"Hero of our time"- the first prosaic socio-psychological and philosophical novel in Russian literature. Each individual story included in the novel is associated with an already existing genre tradition: a travel essay, caucasian story, secular story. But in general, "A Hero of Our Time" is a qualitatively new phenomenon, a novel that is sharp in posing the most important social, moral, and philosophical problems. sociality novel is expressed in the fact that the actions of its characters are ultimately determined, conditioned historical time and environment. Many of Pechorin's actions and properties are revealed and explained through his collisions with " common man"Maxim Maksimych, with "natural people" - highlanders, smugglers, who, in turn, receive an objective assessment, being involved in the system of new relations of a "civilized" society.
The depth of Lermontov's conception is precisely manifested in the fact that in the novel it is consistently subjected to objective study: the hero and time, man and era; their interdependence is established. This approach to the depiction of man and the environment predetermined the possibility of a new approach to the "history of the human soul", which allows one to penetrate into the very depths of the inner world of the individual. Lermontov was that the "self-disclosure" of the hero is combined and corrected by looking at him "from the outside", and this made it possible to perceive the complexity and inconsistency of the human character in a more voluminous way. This opened up the possibility for posing the most important problems of a philosophical nature: man and destiny, the purpose and meaning of life, the clash of good and evil in the human soul, free will and necessity, etc. most distinctly philosophical problems novel manifested itself in the final story "The Fatalist". Pechorin, who for the first time in his life decided to sacrifice himself for the sake of other people, thinks about questions about the role of fate in human life.
He does not come to any clear logical formulations, but the very direction of his reflections is significant: he resolutely rejects blind faith in fate: "I always go forward more boldly when I do not know what awaits me." Unusual composition"Hero of our time"
Features of the composition of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" come from the fact that the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov became an advanced work of his time: in it the author used new genre psychological novel, new image the main character and, accordingly, a new compositional articulation of the work.
The author himself, after the publication of his novel in its finished form, admitted that not a single word, not a single line in it arose by chance, everything written was subordinated to one main goal- to show readers their contemporary - a man with noble and bad inclinations, who, obeying a sense of selfishness, was able to realize only his vices in life, and his virtues remained only good desires.
When the novel was just published, critics and ordinary readers had a lot of questions that related to the compositional division of this work. We will try to consider the main of these issues.
Why was the chronology of the presentation of the episodes of the main character's life broken?
The features of the composition of "A Hero of Our Time" are related to the fact that we learn about the life of the protagonist in a very inconsistent way. The first part of the novel tells how Pechorin stole from own father Circassian Bela, made her his mistress, and later lost interest in this girl. Bela as a result tragic accident killed the Circassian Kazbich, who was in love with her.
In the second part, entitled "Maxim Maksimovich", readers will learn that several years have passed since the death of Bela, Pechorin decided to go to Persia and died on the way there. From Pechorin's diary, they become aware of the events that happened to the main character before meeting Bela: Pechorin got into funny adventure with smugglers on Taman and in the city of Kislovodsk, he met the young Princess Mary Ligovskaya, whom, unwittingly, he fell in love with himself, and then refused to share her feelings. There was also a duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky, as a result of which the latter was killed.
The novel "A Hero of Our Time" ends with the part "Fatalist", which tells about a private episode from the life of Pechorin.
Studying the plot and composition of "A Hero of Our Time", literary critics agree that the author violated the chronological presentation of the main character's life in order, on the one hand, to emphasize the chaotic life of Pechorin, his inability to subordinate his fate to one main idea, on the other hand, Lermontov tried to reveal the image of its main character gradually: at first, readers saw him from the side through the eyes of Maxim Maksimovich and the narrator-officer, and then only got acquainted with personal diary Pechorin, in which he was extremely frank.
What is the relationship between plot and plot in a novel?
The innovation of Lermontov as a prose writer contributed to the fact that the plot and plot of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" do not coincide with each other. This leads to the fact that the reader pays more attention not to the external outline of events from the life of the protagonist, but to his inner experiences. Literary critics have dubbed this method of constructing a work “tense composition”, when readers see the heroes of the novel at the peak moments of their fate.
Therefore, the composition of Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time" is a unique phenomenon in the history of Russian literature: the author talks about key episodes from the life of his hero, giving him a description precisely at the moments of the highest life tests: This love experiences Pechorin, his duel with Grushnitsky, his skirmish with a drunken Cossack, his dangerous adventure with smugglers on Taman.
