Pechorin is a tragic personality, our hero. Several interesting compositions

The novel "A Hero of Our Time", the author of which is 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 a sincere feeling, 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 Vera and because of the horse could not catch up with her, he fell down and cried, because the shock of the duel that had happened before, a furious leap brought him to such a state when the mind ceased to control the feelings (“Soul exhausted, reason fell silent "). But very quickly his habit of analyzing everything returned to him (“I am, however, pleased that I can cry!”).

Pechorin is alone. His nature is so deep that he cannot find equal. In friendship, he is unhappy. He did not perceive Maxim Maksimych as a friend, because he was a simple person 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 exclaims bitterly: "They are all like that, even the kindest, the most intelligent! ..").

In love, Pechorin is also unhappy. Although he was attached to Vera, this was not the woman for whom he would agree to lose his freedom. He did not 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 purpose.

He is also unhappy from the fact that he realizes himself as an ax of fate, which falls on the "head of doomed victims." He himself suffers from this.

Thus, Pechorin is a tragic hero, because he is lonely, unhappy in friendship and love, lives with reason, not feelings, has not found his purpose, the meaning of life. The feeling that he is not only higher than other people, but also higher than fate and chance still does not make him happy. The reader in the middle of the novel learns that somewhere on the way from Persia he died. We understand that Pechorin never found happiness in this life.

Updated: 2019-07-22

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Is Pechorin a tragic hero?

Pechorin Grigory Alexandrovich, the main character of the work, appears in all five parts of the novel. Maksim Maksimych, in a fatherly way, tells about his subordinate: "... He was so thin, white, he was wearing such a new uniform." .Good Maksim Maksimych sees contradictions in Pechorin's behavior: “... He was a nice little guy, only a little strange - he was silent for hours, and then he was amused, THAT“ you will tear your bellies ”. The captain is sure that there are people with whom \ g. \ lo by all means agree to si. on extraordinary things must happen to them.

A more detailed (psychological) portrait barks in the psychological story “Maksim Maksimych” through the eyes of the narrator: “He was lazy and careless, but ... he did not wave his hands -

a sure sign of some secrecy of character. Despite the light color of his hair, his mustache and eyebrows were black - a sign of the breed in a person. "

Obviously, Lermontovsky Pechorin belongs to the disillusioned young people of that era. He continues the "EXTRA people" gallery. His bright abilities and powers do not find a worthy application and are wasted on fleeting hobbies and senseless and sometimes cruel experiments on others. Already at the beginning of the novel, the hero's self-recognition sounds: "My soul is spoiled by light, my imagination is restless, my heart is insatiable: everything is not enough for me: I get used to sadness just as easily as to pleasure, and my life becomes empty day by day ..." Maksim Maksimych, the "Russian Caucasian" of the Yermolov burrow, is set off by the moral anomalies of the Pechorin nature with its inner coldness and spiritual passion, genuine interest in people and selfish willfulness. Pechorin admits: “... I have an unhappy character: whether my upbringing made me so, whether God rewarded me like that, I don’t know; I only know that. that if I am the cause of the misfortune of others, then I myself am no less unhappy. " The confession of the protagonist reveals the inner motives of mental anguish and boredom, the hero is not able to find happiness in achieving life goals, since upon reaching them he immediately cools down to the result of his efforts. The causes of this moral illness are partly connected with the "corruption of light" that corrupts young souls, and partly with the premature "old age of the soul."

In his journal, Pechorin analyzes the external and internal events of his life. His sober introspection, a clear understanding of himself and other people - all this emphasizes the strength of character, his earthly, many-passionate nature, doomed to loneliness and suffering, relentless struggle with his unhappy fate.

Pechorin is a wonderful actor who deceives everyone and partly himself. Here there is a player's passion, and a tragic protest, a thirst to take revenge on people for their hurt and suffering invisible to the world, for a failed life.

"The soul of Pechorin is not stony soil, but the earth dried up from the heat of fiery life ..." - notes V.G. Belinsky. Pechorin did not bring happiness to anyone, did not find in life either a friend (“of two friends, one slave of the other”), no love, no place of his own - only loneliness, disbelief, skepticism, the fear of appearing ridiculous in the eyes of society.

He “races wildly out. life ”, but finds only boredom, and this is the tragedy not only of Pechorin, but also of his entire generation.

