In the novel A Hero of Our Time, Lermontov introduces the reader to the image of a person who has absorbed the most characteristic qualities of the generation of the 1830s. The novel deals with the problem of "an extra person" on the example of the main character, Pechorin.
Pechorin is a very difficult and controversial personality. His life is marked by tragedy. This is both a tragedy of a person rejected by society, and a tragedy of a crippled soul. What is this tragedy and what are its origins and causes?
Pechorin is placed in conditions in which his outstanding personality cannot fully open up and prove himself, and therefore is forced to waste his strength on unnecessary petty intrigues that bring people only misfortune. Pechorin is forced to play the role of an egoist, that is, to be an "egoist involuntarily", and to suffer because of this himself.
This is the tragedy of the hero.
Pechorin stands out from the general mass of people around him. He is smart, straightforward and insightful. Lies and pretense, hypocrisy and cowardice are alien to him. He is not satisfied with an empty and monotonous existence in pursuit of petty, insignificant interests. Pechorin does not want to go with the flow with everyone. With his mind and strength of character, he is capable of the most decisive and courageous actions. If he had directed his activities towards good, lofty goals, he could have achieved a lot. But fate and life decreed otherwise. As a result, Pechorin appears before us as an egoist, living in the world to dispel his boredom at the expense of the misfortunes of others. He lives not with his heart, but with his mind. His soul is half dead. “I became a moral cripple,” Pechorin admits to Princess Mary. Pechorin is full of contempt and hatred for people. He likes to study the psychology of people in various situations, not empathizing and not sympathizing, but completely indifferent. Pechorin brings nothing but misfortune to those around him. Through his fault, smugglers suffer, Bela dies, the lives of Vera and Princess Mary are destroyed, Grushnitsky dies. “I played the role of an ax in the hands of fate,” writes Pechorin in his diary. What motivated the hero to cruel, selfish acts? Most likely the desire to dispel boredom. Pechorin did not think that behind his every unbridled act there is a living person who has a soul and a heart, with his own feelings and desires. Pechorin did everything for himself and nothing for others. “I look at the suffering and joys of others only in relation to myself,” Pechorin admits. Here is how he explains his actions in relation to Princess Mary: "... There is an immense pleasure in the possession of a young, barely blossoming soul ... I feel this insatiable greed in myself." No wonder Princess Mary considers Pechorin worse than a murderer.
What made a hero like this? Possessing outstanding qualities, Pechorin from childhood stood out from the crowd of peers, friends and other people. He put himself above others, and society put him below. Society does not tolerate those who are not like everyone else, it cannot come to terms with the existence of an extraordinary, somewhat distinguished personality. And yet people failed to bring Pechorin under their average level, but managed to cripple his soul. Pechorin became secretive, envious, vindictive. And then despair was born in my chest - not the despair that is treated at the muzzle of a pistol, but cold, powerless despair, covered with courtesy and a good-natured smile.
Using the example of Pechorin, Lermontov shows the inevitable conflict between a thinking person and society, the confrontation between a strong personality and a gray, faceless crowd, the problem of an “extra person”.
But is it possible to unequivocally call the hero a cruel egoist.
“... If I am the cause of the misfortune of others, then I myself am no less unhappy! .. I ... am very pitiable,” Pechorin believes. Indeed, while torturing others, Pechorin himself suffers no less. If he is an egoist, then he is a suffering egoist. Genuine human feelings have not completely died in him. An example is the attitude towards the Faith. Indeed, his feelings for this woman are genuine. Pechorin is inherently a deeply unhappy person. He is alone and incomprehensible.
People shun him, feeling some kind of evil force in him. Pechorin lives without a goal, without aspirations, wasting himself on empty intrigues, unnecessary passions. But despite this, his heart is still able to love, his soul - to feel, and his eyes - to cry. At the end of the chapter "Princess Mary" we see Pechorin, who is crying like a child. We see an unfortunate, lonely person who has not found his place in life, repenting of his actions, a person who evokes pity and compassion.
The image of Pechorin is a tragic image of a thinking, strong person. Pechorin is a child of his time, in him Lermontov concentrated the main typical vices of his generation, namely: boredom, individualism, contempt. Lermontov portrayed a man who is in a struggle with society and with himself, and the tragedy of this man.