In addition, Lermontov resorts to the reception of the ring composition: for the first time we meet Pechorin in the fortress in which he serves with Maxim Maksimovich, last time we see the hero in the same fortress, before he leaves for Persia.
How does the compositional division of a work help to reveal the image of the protagonist?
According to most literary critics, the originality compositional solution novel helps to consider in detail the image of Pechorin.
In the first part of Bela, Pechorin's personality is shown through the eyes of his commander, the kind and honest Maxim Maksimovich. The author debunks the myth existing in the literature of that time about beautiful love between a savage woman and a young educated nobleman. Pechorin does not match the image of the young romantic hero, which was created in the works of the writer's contemporaries.
In the second part of "Maxim Maksimovich" we meet a more detailed description of the personality of the protagonist. Pechorin is described through the eyes of the narrator. Readers get an idea of the character's appearance and behavior. The romantic halo around Grigory Alexandrovich flutters completely.
In "Taman" Lermontov refutes the myth of romantic love between a girl involved in smuggling activities and a young officer. Young smuggler with romantic name Undine does not behave at all sublimely, she is ready to kill Pechorin only because he turned out to be an unwitting witness to her crime. Pechorin is also characterized in this part as a man of an adventurous warehouse, ready for anything to satisfy his own desires.
Part "Princess Mary" is built on the principle of a secular story: it contains love story and a conflict between two officers over possession of a girl's heart that ends tragically. In this part, the image of Pechorin receives a complete realistic characterization: readers see all the external actions of the hero and the secret movements of his soul.
In the last part of the novel The Fatalist, Lermontov poses the most important questions for him about the meaning of human life on earth: is a person the master of his own destiny or is he led by some kind of evil fate; is it possible to cheat one's fate or is it impossible, etc.? In the last part, Pechorin appears before us in the form of a man who is ready to fight fate. However, readers understand that this struggle will eventually lead him to an early death.
The role of composition in the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is very important. It is thanks to the unusual compositional division of the work, the author manages to achieve the full realization of his creative idea - the creation of a new psychologically oriented genre of the novel.
The presented compositional features of the work can be used by students of grade 9 when preparing material for an essay on the topic “Features of the composition of the novel“ A Hero of Our Time ””.
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M. Yu. Lermontov wrote that in the novel “A Hero of Our Time” he wanted to explore “the history of the human soul”, which is “almost more curious and not more useful than history whole people." The entire plot-compositional structure of the work is subordinated to this goal.
"A Hero of Our Time" includes five stories, each of which tells about some extraordinary story in the life of Pechorin. Moreover, in the arrangement according to the news (“Bela”, “Maxim Maksimych”, “Taman”, “Princess Mary”, “Fatalist”) Lermontov violates the life chronology of the episodes of the novel. In reality, the events took place in the following order: Pechorin's meeting with smugglers in Taman ("Taman"); the hero's life in Pyatigorsk, his romance with Princess Mary, the duel with Grushnitsky ("Princess Mary"); the stay of Grigory Alexandrovich in fortress N (at the same time the story of Bela takes place) (“Bela”); Pechorin's two-week trip to the Cossack village, a dispute with Vulich about predestination, and then returning to the fortress again ("Fatalist"); meeting with Maxim Maksimych on the way to Persia (“Maxim Maksimych”); Pechorin's death (Preface to Pechorin's Journal).
Thus, Lermontov ends the novel not with the death of the hero, but with the episode where Pechorin, being in mortal danger, nevertheless escaped death. Moreover, in the story "The Fatalist" the hero questions the existence of predestination, fate, giving priority own forces and intellect. Thus, the writer does not relieve Pechorin of responsibility for all his actions, including those that he committed after his stay in the Cossack village. However, Lermontov speaks about this at the end of the novel, when readers already know the story of Bela, when they read about the hero's meeting with the staff captain. How to explain such a discrepancy?
The fact is that the character of Pechorin is static, the novel does not represent the evolution of the hero, his spiritual growth, we do not see what is happening to him internal changes. Lermontov only varies life situations and guides his hero through them.
Thanks to the specific composition, Lermontov depicts the hero in a “triple perception”: first through the eyes of Maxim Maksimych, then the publisher, then Pechorin himself talks about himself in his diary. A similar technique was used by A. S. Pushkin in the short story "The Shot". The meaning of such a composition is the gradual disclosure of the character of the hero (from external to internal), when the author first intrigues the reader with the unusual situations, actions of the hero, and then reveals the motives of his behavior.