What is the contradictory character of Pechorin?

"A Hero of Our Time" is the first major socialist-psychological novel in Russian literature. The main problem of the novel "; A Hero of Our Time" is defined by M.Yu. Lermontov in the preface; he draws "a modern man as he understands him", a hundred hero is not a portrait of one person, but "a portrait made up of the vices of our entire generation." the image of Pechorin was given their expression by the fundamental features of the post-Decembrist iiioxii, in which, according to Herzen, “ONLY losses were visible” on the surface, but inside “great work was being done ...

Pechorin himself, reflecting on his life, finds in it much in common with the fate of an entire generation: “We are no longer capable of great sacrifices, either for the good of mankind, or even for our own happiness, because we know its impossibility and indifferently pass 01 doubts to doubt ".

Pechorin, like an evil ray, brings suffering to all who meet on his way: Bele and her relatives, the family of “honest smugglers”. Mary, Grushnitsky. Moreover, he is the strictest judge to himself. He calls himself a “moral cripple,” more than once compares himself to an executioner. No one better than Pechorin understands how empty and meaningless his life is. Remembering the past before the duel, HE cannot answer the question: “Why did I live? For what purpose was I born? " Life torments Pechorin: "I am like a man yawning at a ball, who does not go to sleep just because he is not yet> his carriage." But nevertheless the living soul of Pechorin manifests itself in the shocked: !! the death of Bela, in tears of despair, when he realized that he had lost his Faith forever, in the capable! and about I be given the charm of nature even before a duel, in the ability to look at oneself from the outside.

In her confession, Mary Pechorin accuses society of becoming a "moral cripple." Pechorin repeatedly speaks about his duality, about the contradiction between his human essence and existence. He confesses to Doctor Vsrnsru: “There is a man in me: one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thought

lit and judges him ... "To live for Pechorin, and this is precisely the function of the first person -" to be always on the alert, to catch every glance, the meaning of every word, to guess intentions, to destroy conspiracies, to pretend to be deceived and suddenly, with one push, to overturn everything huge and difficult a building of tricks and designs ... ".

Pechorin differs from the rest of the characters in the novel precisely because he is gay, that he is worried about the questions of conscious human existence - about the purpose and meaning of human life, about its purpose. He is worried about that. THAT its only purpose is to destroy other people's hopes.

What is most important for Pechorin: honor, duty, conscience, freedom?

Roman M.Yu. Lermontov's "A Hero of Our Time" - Psycholo! a-chek novel.

In its center is the “history of the soul” of an extraordinary personality of the early 19th century.

An imprint of fate was in Pechorin's soul, and he knew his fate) Pechorin strove for his death and knew how he would die. For a person who "hopes so much about himself, I think it will be more important" to sow freedom. He is ready to stake his honor and conscience for the sake of freedom.

Pechorin did not have a home at all, he did not want to tie himself to anything. Pechorin was, in my VIEW, an ideal person, cold and strong. This man caused pain without remorse. with pleasure and relish. The Demon, who despised everything, became the literary prototype of Pechorin. life itself. So. for the hero of our time, the goal of life was to "displace" from life all possible feelings and experiences that a person could feel. But standing in ONE place, how could he have accomplished this? No!

Lermontov wrote in the preface that Pechorin is not a portrait of the author. But. I think it was just a hoax. In Article Vl. Solovyov, where the philosopher describes Lermontov's inner world, there are lines very similar to Pechorin's diary entry: “I feel this insatiable greed in myself, absorbing everything. what is found on nougat: I look at the suffering and joys of Drupg only in relation to myself, as food that supports my mental strength. ... and my first pleasure is to subordinate everything that surrounds me to my will. "

This is what freedom is for the hero of our time!

The determining factor in the novel, in my opinion, is the motive of Destiny. This is confirmed by constant accidents. Fate leads the hero. Fate and chance are disposed by God, who sent the soul to me in the image of Pechorin so that she could decide, make a choice. Here is the answer to the question: a soul like that of Pechorin and Lermontov cannot tie itself to the ground and decides who it is all its life. I. in my opinion, Pechorin decided who he is: the Demon, Mephistopheles and the Devil, eternal from a grashka. lonely, but free.

I agree with Pechorin's point of view: the main thing for a person is not duty, not honor, and not even conscience, but freedom, without which one cannot serve one's duty, preserve one's honor and act according to conscience.