The novel "A Hero of Our Time", authored by M.Yu. Lermontov, in 1840 became the first psychological novel in Russian literature. Throughout the novel, the personality of the protagonist, Grigory Pechorin, is revealed. Lermontov describes in detail the psychological portrait of the protagonist and reveals his complex character, placing him in different life circumstances. But can Pechorin be called a tragic hero?
Grigory Pechorin seeks to know other people and himself.
He conducts experiments on people and on himself, he participates in them, analyzes the actions of people, but this prevents him from surrendering to sincere feelings, since the mind keeps these feelings under control (“I have long been living not with my heart, but with my head”). For example, Pechorin, when he chased after Vera and couldn’t catch up with her because of the horse, he fell and cried, because the upheavals in the duel that had happened before, the frenzied jump brought him to such a state when the mind stopped controlling feelings (“Soul weakened, the mind fell silent). But very quickly his habit of analyzing everything returned to him (“I am pleased, however, that I can cry!”).
Pechorin is alone. His nature is so deep that he cannot be equaled. In friendship, he is unhappy. He did not perceive Maxim Maksimych as a friend, because he was a simple man and could never fully understand him. When he met Werner, he was pleased to spend time with him and even offered him to be a second in a duel with Grushnitsky, but Werner accused him of murder and shifted all the blame to Grigory. Pechorin bitterly exclaims: "They are all like that, even the kindest, most intelligent! ..").
In love, Pechorin is also unhappy. Although he was attached to Vera, but this was not the kind of woman for whom he would agree to lose his freedom. He didn't like Mary. Seeing Bela, he sincerely thought that he would finally acquire the meaning of life, but very soon he became bored with her, because she was uneducated (“I was wrong again: the love of a savage is little better than the love of a noble lady”).
Pechorin cannot find his destiny.
He is also unhappy because he recognizes himself as an ax of fate, which falls on the "head of the doomed victims." He suffers from it himself.
Thus, Pechorin is a tragic hero, because he is lonely, unhappy in friendship and love, lives by reason, not feelings, has not found his destiny, the meaning of life. The feeling that he is not only above other people, but also above fate and chance still does not make him happy. The reader learns in the middle of the novel that he died somewhere along the way from Persia. We understand that Pechorin never found happiness in this life.
Updated: 2019-07-22
Attention!
Thank you for your attention.
If you notice an error or typo, highlight the text and press Ctrl+Enter.
Thus, you will provide invaluable benefit to the project and other readers.
School essay
The main theme of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is the image of a socially typical personality of the noble circle after the defeat of the Decembrists. The main idea is the condemnation of this person and the social environment that gave birth to him. Pechorin is the central figure of the novel, its driving force. He is Onegin's successor - "an extra person." This is a romantic in character and behavior, by nature a person of exceptional abilities, an outstanding mind and strong will.
Lermontov paints a portrait of Pechorin psychologically deep. The phosphorescent-dazzling, but cold gleam of the eyes, a penetrating and heavy look, a noble forehead with traces of intersecting wrinkles, pale, thin fingers, nervous relaxation of the body - all these external features of the portrait testify to the psychological complexity, intellectual talent and strong-willed, evil power of Pechorin. In his "indifferently calm" look "there was no reflection of the heat of the soul", Pechorin was indifferent "to himself and others", disappointed and internally devastated.
He was characterized by the highest aspirations for social activity and a passionate desire for freedom: "I am ready for all sacrifices ... but I will not sell my freedom." Pechorin rises above the people of his environment with a versatile education, wide awareness in literature, sciences, and philosophy. In the inability of his generation "to make great sacrifices for the good of mankind," he sees a woeful shortcoming. Pechorin hates and despises the aristocracy, therefore he becomes close to Werner and Maxim Maksimych, does not hide his sympathy for the oppressed.
But Pechorin's good aspirations did not develop. The unrestrained socio-political reaction that choked all living things, the spiritual emptiness of high society changed and stifled its possibilities, disfigured its moral character, and reduced vital activity. Therefore, V. G. Belinsky called the novel a "cry of suffering" and a "sad thought" about that time. Chernyshevsky said that "Lermontov - a deep thinker for his time, a serious thinker - 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."