First, we learn about Pechorin from a conversation between the publisher and Maxim Maksimych. The publisher is traveling "by courier from Tiflis." In the story "Bela" he describes his travel impressions, the beauty of nature. The staff captain, who has long served in the Caucasus, becomes his companion. Maksim Maksimych tells his fellow traveler the story of Bela. Thus, "an adventurous short story turns out to be included in the 'journey', and vice versa - the 'journey' enters the short story as an element that hinders its exposition."
The story of the staff captain, thus, is interspersed with his remarks, replicas of the listener, landscapes, descriptions of the difficulties of the path of the heroes. The writer undertakes such a “slowdown” of the plot of the “main story” in order to intrigue the reader even more, so that the middle and the end of the story are in sharp contrast.
Pechorin's "Caucasian History" is given in the perception of Maxim Maksimych, who has known Pechorin for a long time, loves him, but does not understand his behavior at all. The staff captain is simple-hearted, his spiritual needs are small - inner world Pechorin is incomprehensible to him. Hence the strangeness, the mystery of Pechorin, the improbability of his actions. Hence the special poetry of the story. As Belinsky notes, the staff captain “told it in his own way, in his own language; but from this she not only lost nothing, but gained infinitely much. Good Maksim Maksimych, without knowing it himself, became a poet, so that in his every word, in every expression lies the endless world of poetry.
In "Bel" we see the world of highlanders - strong, fearless people, with wild morals, customs, but holistic characters and feelings. Against their background, the inconsistency of the hero's consciousness, the painful splitting of his nature, becomes noticeable. But here the cruelty of Pechorin becomes especially noticeable. Circassians in "Bel" are also cruel. But for them, such behavior is the "norm": it corresponds to their customs, temperament. Even Maxim Maksimych recognizes the justice of the actions of the mountaineers. Pechorin is an educated, well-mannered young man with a deep, analytical mind. In this sense, such behavior is unnatural for him.
However, the staff captain never criticizes Pechorin, although in his heart he often condemns him. Maxim Maksimych embodies here the morality of common sense, “which forgives evil wherever it sees its necessity or the impossibility of its destruction” (Lermontov “A Hero of Our Time”). However, for Lermontov, such behavior is the spiritual limitations of the staff captain. Behind the reasoning of the "publisher", struck by the flexibility of the mind and common sense Russian man, one can guess the idea of the author himself about the need to fight evil, regardless of any extraneous conditions.
The story "Bela" is a kind of exposition in the disclosure of the image of Pechorin. Here we first learn about the hero and his life circumstances, his upbringing, lifestyle.
Further, the “publisher”, a passing officer and writer, tells about the hero. In the perception of the "publisher", Pechorin's meeting with Maxim Maksimych and a detailed psychological picture hero (story "Maxim Maksimych"),
Almost nothing happens in this story - there is not that plot dynamism that is present in "Bel" and "Taman". However, it is here that the psychology of the hero begins to unfold. It seems that this story can be considered a plot in revealing the image of Pechorin.
"Taman" - the history of Pechorin's relationship with " honest smugglers". As in "Bel", Lermontov again places the hero in an environment alien to him - the world of simple, rude people, smugglers. However, the romantic motive here (the love of a civilized hero and a "wild woman") is almost parodied: Lermontov very quickly exposes true character relations between Pechorin and the Undines. As B. M. Eikhenbaum notes, “in Taman, a touch of naive “Russoism” is removed, which the reader may perceive in Bel.”
Undine beauty from the wild, the free, romantic world turns out to be a smuggler's assistant. She is masculinely determined and insidious: Pechorin miraculously manages to avoid death in a fight with her. Thus, the world of nature and civilization again prove to be incompatible with Lermontov. However, in in a certain sense the story restores the semantic balance in the novel. If in “Bel” Pechorin rudely intrudes into the measured course of life of the highlanders and destroys it, “offending” nature itself in their person, then in “Taman” the “natural world” does not want to endure any more interference from outside and almost takes Pechorin's life.
As in "Bel", in "Taman" the hero is compared with the surrounding characters. Courage and prowess coexist in the characters of smugglers with heartlessness and cruelty. Taking off from permanent place, they leave to the mercy of fate a blind boy, an unfortunate old woman. Human life in their eyes has no value: the undine could easily drown Pechorin if he did not resist. But these features in the characters are psychologically motivated and justified by their "wild, homeless life", belonging to the "underworld", the constant threat of danger, the constant struggle for survival.