With which cell does Pechorin start a love nitride

With Princess Mary? (but to the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov

"Hero of our time")

In the novel "A Hero of Our Time" Lermontov set the task to comprehensively and multifacetedly reveal the personality of a contemporary, to show a portrait of a "hero of the time", "made up of the vices" of the entire generation "in their full development," as the author said in the introduction to the novel. All plot lines are reduced to the central image, but a special role is played by the love affair, which is present in almost every part of the novel. After all, one of the main features of the "hero of the time" is the "premature old age of the soul", in which "... some kind of secret cold reigns in the soul, / When the fire boils in the blood."

The story about that. how Pechorin achieves the affection and love of Princess Mary, shows the secret motives of the actions of the hero, who always strives to rule in everything, preserving his own freedom. He made people play with toys in his hands, making them play by their own rules. As a result, broken hearts, suffering and death of those who met on his way. He really is like "the executioner in the fifth act of tragedy." This is precisely his role in the fate of Mary.

A girl who, like Pechorin, belongs to the upper world, Princess Mary has absorbed much of the morals and customs of her environment since childhood. She is beautiful, proud, unapproachable, but at the same time loves worship and attention to herself. Sometimes she seems spoiled and

capricious, and therefore the plan developed by Pechorin to “seduce” her at first does not arouse strong condemnation in the reader.

But we notice other qualities of Mary, hiding behind the appearance of a secular beauty. She is attentive to Grushiitsky. whom he considers a poor, suffering young man, cannot stand the ostentatious bragging and vulgarity of the officers who make up the "water society." Princess Mary shows a strong character when Pechorin begins to carry out his "plan" to conquer her heart. But the trouble is Pechorin admits that he does not like "women with character." He does everything. to break them, conquer and subjugate them. AND, To unfortunately. Mary fell victim to her, like the others. Is she guilty of this?

In order to understand THIS, it is necessary to look at what Pechorin “plays”, winning her favor. The key scene is Pechorin's conversation with Mary on a walk near the hole. “Having assumed a deeply moved look,” the hero “confesses” to an inexperienced girl. He tells her about him, how he saw vices from childhood, and as a result he became a “moral cripple”. Of course, there is a particle of truth in THESE words. But Pechorin's main task is to arouse the girl's sympathy. II indeed, her kind soul was touched by this story, and as a result, she fell in love with Pechorin for his "hesitations". And the feeling of IT turned out to be deep and serious, without the verge of coquetry and narcissism. And Pechorin achieved his goal: "... After all, there is immense pleasure and the possession of a young, barely blossoming soul!" - the hero remarks cynically. Once again, he showed the most negative traits of his character: selfishness, heartlessness and mental coldness, the desire for power over people.

The last scene of the explanation of Pechorin and Mary evokes keen sympathy for the unfortunate girl. Even Pechorin himself "began to reap it." According to the ruthless verdict, the cards are revealed: the hero announces that he was laughing at Pei. And the princess can only suffer and hate him. and the reader - to reflect on how cruel a person full of selfishness and a thirst to achieve their goals, no matter what, can be.

Is Pechorinfatalist?(based on the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time")

Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time" is rightfully called Be only socio-psychological, but also moral

philosophical. The question of free will and predestination, the rage of fate in the second life of a person is considered in one way or another in all parts of the novel. Nor is the oibci extended to him given only in the concluding part - the philosophical story "The Fatalist", which plays the role of a kind of epilogue to the Jurassic.

A fatalist is a person who believes in the predetermination of all events in life, in the inevitability of fate, fate, fate. In the spirit of his time, which revises the fundamental questions of human existence, Pechorin tries to decide whether the purpose of a person is predetermined by a higher will or whether he himself determines the laws of life and follow them,

As the action of the story develops, Pechorin receives threefold confirmation of the existence of prejudice and fate. Officer Vulich. with whom the hero makes a risky bet, he could not shoot himself, although the pistol was loaded. Chatham Vulich nevertheless dies at the hands of a drunken Cossack, and in THIS Pechorin doesn’t shy away from the nipple, because even during the dispute he had marked the “seal of death” on his line. And finally, Pechorin himself is tempting fate, deciding to disarm a drunken Cossack, Vulich's murderer. “... A strange thought flashed through my head: like Vulich. I decided to try my luck, ”says Pechorin.

