"A Hero of Our Time" is one of the most famous novels of classical Russian literature, which is still relevant among readers around the world. Lermontov created a truly strong hero, revealing his character from the side of psychology and philosophy. He was the first to write a lyric-psychological novel in the genre of realism. Although the novel is written in realism, we can notice glimpses of romanticism in the hero himself, which sometimes stands out vividly against the backdrop of a realistic narrative.

It is with his clear, critical and sometimes cold-blooded view of society that Pechorin attracts the reader, and after reading the entire work, we can say with confidence that he is definitely a hero of his time.

Pechorin is the image of a talented, selfish, thinking person who could not find his place in high society. The young man is not like any of the other characters: his whole character is based on contradictions. At one time he is selfish and dismissive, and at another condescending and polite. Gregory plays with people and sometimes it is difficult to understand when he speaks sincerely.

Throughout the novel, the story is told from different people: Maxim Maksimych, a passing officer, the narrator, and Pechorin himself in his diaries; thus, we see the hero from different sides, which allows us to better understand the nature of the character.

A passing officer in his description of Gregory noticed contradictions in the character. For example, when the hero laughed, he had a childish smile, but indifferent, tired eyes. This suggests that he is still young, but already tired of life, he is bored. Pechorin does not have this light in his eyes, which happens to people interested in what is happening, everything is ordinary for him. So he tries to amuse himself by manipulating others when in reality he is just wasting his time and talent.

In fact, Gregory is a man of high society, although he despises him. And at the first meeting, the officer noticed that the hero's underwear was clean and the gloves were dirty. At that time, it was not permissible for a person of the "water society" to have dirty gloves and everyone changed them as they got dirty, but Pechorin did not. Why? Because he doesn't care. He was tired of these rules and didn't care what others thought of him.

Of course, we get to know the character best in his personal diaries. But were there characters in the novel who fully understood Pechorin? No, but there were those who were closer to him than the rest - these are Vera and Werner.

Vera was his only and true love, unlike Bela and Mary, with whom he simply played. With her, the hero behaves openly and honestly, because he sees no reason to lie: she is the only person who understands him. The girl continues to love him, despite how much pain he brought her.

Werner, on the other hand, is more similar to the hero in terms of his mind and general views on life situations. With him, Gregory does not have to pretend, and they understand each other perfectly. Although Werner cherished communication with Pechorin, after the death of Grushnitsky he decides to leave, because he did not expect the death of the duel and was frightened by the composure of the hero.

The image of Pechorin is a collection of a generation of talented people who have not found a place for themselves in society. He was "smart uselessness," as Belinsky called him. Gregory could change his fate, but he wasted his time on stupid manipulations of people. Lermontov himself wrote in the preface that this novel is "a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development."

Why M. Lermontov called Pechorin "the hero of the time"

The novel "A Hero of Our Time" is one of the masterpieces of Russian literature.. It continues to remain modern even today, although more than one hundred and sixty years have passed since its writing. But the role of this work was especially great in the Lermontov era. And in order to better understand this, you need to have a good idea of ​​the socio-political situation in Russia in the thirties of the nineteenth century.

The uprising of the Decembrists, as it were, divided the life of Russia at that time into “before” and “after” it. The time that followed 1825 was gloomy and cruel, and this was due to the intensification of the reaction on the part of the tsarist government. The barracks routine of life that had developed in the country took away any hope of the majority of young educated people for the possibility of any changes for the better, destroyed faith in the need to serve good, in its obligatory triumph. Russia seemed to be numb, a living thought was mercilessly pursued. That is why the era we are considering has become a time of deep doubts about all moral values. It is not surprising that the fates of the majority of thinking people of the state turned out to be extremely similar. Each time gives birth to its dominant type of personality. A distinctive feature of the epochs of timelessness, especially those that lasted a long time and were distinguished by severe gloom, has always been a type of human personality, which in the history of Russian social thought received the sad name "extra person".

Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin is a prominent representative of this category of people. Before us is a young twenty-five-year-old man, a nobleman by birth. But he is not at all proud of his family name and belonging to the high society, he is little attracted by the privileged position in society characteristic of the aristocracy. Pechorin is “a person who has taken the path of breaking away from his social environment. His fate and life situation are characterized by a discrepancy between what he is according to formal signs and what he really is, ”says literary critic E. Mikhailova. He is rich, generous and wasteful, aimlessly exchanging his life in “empty and ignoble passions”, asking himself one painful question: “... why did I live? for what purpose was I born?.. But, it is true, it existed, and, it is true, it was a high purpose for me, because I feel immense powers in my soul; but I did not guess this appointment ... "

Lermontov sends his hero to the Caucasus. It was a typical path for the quarrelsome noble youth of that time. E. Mikhailova, in a critical article devoted to this novel, notes that “it was, as it were, a double test: will this new, real Caucasus withstand ... the test of the requirements of reality, the “hero of time” not put on stilts. And vice versa, the hero himself, devoid of romantic make-up, who will he be in comparison with the “children of nature”, what aspects of the personality will come out more clearly in him from this neighborhood? ".

Pechorin always remains true to himself. He is an officer, serves, but does not curry favor. The modest rank of warrant officer does not bother him at all and testifies to the attitude of our hero to military service. Yes, and he ended up in the Caucasus in the hope that "boredom does not live under Chechen bullets."

"Superfluous" people could not find a worthy application for their strengths, their abilities. M. Yu. Lermontov set himself the task of showing in the novel a contemporary person as he really is, without hiding his vices and shortcomings. At the same time, the author himself counts himself among those whom he is going to subject to careful analysis and discussion: “Enough people were fed with sweets; their stomachs have deteriorated because of this: bitter medicines, caustic truths are needed. But don't think... that the author of this book has... a dream of becoming a corrector of human vices. God save him from such ignorance! It was just fun for him to draw a modern person, as he understands him, and ... he met him too often. It will also be that the disease is indicated, but God knows how to cure it!

Pechorin is a true son of his era - a time of doubts and searches, hard work of thought, subjecting everything to careful analysis, trying to penetrate into the origins of good and evil. He is constantly in a state of split spirit, his every step is accompanied by careful introspection: "There are two people in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges him ...".

Pechorin always gives an account of his actions, and he himself formulates the program of his life behavior: "... I look at the suffering and joys of others only in relation to myself, as food that supports my spiritual strength." He quite consciously follows this path only in order to forget at least for a while about the boredom that overcomes him, about the oppressive emptiness of his existence. Pechorin “sacrifices nothing” for the sake of other people, even for those whom he loves, because he also loves for himself, for his own pleasure. Our hero laughs at everything in the world, for him there are no shrines, no faith, no ideal. But let's not forget that Pechorin himself suffers from this. And no matter how immoral his actions, it is impossible not to notice the consistency of the principle chosen by him. He will not hide from himself or from others the true nature of his actions, he will not humiliate himself with hypocrisy, he will not shift his guilt on someone or on unfortunate circumstances. There is something really heroic about this, which makes one feel respect for the hero.

Why does M. Yu. Lermontov call Pechorin "a hero of our time"? The author of the novel himself answers this question: This book has experienced... the unfortunate gullibility of some readers... in the literal meaning of words. Some were terribly offended ... that they were being given such an immoral person as an example ... others ... noticed that the writer had painted his own portrait ...

The Hero of Our Time ... a portrait, but not of one person: it is a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development».

Thus, the author himself leads us to a true understanding of the “heroism” of his character: Pecho-rin is not at all a role model, he is only a bright representative of his difficult era, in this sense, perhaps, he is the real hero of his time.

Grigory Pechorin is the central character of M. Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time", which appeared in the late 30s and early 40s of the 19th century and caused an ambiguous and very diverse reaction from readers. This is the first socio-psychological novel in Russian classical literature and all the plot twists and turns, events and secondary characters are shown in order to fully reveal Pechorin's character and personal characteristics.

The novel includes five stories, representing some stages in the development of Pechorin's personality and revealing all the depths of his difficult and ambiguous character to the reader.

Characteristics of the hero

Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin is a young attractive aristocrat and officer from St. Petersburg, a typical representative of the youth of the 30s of the nineteenth century. He has received a proper education and upbringing, is rich and independent, has an attractive appearance and is popular with the opposite sex. However, he is dissatisfied with his life and spoiled by luxury. He quickly gets bored with everything and he does not see an opportunity for himself to become happy. Pechorin is in perpetual motion and in search of himself: either he is in a Caucasian fortress, or on vacation in Pyatigorsk, or together with smugglers on Taman. Even death awaits him when he travels from Persia to his homeland.