But, noting the courage and heartlessness in the character of Pechorin, we do not find such motivations in his life. For smugglers (as well as for the highlanders in Bela), such behavior is the “norm”. For Pechorin, it is unnatural.
The next part of the story, "Princess Mary", reminds us of a secular story and psychological novel simultaneously. Pechorin is depicted here surrounded by people of his circle - the secular aristocracy, gathered on the waters. As B. M. Eikhenbaum notes, after the fiasco of Pechorin, which he suffered in Taman, he “leaves the world of savages” and returns to the much more familiar and safe world of “noble ladies and ladies”.
The hero has much in common with this society, although he does not want to admit it. So, Pechorin is well versed in the world of intrigue, gossip, slander and farce. He not only exposes the conspiracy against himself, but also punishes its initiator - he kills Grushnitsky in a duel. Out of boredom, Pechorin begins to court Princess Mary, but, having achieved her love, he frankly admits to her his own indifference. Vera appears in Kislovodsk, the only woman, which Pechorin "could never deceive," but he cannot give her happiness either.
Failure in love is perhaps the most striking and significant characteristic of a character in Russian literature, which is a prerequisite for failure. life position hero. Pechorin is morally untenable, and in the story "Princess Mary" he thinks about this, analyzes his own character, his thoughts and feelings. The story is the climax in understanding the image of Pechorin. It is here that he reveals his psychology, his life attitudes.
Before the duel with Grushnitsky, he reflects on the meaning own life and does not find him: “Why did I live? for what purpose was I born?.. But it is true, it existed, and it was true that I had a high purpose, because I feel immense powers in my soul, but I did not guess this purpose, I was carried away by the lures of empty and ungrateful passions; from their furnace I came out hard and cold as iron, but I lost forever the ardor of noble aspirations, best color life..."
"Princess Mary" in a certain sense is also the denouement in storyline Pechorin: here he brings to its logical conclusion the human connections that are especially important for him: he kills Grushnitsky, openly explains with Mary, breaks with Werner, breaks up with Vera.
In addition, it is worth noting the similarity of the plot situations of the three stories - "Bela", "Taman" and "Princess Mary". In each of them there is love triangle: he - she - a rival. Thus, in an effort to avoid boredom, Pechorin finds himself in similar life situations.
The last story, which concludes the novel, is called "The Fatalist". In revealing the image of Pechorin, she plays the role of an epilogue. Lermontov raises here philosophical problem fate, fate, fate.
Vulich dies in the story, as Pechorin predicted, and this suggests that predestination exists. But Pechorin himself decided to try his luck and remained alive, the hero’s thoughts are already more optimistic: “.. how often do we take a deceit of feelings or a mistake of reason for conviction! ... I like to doubt everything: this disposition of the mind does not interfere with the decisiveness of character - on the contrary As far as I am concerned, I always go forward more boldly when I do not know what awaits me.
Thus, the completion of "A Hero of Our Time" philosophical tale meaningfully. Pechorin often does evil, well aware of the true meaning of his actions. However, the "ideology" of the hero allows him such behavior. Pechorin himself is inclined to explain his vices by evil fate or fate, life circumstances, etc. no one could die or fall into despair. I was like a necessary person in the fifth act: involuntarily I played the pitiful role of an executioner or a traitor. Lermontov, on the other hand, does not relieve Pechorin of responsibility for his actions, recognizing the autonomy of the hero's free will, his ability to choose between good and evil.
Thus, the novel is imbued with unity of thought. As Belinsky noted, “the line of the circle returns to the point from which it left”1. The main idea of the novel is the question of inner man, about his actions and inclinations, thoughts and feelings and the reasons that gave rise to them.
Critics have defined the genre "Hero of our time" How psychological novel. When writing this work, M. Yu. Lermontov aimed to show the “history of the human soul”, to reveal the inner world of the protagonist. M. Yu. Lermontov began work on the novel under the impression of his first exile to the Caucasus. First, separate stories were written, which were published as they were written: "Bela", "Fatalist" were published in the magazine " Domestic notes"In 1839, following the house, the story" Taman "was published. Later, all five stories: "Bela", "Maxim Maksimych", "Taman", "Princess Mary", "Fatalist" - were combined into a novel under the title "Hero of Our Time".
Critics, readers ambiguously perceived the image of the protagonist: some considered Pechorin a caricature of modern man, and the novel itself is immoral; others - that the image of Pechorin is a portrait of the author himself. M. Yu. Lermontov was forced to write a preface to the second edition, in which he commented on his perception of the hero and explained his creative principles. The author writes that his main principle when writing a novel is to follow the truth of life and Critical Assessment hero.