What is the answer of the “hero of the time”, and along with it the writer himself, to this most complicated question? Pechorin's conclusion sounds like this: "I like to doubt everything: this disposition of 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." the opposite. If he is ready to admit that predestination exists, THEN is by no means to the detriment of the activity of human behavior: to be just a toy in the hands of fate, according to Pechorin, is humiliating.

Lermontov gives just such an interpretation of the problem, without answering unequivocally the question that tormented the philosophers of that time. There seems to be no solution to the problem of fate in the novel that concludes the novel. But having shown that the hero, expressing thoughts about the possible and existence of predestination, in all situations prefers to act as a person endowed with free will, Lermontov, in fact, shows the path of solution.

Why is Dead Souls a poem?

The author himself defined the genre of his work as a poem, thus emphasizing the equality of the epic and lyrical principles 1c “The Dead i \ i The epic and lyrical parts differ in the goals the author sets. The task of the epic part is to show "at least from one side Russia."

Detail becomes the main means of depicting Russian life in the poem. With her help, Gogol shows the typicality of the provincial fool, who "was not inferior to other provincial fools," a landscape that represents "well-known views." I point out such techniques! on a realistic method of creating thunder reference.

In addition, the detail also acts as a means of individualization. Sobakevich looks like "an average bear ham", and his tailcoat is "completely copper-colored."

In the epic part, the writer is especially attentive to the world of things (a feature of the "natural school" !: things are impersonated, but the reverse process also occurs; a person becomes a semblance of a thing.

In the lyrical part, a positive ideal of the author arises, which is revealed through lyrical digressions about Russia, linking together the themes of the road, the Russian people and the Russian word ("Oh, loud" bird-three, who invented the hell? Are you rushing alongside the troika? ”) The author is aware of his high mission (“ And for a long time it has been determined for me by the wonderful power to go hand in hand with my strange heroes ”).

Such oppositions (epic and lyric) are reflected in the language of the poem. The language of lyrical digressions is characterized by a high style, the use of metaphors, metaphorical epithets (“piercing finger”), hyperbole, rhetorical questions (“What Russian doesn't like fast driving?”), Exclamations, repetitions, gradations.

The language of the epic part is simple, colloquial. Common speech is widely used. Proverbs. The primary means of creating and characterizing characters is irony.

"Dead Souls" are called the "Russian Odyssey" according to the problems touched upon by Gogol. A novel beginning, unrelated episodes that are united by the hero's adventures, a cross-cutting theme of the road, wide social pressures ending in the poem, the presence of plug-in muments (the short stories "The Tale of Captain Kopsykin" and the parables about Kif Mokievichs and Mokny Kifovich) - all this indicates to the epic side of the piece.

The presence of a huge number of lyrical digressions, drawing a positive ideal of the author, the presence of the author himself, expressing his attitude to what is happening, discussing philosophical topics, touching upon the themes of writing, the poetic language of these digressions - this characterizes the work as a poem. Thus, before the reader is an original work of an unusual genre - the poem "Dead Souls".

Why N.V. Gogol uses precisely

artistic detail

as the main means of psychologism?

Detailing is a special artistic technique that is necessary to create the most complete image. Through the detail, you can show any comic situation, designate something typical in heroes or. on the contrary, to emphasize individual features. The technique of detailing is used, as a rule, in epic works.

N.V. Gogol is an acknowledged master of detailing. Details are filled not only with the large-scale poem "Dead Souls", but also the dramatic work - the comedy "The Inspector General". The most striking example of this is a mute scene. In it, the author, reminding both the heroes and the audience about the Last Judgment, describes in detail the poses in which the heroes freeze. So. for example, the mayor stops with me "in the middle in the form of a pillar, with outstretched arms and head thrown back."

Detailing is sometimes used to create a comic effect. At the end of Act 1, the mayor tries to put on a box instead of a hat, which shows his excitement, fear of Khlestakov, whom all the officials of the district town took for an inspector.

Khlestakov, in the culminating scene of the sienna of lies, tells about a soup that “came from Paris right on the ship”, and a watermelon on his table “seven hundred rubles a watermelon”. A detail can act not only as a means of individualization, but also as a means of typing. So. For example, getting ready for a meeting with the "inspector", the mayor, having gathered officials, gives instructions to everyone. Oi knows what is happening in every department: in charitable institutions, patients "recover like flies," walk in dirty caps, goslings walk in a public place at Lyaikin-Tyapkin's, and in the most conspicuous place the arapnik hangs. These details characterize not only the characters in the best possible way, but also the city, the whole of Russia.