Pechorin fully felt and understood that under the conditions of autocratic despotism, meaningful activity for the sake of the common good is impossible for him and his generation. This was the reason for his inherent boundless skepticism and pessimism, the belief that life is "boring and disgusting." Doubts devastated Pechorin to such an extent that he had only two convictions left: the birth of a person is a misfortune, and death is inevitable. He broke with the environment to which he belonged by birth and upbringing. Pechorin denounces this environment and cruelly judges himself, in this, according to V. G. Belinsky, "the strength of the spirit and the power of the will" of the hero. He is dissatisfied with his aimless life, passionately looking for and cannot find his ideal: "Why did I live? For what purpose was I born? .." Inwardly, Pechorin moved away from the class to which he rightfully belonged by birth and social status, but the new system he did not find a social relationship that would suit him. Therefore, Pechorin does not adopt any laws other than his own.
Pechorin is morally crippled by life, he has lost his good goals and turned into a cold, cruel and despotic egoist who froze in splendid isolation and hates himself.
According to Belinsky, "hungry for worries and storms", tirelessly chasing life, Pechorin manifests himself as an evil, egocentric force that brings people only suffering and misfortune. Human happiness for Pechorin is "saturated pride." He perceives the sufferings and joys of other people "only in relation to himself" as food that supports his spiritual strength. Without much thought, for the sake of a capricious whim, Pechorin tore Bela out of his native hearth and ruined her, offended Maxim Maksimych very much, because of empty red tape he ruined the nest of "honest smugglers", violated Vera's family peace, rudely offended Mary's love and dignity.
Pechorin does not know where to go and what to do, and wastes the strength and heat of his soul on petty passions and insignificant deeds. Pechorin found himself in a tragic position, with a tragic fate: he is not satisfied with either the surrounding reality or his characteristic individualism and skepticism. The hero lost faith in everything, gloomy doubts corrode him, he longs for meaningful, socially purposeful activity, but does not find it in the circumstances surrounding him. Pechorin, like Onegin, is a suffering egoist, an egoist involuntarily. He became so because of the circumstances that determine his character and actions, therefore, he arouses sympathy for himself.
Pechorin is the main character in M. Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time". The author himself points out that he embodied in his hero a collective image in which all the vices of the generation were embodied. But the fate of Pechorin is tragic to some extent, sometimes you sincerely want to feel sorry for the hero. To understand the meaning of the work, it is important to appreciate the tragedy of Pechorin's fate.
Hero character
Pechorin is a very controversial character. He is endowed with a lot of positive qualities. Everything is with him: he is handsome and rich, well-mannered and educated. Gregory carefully monitors his neatness, he is not rude to anyone, he is not rude. It would seem that all the positive qualities of a well-mannered secular person indicate that he can be happy. He is confident in himself and does not doubt his actions and deeds. But the worst thing about this character is the lack of the ability to feel. This character is a cynic and an egoist. He does not feel responsible for the fates and lives of other people, he is able, for his own whim, to play with the fates of those who treat him well.
The hero is incapable of love. He himself constantly feels bored, understands the power of his egoism, calls himself a "moral cripple." But he doesn't feel guilty about it. Knowing that his soul has hardened, he does nothing to correct the situation. He is prone to introspection, but this does not justify him. Pechorin cannot be called a happy person. He is constantly bored. In order to satisfy this feeling, he neglects the feelings of other people, but he himself is not at all capable of experiencing them. Probably, the tragedy of the whole generation lies in this - the inability to experience real feelings, because this is a real gift that is inherent only to man. This can be called both a personal tragedy, because such a person is simply a pity, and a tragedy for others, because it is they who suffer from the cynicism and selfishness of people like Pechorin.
The tragedy of a generation
But the problem lies not only in the very nature of Pechorin. It is not for nothing that the novel bears such a name, because it reflects the tragedy of a whole generation. Lermontov noted that he had met people similar to Pechorin more than once in his life, and perhaps he himself was one of them. They have a lot of opportunities, but do not feel happy. They live in a period of changing eras, when the old has already outlived itself, and the new is not yet clear. That is why the problem of the generation is global boredom, restlessness, callousness.