With the help of a detailed description of the appearance of the hero, the author tries to reveal his character to us. Pechorin is not deprived of male attractiveness, he is strong, slim and fit, the military uniform suits him very well. He has curly blond hair, expressive brown eyes, cold and haughty, they never laugh and their expression is unreadable. Blond hair combined with a dark mustache and eyebrows give his appearance individuality and eccentricity.

(Pechorin on a horse, drawing)

Pechorin's soul burns with a thirst for activity, but he does not know where to apply himself, and therefore, wherever he appears, he sows evil and sadness around him. Because of a stupid duel, his friend Grushnitsky dies, through his fault the daughter of the Caucasian Circassian prince Bela dies, for the sake of entertainment he falls in love with himself, and then without regret leaves Princess Mary. Because of him, the only woman he loved, Vera, suffers, but he also cannot make her happy and she is doomed to suffering.

The image of the main character

Pechorin is drawn to people, longs for communication, but does not see a response in their souls, because he is not like them, their thoughts, desires and feelings do not coincide at all, which makes him strange and unlike others. Pechorin, like Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, is burdened by his calm and measured life, but unlike Pushkin's hero, he is constantly looking for ways to add spice to his life, and not finding it, he suffers a lot from this. His own whims have always been and will be in the first place for him, and in order to satisfy his desires, he is ready for anything. He likes to manipulate people and subjugate them to himself, he enjoys power over them.

At the same time, Pechorin also has positive qualities and, in addition to reproaches and censure, deserves both sympathy and sympathy. He is distinguished by a sharp mind and judging others, he is quite self-critical and demanding of himself. Pechorin is not alien to poetry and lyrical moods, he subtly feels nature and admires its beauty. During a duel, he shows enviable courage and courage, he is not a coward and does not step back, his cold-bloodedness is on top. Despite his own egoism, Pechorin is capable of real feelings, for example, in relation to Vera, it turns out that he can also be sincere and know how to love.

(M.A. Vrubel "Duel Pechorin with Grushnitsky" 1890-1891)

Pechorin's personality is so complex and ambiguous that it is impossible to say with certainty what feelings he evokes in readers: sharp condemnation and hostility, or all the same sympathy and understanding. The main features of his character are the inconsistency between his thoughts and actions, opposition to surrounding circumstances and twists of fate. The hero is seething with desires to act, but most often his actions result either in empty and useless actions, or vice versa, bring pain and misfortune to his loved ones. Having created the image of Pechorin, a kind of hero of his time, whose prototypes Lermontov met at every step, the author wanted to focus on the moral responsibility of each person for his thoughts and actions, for life choices and how it can affect the people around him.

"is Pechorin really a hero of his time?" and got the best answer

Answer from Yousanna Manukyan[active]
In his novel "A Hero of Our Time" M. Yu. Lermontov touched upon many problems that arose among the youth of the nobility in the 30s of the 19th century. A distinctive feature of this time was the absence of high social ideals for the generation that entered life after the brutal defeat of the Decembrists. Chernyshevsky wrote that "Lermontov ... understands and presents his Pechorin as an example of what the best, strongest, noblest people become under the influence of the social situation of their circle."
Disappointment, "chilling disbelief in life and in all kinds of relationships, connections and human feelings" made Pechorin a skeptic and still could not kill his will, faith, dream. There was always room for hope in his "insatiable" heart.
Attentiveness to one's own feelings and thoughts helped Pechorin to know the subtleties of someone else's human heart. A subtle psychologist, he remarkably accurately knew how to guess the true motives of people's behavior, but communication with them often brought Pechorin only irritation, suffering, and again - disappointment. The tragedy of Pechorin is that, realizing that he has the strength and desire to act, he understands at the same time the lack of demand for these forces in the social environment where he lives. Therefore, between the aspirations of Pechorin and the life he leads, there is a deep abyss / Pechorin speaks bitterly about his soul, spoiled by light.
Constant self-control turned Pechorin's feelings from sincere impulses of the soul into an object for evaluation. The duality of nature did not allow the hero of the novel to fully reveal himself either in friendship or in love, and it seems that he has already forgotten how to love and be friends for real, sharing and giving. Closure in his inner world and distrust of others made Pechorin indifferent to the feelings of others, and this is truly scary. This person feels "insatiable greed" only for power over other people's thoughts and hearts: "I look at the suffering and joy of others only in relation to myself, as food that supports my spiritual strength." Himself incapable of "going mad under the influence of passion." Pechorin is indeed a hero of his time, since in many of his manifestations he is a cast of his environment, a reflection of the moral misery of society: “Everyone read signs of bad properties on my face that were not; but they were assumed - and they were born ... I was ready to love the whole world - no one understood me: and I learned to hate. My colorless youth passed in the struggle with myself and the light; my best feelings, fearing ridicule, I buried in the depths of my heart: they died there. And this look from outside at oneself eventually became not an assistant, but a scourge, a curse of Pechorin, since it deprived him of the ability to noble impulses: "... I'm afraid to seem ridiculous to myself."