The plot of the poem "Dead Souls" is full of descriptions, both epic and lyrical digressions. In the chapters on Chichikov's visits to landowners, one can single out his own microplot.

First, Chichikov enters the estate, he is met by the landowner (here is a description of the estate, the portrait of the landowner, the interior, the author describes the treat in detail), culminating in a conversation between Chichikov and the landowner about the sale of dead souls. then the departure of the protagonist. And in each of these descriptions, Gogol uses many details. For example, characterizing Plyushkin, calling him "a hole in humanity", indicates that the house of the former zealous owner looked like a gigantic castle, which spoke of former wealth, and now the dwelling resembled a decrepit invalid. The streets in the village were very clean, but not because the peasants were cleaning them, but because of it. that Plyushkin himself went out on a kind of hunt in the morning: he dragged everything into the house. what I found on the street.

Describing Manilov, the first landowner to whom Chichikov came, the author uses such a portrait detail as "overly transferred sugar" into the pleasant features of his face. Interior details (a chair covered with matting, two different candlesticks), object details (a book on page 14, neat pyramids of ash knocked out of a pipe) - all this helps to create an image and characterize this character.

The detail for Gogol's work is vital. F> ei there is no Gogol with his mouth-watering dinners, colorful landscapes, vivid portraits, memorable speech characteristics.

Is it possible to agree with A. Bely's statement that

that "Chichikov is a real devil"?

(based on the poem "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol)

Once the philosopher Hegel rightly noted that a work of art is a dialogue with everyone standing in front of it. Probably. precisely because Oh often there are disputes about the meaning of this or that literary work, about its heroes. The symbolist poet Andrei Bely, who once wrote an interesting work about the work of Go-go. I saw a terrible, mystical meaning in the image of Chichikov. It seems to me. WHAT can be argued both for and against such a point of view, depending on how to interpret this ambiguous literary image.

On the one hand, Chichikov is a special type of Russian person,
a kind of "hero of the time", whose soul is "enchanted by the rich
vom ". "Scoundrel-acquirer", in the pursuit of capital, he loses
I understand the meaning of conscience, decency. The lust for profit killed him

the best human feelings, left no room for a "living" soul.

Twila her, On the other hand, this hero, like a real devil, is merciless and terrible, when he strives with unrestrained energy to reach his goal, he is sluggish and cunning, knows how to turn to his advantage the weaknesses and vices of people.

Until the 11th chapter, where the biography of Chichikov is given, his character is not completely defined. After all, with every new person we meet on his way, he looks different: with Mani the young - the very politeness and complacency, with I [an energetic adventurer, with Sobakevich - a zealous owner. He knows how to find an approach to everyone, he selects the right elephant for everyone. As a "real devil", Chichikov has the ability to penetrate into the most secret corners of people's consciousness. i but he needs to successfully complete his terrible "business" - the purchase of "dead carcasses". That is why in the guise of Chichikov something diabolical sometimes appears: psi. the hunt for dead souls is primordial (the annexation of the devil. It is not for nothing that urban gossip, among other things, called him Lnshchrist, and in the behavior of officials there is something apocalyptic, which is supported by the picture of the death of the prosecutor.

But let us recall Gogol's plan that was never realized, according to which from the first volume, embodying the “Hell” of Russian action,

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 a generation are embodied. But the fate of Pechorin is to some extent tragic, the hero sometimes sincerely wants to be pitied. To understand the meaning of the work, it is important to assess the tragedy of Pechorin's fate.

Character of the hero

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. Grigory 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-bred socialite 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 selfish person. He does not feel responsibility for the fate and lives of other people, he is able, for the sake of his own whim, to play with the fate 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 does not feel guilty about this. Knowing that his soul has become stale, he does nothing to rectify the situation. He is prone to introspection, but this does not justify him. Pechorin cannot be called a happy person. He is constantly bored. For the sake of satisfying this sensation, 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 in humans. This can be called both a personal tragedy, because you just feel sorry for such a person, and a tragedy for those around you, because it is they who suffer from the cynicism and selfishness of people like Pechorin.