"Moral cripple"
When Pechorin starts a conversation with someone about himself, he constantly makes it clear that he knows how insensitive he is and suffers from it himself. When talking with Maxim Maksimych, he mentions that he is very bored, and you can feel sorry for him. Talking to Mary, he says that society has made him so, not accepting good feelings, seeing only evil and negativity in him. That is why he became a "moral cripple."
THE TRAGIC IMAGE OF PECHORIN. The main theme of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is the image of a socially typical personality of the noble circle after the defeat of the Decembrists. The main idea is the condemnation of this person and the social environment that gave birth to him. Pechorin is the central figure of the novel, its driving force. He is Onegin's successor - "an extra person." This is a romantic in character and behavior, by nature a person of exceptional abilities, an outstanding mind and strong will.
Lermontov paints a portrait of Pechorin psychologically deep. The phosphorescent-dazzling, but cold gleam of the eyes, a penetrating and heavy look, a noble forehead with traces of intersecting wrinkles, pale, thin fingers, nervous relaxation of the body - all these external features of the portrait testify to the psychological complexity, intellectual talent and strong-willed, evil power of Pechorin. In his "indifferently calm" look "there was no reflection of the heat of the soul", Pechorin was indifferent "to himself and others", disappointed and internally devastated.
He was characterized by the highest aspirations for social activity and a passionate desire for freedom: "I am ready for all sacrifices ... but I will not sell my freedom." Pechorin rises above the people of his environment with a versatile education, wide awareness in literature, sciences, and philosophy. In the inability of his generation "to make great sacrifices for the good of mankind," he sees a woeful shortcoming. Pechorin hates and despises the aristocracy, therefore he becomes close to Werner and Maxim Maksimych, does not hide his sympathy for the oppressed.
But Pechorin's good aspirations did not develop. The unrestrained socio-political reaction that choked all living things, the spiritual emptiness of high society changed and stifled its possibilities, disfigured its moral character, and reduced vital activity. Therefore, V. G. Belinsky called the novel a “cry of suffering” and a “sad thought” about that time. Chernyshevsky said that "Lermontov - a deep thinker for his time, a serious thinker - 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."
Pechorin fully felt and understood that under the conditions of autocratic despotism, meaningful activity for the sake of the common good is impossible for him and his generation. This was the reason for his inherent boundless skepticism and pessimism, the belief that life is "boring and disgusting." Doubts devastated Pechorin to such an extent that he had only two convictions left: the birth of a person is a misfortune, and death is inevitable. He broke with the environment to which he belonged by birth and upbringing. Pechorin denounces this environment and cruelly judges himself, in this, according to V. G. Belinsky, "the strength of the spirit and the power of will" of the hero. He is dissatisfied with his aimless life, passionately searching and cannot find his ideal: “Why did I live? for what purpose was I born?.. ”Inwardly, Pechorin moved away from the class to which he rightfully belonged by birth and social status, but he did not find a new system of social relationships that would suit him. Therefore, Pechorin does not adopt any laws other than his own.
Pechorin is morally crippled by life, he has lost his good goals and turned into a cold, cruel and despotic egoist who froze in splendid isolation and hates himself.
According to Belinsky, "hungry for worries and storms", tirelessly chasing life, Pechorin manifests himself as an evil, egocentric force that brings people only suffering and misfortune. Human happiness for Pechorin is "saturated pride." He perceives the sufferings and joys of other people "only in relation to himself" as food that supports his spiritual strength. Without much thought, for the sake of a capricious whim, Pechorin tore Bela out of his native hearth and ruined her, offended Maxim Maksimych very much, because of empty red tape he ruined the nest of "honest smugglers", violated Vera's family peace, rudely offended Mary's love and dignity.
Pechorin does not know where to go and what to do, and wastes the strength and heat of his soul on petty passions and insignificant deeds. Pechorin found himself in a tragic position, with a tragic fate: he is not satisfied with either the surrounding reality or his characteristic individualism and skepticism. The hero lost faith in everything, gloomy doubts corrode him, he longs for meaningful, socially purposeful activity, but does not find it in the circumstances surrounding him. Pechorin, like Onegin, is a suffering egoist, an unwilling egoist. He became so because of the circumstances that determine his character and actions, therefore, he arouses sympathy for himself.