The stories that make up the "Hero of Our Time" are arranged in a certain sequence. This was done with a specific purpose: the author gradually immerses the reader into the inner world of the protagonist, reveals his character.
There are three narrators in the story. In the story "Bela" we see Pechorin through the eyes of Maxim Maksimych, the staff captain, who notes "strangeness" in the behavior of Grigory Alexandrovich, selfishness, mystery. In "Maxim Maksimych" the role of the narrator is given to a wandering officer - a person who is closer in attitude and social position to the hero. He notes in the appearance of Pechorin the features of a strong, but internally lonely personality. In the next three stories - "Taman", "Princess Mary", "Fatalist" - Pechorin himself is the narrator, who tells about his adventures in the seaside town, about his stay in Pyatigorsk, about the incident in the Cossack village. The reader learns about the feelings, experiences of the hero from the lips of the hero himself, who impartially analyzes his actions, his behavior, and motives. For the first time in Russian literature, it was given great attention not events, but precisely the "dialectics of the soul", and to show all the "movements of the soul" of Pechorin allows the form of a diary confession. The hero himself admits that his soul knows such feelings as envy, pity, love, hatred. But reason still prevails over feelings: we see this in the scene of the pursuit of Vera.
The author shows the hero in various life situations, surrounds with a variety of characters (Pechorin among the highlanders, in the circle of "honest smugglers" and "water society"). I believe that this is exceptional and at the same time typical hero of that time: he is looking for love, but he himself bears only suffering and even death; this is a person living a complex spiritual life, but absolutely inactive or wasting energy on trifles; aware of his vices and ruthlessly condemning them in other people; a person who, according to V. G. Belinsky, “furiously chases ... after life, looking for it everywhere” and at the same time looking for death.
Composition is the arrangement, the structure of the work.
The novel "A Hero of Our Time" consists of several stories that can be perceived as separate literary works. However, each of the components is an integral part of the whole.
The peculiarity of the composition is that individual stories are not located in chronological order(i.e. according to the plot), but in a completely different way. The plot, that is, the totality of events in their compositional sequence, does not coincide with the plot. Lermontov was one of the first in the literature to use this technique. For what purpose did he do it?
The plot, which does not coincide with the plot, helps to switch the reader's attention from the event, outside to the inner side, from the detective to the spiritual.
In the "Hero of Our Time" the "top composition" characteristic of romantic poem. The reader sees the hero only in tense, dramatic moments of his life. The gaps between them are not filled. We meet the hero in the fortress and in last scene we also see him in the fortress - this creates the effect of a ring composition.
In various parts of the novel, we see the main character from the point of view of different characters: the narrator, Maxim Maksimych, Pechorin himself. Thus, the reader sees Pechorin from the standpoint different people.
You can talk about the role of each story in the novel with different points vision: you can focus on compositional role, you can - on the meaning in revealing Pechorin's character, on his ability to act in different situations. We will focus on the content of individual stories.
"Bela": Pechorin fulfills the romantic stereotype "natural love for a savage". Lermontov realistically debunks accepted point view that such love can be fruitful. Pechorin is shown through the eyes of the ingenuous Maxim Maksimych.
“Maxim Maksimych”: Pechorin is drawn in his relationship with his old colleague Maxim Maksimych as a witness to his past: most likely, he was dry with Maxim Maksimych and hurried to part with him, because he did not want to awaken memories of the departed. The narrator tells about Pechorin - a young educated officer who has already heard the story about Bel.
"Pechorin's Journal": Pechorin himself talks about himself.
"Taman": Pechorin works out a romantic situation of falling in love with an "honest smuggler", which ends badly for him. The peculiarity of the story is that it does not contain fragments of introspection, but there is a narrative that is close to colloquial speech(so Pechorin could tell his comrades about what happened to him).
"Princess Mary": the genre basis is a secular story, the events in which, as a rule, are associated with love affair V secular society and the idea of rivalry between two men. It differs from the colloquial narrative style of Tamani detailed descriptions surrounding and detailed introspection (reflection), is similar to the sharpness of the plot. Represents diary entries.
Contains a look at Pechorin from Werner's side, includes remarks from other characters (Vera, Mary, Grushnitsky), describing various manifestations Pechorin's character.
"Fatalist": again we have before us the style of oral narration (as in "Taman"), The content of the story is an attempt to understand driving forces world (fate, fate or the conscious will of a person).