Tragedy of a generation

But the problem lies not only in the very character of Pechorin. The novel has such a name for a reason, because it reflects the tragedy of a whole generation. Lermontov noted that he had more than once met people similar to Pechorin in his life, and perhaps he himself was one of them. They have tons of opportunities, but they don't feel happy. They live in a period of changing eras, when the old has already become obsolete, and the new is not yet clear. That is why the problem of a 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 himself suffers from this. When talking with Maxim Maksimych, he mentions that he is experiencing great boredom, and he can be pitied. Talking to Mary, he says that society made him this way, not accepting good feelings, seeing in him only evil and negative. That is why he became a "moral cripple."

What is the tragedy of Pechorin's existence? (Based on the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time")

In the novel "A Hero of Our Time" M.Yu. Lermontov created the image of his contemporary, a man of the 1930s, a complex, contradictory, deeply tragic image.

And the portrait of the hero itself is unusual. “At first glance on his face, I would not have given him more than twenty-three, although after that I was ready to give him thirty,” the narrator notes. He describes the strong physique of Pechorin and at the same time immediately notes the "nervous weakness" of his body. A strange contrast is presented by the hero's childish smile and his cold, heavy look. Pechorin's eyes "did not laugh when he laughed." “This is a sign - either of an evil disposition, or of deep constant sadness,” the narrator notes.

Pechorin is a romantic hero, a man of exceptional abilities, an outstanding nature, strong, strong-willed character. He surpasses those around him with his intellect, versatile education, knowledge in the field of literature and philosophy. He is endowed with a deep analytical mind, critically evaluates all social phenomena. So, about his generation, he notes: "We are no longer capable of great sacrifices, either for the good of mankind, or even for our own happiness." He is not satisfied with the life that modern society offers. Mary Ligovskaya notes that it is better to get caught "in the woods under the knife of a killer" than to become the object of Pechorin's cruel jokes. The hero is bored in the company of empty, petty envious people, gossips, intriguers, devoid of decency, nobility, honor. Disgust for these people appears in his soul, he feels like a stranger in this world. But at the same time, in the same way, Pechorin is far from the world of "ordinary people".

Revealing the inconsistency of Pechorin's inner appearance, the writer shows that he is deprived of the spontaneity and integrity of feelings characteristic of ordinary people, for "children of nature." Having invaded the world of the mountaineers, he destroys Bela, ravages the nest of "honest smugglers". He offends Maksim Maksimych. At the same time, Pechorin is not without good impulses. At the evening at the Ligovskys', he "felt sorry for Vera." On the last meeting with Mary, compassion seized him with such force that "another minute" - and he would "fall at her feet." Risking his life, he was the first to rush into the hut of the murderer Vulich a. The hero sympathizes with the Decembrists exiled to the Caucasus.

However, his good impulses remain impulses. Grigory Aleksandrovich always brings his "villainies" to their logical conclusion. He violates the family peace of Vera, insults Mary's dignity. In a duel, he kills Grushnitsky, having specially chosen such a place for the duel so that one of them would not return. Pechorin manifests itself primarily as an evil, egocentric force that brings people only suffering and misery. "Born for a high purpose," he wastes his energy on actions unworthy of a real person. Instead of active, meaningful activity, Pechorin is fighting against individuals who meet on his way. This struggle is basically petty, aimless. When the hero evaluates his actions, he himself comes to a sad conclusion; "In this vain struggle, I have exhausted both the ardor of the soul and the constancy of will necessary for real life." Passionately craving for the ideal, but not finding it, he asks: “Why did I live? For what purpose was I born? ... And, it is true, it existed and, it is true, I had a high purpose, because I feel immense strength in my soul; but I did not guess the purpose, I was carried away by the lures of passions empty and ungrateful; from their furnace I came out hard and cold as iron, but I have lost forever the ardor of noble aspirations, the best color of life. "

The hero reveals his views in his diary. Happiness for him is "rich pride." He perceives the suffering and joy of others "only in relation to himself" as food that supports his spiritual strength. Pechorin's life is "boring and disgusting." Doubt devastated him to the point that he had only two convictions left: birth is a misfortune, and death is inevitable. The feeling of love and the need for friendship in the performance of Pechorin have long lost their value. “Of two friends, one is always the other’s slave,” he says. Love for the hero is a satisfied ambition, "sweet food ... of pride." "Arouse feelings of love, devotion and fear to oneself - isn't it the first sign and triumph of power?" - writes Pechorin.