Answer from _Chipsonchik[newbie]
Pechorin is a person of a unique nature, I have never met such people ... Who is he, what does he want from life, does he live or exist? These are questions that only M. Yu. Lermontov, who is also the author of the novel A Hero of Our Time, could answer.
Pechorin is a man who has studied our fate, who knows the weaknesses and habits, feelings and heartlessness of people. He is to some extent an egoist, because he does not care about others, but only cares about his pride. Remember Bela, Mary, Vera, Pechorin “bewitched” all of them with what he had never experienced in his life, namely with that feeling that is so carefree and carefree, so sweet and gentle, warms our soul so hot and ardently, this is Love . It was not in vain that I wrote this word with a capital letter, because this is a proper name, this is a feeling that either exists or not. And let them not say that it (Love) is different, Love is one, the rest is attachment, dependence, need, finally!
Pechorin, by nature, is a mirror image of society, just generalizing in which M. Yu. Lermontov lived. It was selfish, malicious, proud, careless and detached from reality, from the line between evil and good, love and hate, truth and lies, selfishness and care. A person, in his essence, could love truly, but he deceives himself by calling a simple attachment Love, which is not good, not right.
Pechorin appears as a proud man, unable to love, he refers to the fact that he is supposedly so arranged, but he deceives both himself and many readers.
Pechorin says that he cried only once in his life, remember the end of "Mary", but before that he says that he suffered humiliation and misunderstanding in childhood, therefore, the child's heart could not bear such a burden and would certainly have given up.
There is another interesting fact. Pechorin said that he did not need life, that it was alien to him, and later refutes this. Let's remember his duel with Grushnitsky. There, on the rock, when the latter shot at our hero and hit him in the knee, Pechorin quickly took a few steps from the edge so as not to fall. This is where he clings to his life, although he says the opposite. In our world, many people say one thing and do another.
So who is Pechorin? He is a poet, as in life, and a generalized personality of the society of his time on paper

Answer from Alexey Trantin[active]
I consider myself quite a hero.

Answer from Ivan Reznikova[active]
hero

Answer from Valera Volkov[master]
No

Answer from Lera Rytova[newbie]
Yes. This is true. My favorite book.. .
he is a hero of his time. But not in the sense that we understand the word "we are now a hero." He is a hero as the embodiment of the qualities of many people of his time.
He shows himself his soul. He is a thinking person. A person capable of much, possessing a large amount of spiritual strength, but wasting them in vain. At that time, there were no activities that would help him direct his energies to something useful ... therefore, he only spoils the lives of other people (for example, destroys the case of "honest smugglers", only because of his own interest). But he himself does not get anything useful for himself from this, only problems (in the same story with "honest smugglers" Pechorin was almost drowned by one of them.)

A Hero of Our Time” is the first Russian socio-psychological novel. Everything in it is directed towards one goal: to give the most accurate psychological portrait of a modern young man Lermontov - "a hero of his time." The author does not hide the fact that in his work he pursues precisely this goal. In the preface to the novel, he directly says that "The hero of our time is a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation, in their full development."

But what was the time, the hero of which Lermontov considered Pechorin? First of all, the 30s of the 19th century were the years of the Nikolaev reaction. The memory of the Decembrist uprising was still fresh in society, the participants of which were either executed or sent into distant exile. Trying to prevent a repetition of the events of 1825, Nicholas 1 did everything to nip any manifestations of free thought in the bud. As a result of such a policy, a whole generation of young, talented people appeared in the country who were unable to find employment in conditions of social stagnation. Belinsky called such people "smart useless things", "moral cripples".

The hero Lermontov Pechorin belongs to the number of such people. N. G. Chernyshevsky wrote about this: “Lermontov ... understands and presents his Pechorin as an example of what the best, strongest, noblest people become under the influence of the social situation of their circle.” And this is absolutely true, since it is this utter impossibility to realize one's talents, to show one's abilities, to direct one's energy to necessary and good deeds that made Pechorin the way he appears on the pages of the novel.