathy for the old warrior with the Kabardian pipe. The reactionary critics of the so-called "official nationality" camp scolded the novel, Pechorin, Lermontov, but praised Maxim Maksimych. They were opposed by critics of a democratic orientation, who also praised the staff captain. There was an incredible unity of opinion - the image of Maxim Maksimych became a reconciling beginning for ideological opponents. “Of the secondary persons, we, of course, must give the first place to Maxim Maksimovich,” wrote S. Shevyrev, “What an integral character of a native Russian good man, into whom the subtle infection of Western education has not penetrated; who, with the imaginary outward coldness of a warrior who has seen enough of the danger, retained all the ardor, all the life of the soul; who loves nature inwardly, without admiring it, loves the music of a bullet, because his heart beats stronger at the same time ... ".
Staff Captain Belinsky speaks in an even more enthusiastic spirit: "... and you will see what a warm, noble, even tender heart beats in the iron chest of this apparently hardened man; you will see how he understands everything with some kind of instinct human and takes an ardent part in it; how, contrary to his own consciousness, his soul longs for love and sympathy - and you will love from the bottom of your heart the simple, kind, rude in his manners, laconic in the words of Maxim Maksimych ... "The image of Maxim Maksimych plays a big role in novel. He is not only an auxiliary figure - he helps to reveal the image of Pechorin, but also in a completely independent way, traced and disclosed in sufficient detail.
Maxim Maksimych - is a minor character in the novel by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time". This character is the only one among the minor characters that helps a lot to get an idea of Pechorin.
Lermontov told little about the biography of Maxim Maksimych. It is known that he was born into a poor family. He has no education. I haven't heard anything about my parents since I was thirty-eight. He devoted much of his life to military service. I fought in Chechnya for ten years. In the novel, he is a staff captain. Maxim Maksimych knows the Tatar language, since he served in the Caucasus for many years, and knows almost every person there. He does not have his own family: he does not know how to communicate with women, and he did not marry on time.
Maksim Maksimych is an active person. His hair turned gray early. There was also a mustache on the face. His face was always kind and benevolent. With everyone he communicated simply, in a friendly way and asked others to behave with themselves in the same way. Maxim Maksimych could find a common language with anyone. It is also known that he was friends even with some robbers, and they responded with the same friendliness to him. Everyone who came into contact with him fell in love with him. In the service, the old man was always honest and served "in good conscience." Maxim Maksimych never once took a day off (once to see Pechorin). He has a little cunning in his character, but he is a completely non-proud and modest person.
In communication between Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin M.Yu. Lermontov showed two generations of that time. Pechorin was the face of all young people of the nineteenth century. The first difference can be seen during their meeting after many years of separation: Maxim Maksimych ran with great joy to meet the young man. And Pechorin only coldly, but affably extended his hand for a handshake. This speaks of great emotionality and friendliness of the old man.
Maxim Maksimych was not indifferent to the fate of every person. After Pechorin abducted Bella, he took care of her as if he were his own daughter. Maxim Maksimych tried to draw Pechorin's attention to her.
Also, the old man was capable of tears, which he often tried to hide. In the novel, you can see situations when Maxim Maksimych could be offended (his emotions at Pechorin's attitude at the meeting) and become stubborn.
Literary critics called him a naive child. And the famous Belinsky wrote that Maxim Maksimych personifies a real Russian person.
Composition on the topic Maxim Maksimych
By the age of fifty, Maxim Maksimych had a great life experience, remaining himself - a benevolent and vulnerable person. The fact that in his life there was a lot of time spent in the Caucasus as an officer was reminiscent of the appearance of a fighter who turned gray too early, a dark tan, confidence and firmness in his gait expressed over time.
The description of the external appearance of this hero is more sparse, in contrast to the characteristics of his inner world. This is evidenced by his attitude towards people of different statuses, generations. With Kazbich he is friendly, peacefully drinking tea. Maxim Maksimych was one of the Tatars invited to the celebration, the prince, since they "were kunak with him." He considers Pechorin to be his friend, who was cruel to him. But, despite this, Maxim Maksimych remained a man of a good soul. He treated others equally - with respect, understanding, sympathy and love.
This man is unforgiving. When he found out about the arrival of Pechorin, he postponed everything that was planned. However, the meeting did not take place. This brought him unthinkable resentment and disappointment. But in the future, with good thoughts, he recalls an old friend.
The former elderly fighter was not educated, but his human qualities overshadowed this. Able to sympathize, listen and understand, come to the rescue, unselfishly offer his helping hand in difficult times - all this complemented the image of a sensitive and hospitable person. It is characterized by a strong sense of affection, fidelity to friendly relations. He is a good connoisseur of local customs, who appreciates their ways. His “heart of gold” speaks of responsiveness.
Maxim Maksimych could not boast of prosperity in family life, because he was a bachelor. He regrets the absence of his wife, that he does not know how to build relationships with women.
In this work, Maxim Maksimych played an important role. He became an observer and participant in relations with Pechorin, a witness to Grigory's connection with Bela. From such episodes, the reader learned a detailed description of other heroes, thanks to the opposition of the image of Maxim Maksimych to them, as well as the author's sympathy for the hero.
Option 3
The novel by M.Yu. Lermontov was created on the basis of his impressions from his stay in the Caucasus. Reading his work, one does not feel at all that the work was composed at that time. You just immediately plunge into an unusual world inhabited by different people with their own destiny and character.
Maksim Maksimych is one of them. We learn that an elderly staff captain serves with special zeal in a small distant Caucasian fortress. His life goes quietly and imperceptibly to everyone, no events upset boring monotonous days. Suddenly, he is informed of the arrival of a young officer. For the old man, the arrival of an unknown person is a real event. The warrior was glad that the officer had arrived and wanted to express all his unspent kindness towards him, hoping that he would become his close friend.
The narrator, listening to the story of the staff captain, feels how he reveals his feelings about the best pages of his life in a new way. But, Pechorin does not want to be friends with him. Noticing the strangeness in the behavior of the young man, Maxim Maksimych interprets in his own way. He says that Pechorin is from the class of those people with whom various rare episodes occur. And our old man fell in love with our hero. And even when he felt sorry for Bella, who died, and in his heart he made accusations against Pechorin, he still said about him that he was a poor thing. Once an officer pours out torments about his life to Maxim Maksimych. However, he did not understand the course of these thoughts. And how will he understand if he spends all the time in the old fortress, where he performs only his duties, poorly understanding the spiritual ordeals of the younger generation of that time.
Some time passes, but Maxim Maksimych is still attached to him. In order to meet with Pechorin, for the first time he forgets about his official affairs, and hurries to him. But he hears only a restrained phrase of greeting. He withstood their meeting with pain, he was bitter and insulting. Here we see how Pechorin destroys the concepts of friendship and loyalty with Maxim Maksimych. The old man understands that such an insensitive and indifferent person cannot possibly be a friend.
Showing various characters in 2 chapters, the author helps to think about the meaning of the work and understand Pechorin with his contradictory nature.
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