The position and fate of the hero are tragic. He does not believe in anything, cannot find a life purpose, unity with people. Selfishness, self-will, lack of creativity in life - this is the true tragedy of Pechorin. But the moral character of the hero is shaped by contemporary society. Like Onegin, he is an “extra person”, “an unwilling egoist”. This is what Lermontov's novel speaks about. “The soul of Pechorin is not stony soil, but the earth dried up from the heat of fiery life: let its suffering loosen up and the blessed rain irrigate it - and it will grow out of itself lush, luxurious flowers of heavenly love ...”, wrote V.G. Belinsky. However, Pechorin's "suffering" itself is precisely impossible for him. And this is not only the paradox of this image, but also its tragedy.

Revealing the inner appearance of the hero, the author uses various artistic means. We see a detailed portrait of the hero, we read his diary. Pechorin is depicted against the background of other characters (highlanders, smugglers, "water society"). Pechorin's speech is replete with aphorisms: "Evil begets evil", "Of two friends, one is the slave of the other", "Women love only those they do not know." The author emphasizes the poetry of the hero, his love for nature with the help of landscapes (description of the early morning in Pyatigorsk, description of the morning before the duel). Revealing the originality of Pechorin's nature, Lermontov uses characteristic epithets: "immense forces", "restless imagination", "insatiable" heart, "high" purpose.

Creating the image of Pechorin, Lermontov wrote "a portrait made up of the vices of a whole generation." It was both a reproach to the best people of his era, and at the same time a call to active work. This is the author's position in the novel.

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School essay

The main theme of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" is the depiction of the socially typical personality of the noble circle after the defeat of the Decembrists. The main idea is to condemn this person and the social environment that gave birth to it. 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 man of exceptional abilities, an outstanding mind and strong will.

Lermontov paints a portrait of Pechorin psychologically deeply. Phosphoric-dazzling, but cold gleam of the eyes, a penetrating and heavy gaze, 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 giftedness and strong-willed, evil strength 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 his versatile education, wide awareness in literature, sciences, philosophy. In the inability of his generation "to make great sacrifices for the good of mankind," he sees a grievous defect. 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 stifled all living things, the spiritual emptiness of high society changed and drowned out its possibilities, disfigured its moral image, and reduced its vital activity. Therefore, VG 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 how the best, strongest, noblest people become under the influence of the social environment of their circle."

Pechorin fully felt and understood that under the conditions of autocratic despotism, meaningful activity in the name of the common good is impossible for him and his generation. This was the reason for his characteristic boundless skepticism and pessimism, the conviction that life is "boring and disgusting." Doubts devastated Pechorin to such an extent that he had only two convictions: the birth of a person is a misfortune, and death is inevitable. He parted ways with the environment to which he belonged by birth and upbringing. Pechorin denounces this environment and severely judges himself, in this, in the words of V. G. Belinsky, "the strength of the spirit and the power of will" of the hero. He is dissatisfied with his aimless life, passionately seeks and cannot find his ideal: "Why did I live? For what purpose was I born? .." Internally, Pechorin departed from the class to which he rightfully belonged by birth and social status, but a new system social relationships that would suit him, he did not find. Therefore, Pechorin does not accept any laws other than his own.

Pechorin is morally crippled by life, he lost good goals and turned into a cold, cruel and despotic egoist, who froze in splendid isolation and hates himself.

According to Belinsky, "hungry for anxiety and storms", tirelessly chasing life, Pechorin manifests himself as an evil, egocentric force that brings people only suffering and misery. Human happiness for Pechorin is "saturated pride". He perceives the suffering and joys of other people "only in relation to himself" as food that supports his spiritual strength. Without much hesitation, for the sake of a capricious whim, Pechorin pulled Bela out of his home and ruined her, greatly offended Maxim Maksimych, ruined the nest of "honest smugglers" because of empty red tape, violated Vera's family peace, grossly insulted 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 situation, with a tragic fate: he was not satisfied with the surrounding reality, nor with his characteristic individualism and skepticism. The hero has lost faith in everything, he is corroded by gloomy doubts, 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, and therefore evokes sympathy for himself.