"Heroes of our time". Description of the characters in the context of the socio-psychological significance of the work

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The cult novel "A Hero of Our Time", the description of the characters and its storyline entered the history of Russian literature as an undying classic. Each character is written in such a way that the reader involuntarily has a feeling of presence in the unfolding actions of the novel.

History of the creation of the work

Mikhail Lermontov, obviously, did not imagine that the characters in his story about the notorious warrant officer Pechorin would forever go down in history and be perceived by contemporaries as heroes of our time. The description of the characters leaves no doubt that the author made a lot of efforts to turn separately existing stories into a whole novel. Lermontov wrote it for three years, publishing each chapter separately in the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski.

The development of events in the novel is due to the writer's stay in exile in the Caucasus. Literary scholars have not fully establishedchronological sequence of writing individual chapters of the work, but found a lot of facts indicating the similarity of the characters with some personalities with whom Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov contacted in exile.

Literary techniques of the author to convey the image of characters

The description of "A Hero of Our Time" cannot be reliable unless it is indicated that this is one of the first novels in the history of Russian literature written in the style of socio-psychological realism. It should be noted that the writing of the work was influenced by the global changes that prevailed in those days in the literary field, when novelists moved to a fundamentally new level of describing their characters.

Mikhail Lermontov was the first to present to the attention of readers the image of the main character from the position of several sides. The main characters are the ensign Pechorin, Princess Mary, the prince's daughter Bela, Kazbich, the staff captain, the son of Prince Azamat, the cadet Grushnitsky. The story of the intertwining of their destinies in the novel is revealed by three narrators. The author specifically used this technique so that the “heroes of our time” would appear as accurately as possible before the readers. The description of the characters thanks to this came out complete and symbolic. The fact is that Mikhail Yuryevich not only came up with a good idea with a description of events from the perspective of three different personalities, but also resorted to a psychological trick, where three types of people acted as narrators: the central character of the events, an outside observer, and, finally, a person who was not involved in events.

A special technique with which the author masterfully coped with the task assigned to him - to highlight all the subtleties of Pechorin's soul - a violation of the chronological sequence in the chapters. Lermontov, who decided to combine individual stories into a novel, decided to inflame the atmosphere and make the reader tremble in anticipation of the denouement.

"Heroes of our time" (description of heroes) is the quintessence of the author's vision of lost souls, defiled by inconsistency, rushing about in the gloomy environment of being of that time. The main role is assigned to Pechorin, who became the link between all the independent fragments of the novel. The remaining characters are needed in order to reveal additional facets of the ensign's personality through the prism of their interaction.

The image of Pechorin in the novel "A Hero of Our Time". Description of the heroes of Bela, Kazbich and Azamat

The extremely capacious image of a young ensign became a reflection of a typical young boy of the 30s of the 19th century. Being endowed with a beautiful appearance, we alth and opportunities, this hero did not feel satisfaction from life, could not enjoy all the blessings surrounding him. However, contrary to the ingrained stereotype that a character with such spiritual content had to go with the flow, Lermontov attributes to Pechorin a passionate desire to find the meaning of life through a constant “dispute” with fate.

The novel "Heroes of Our Time", the description of the heroes and events with absolute accuracy reflect all the spiritual depravity of Lermontov's generation. The author with absolute accuracy describes not only the characterscharacters, but also their appearance, so that the reader can better understand how "Pechorin's never laughing eyes" may look in a certain situation.

An important role in the work is played by the contradictory and capacious characters of Bela, Kazbich and Azamat. Lermontov endows each of these characters with a unique limitation of the soul, while seeming organic. The author hints in the novel that the strength of traditions and customs has a strong influence on human behavior, but this does not at all indicate the development of the individual.

The main emphasis in the image of Kazbich Lermontov does on the description of the integrity of his nature. Perhaps, for this purpose, the writer tries to limit himself to simple words, telling about the external features of the hero. Kazbich appears before the reader as a strong-willed and determined man who most of all appreciates freedom and exploits - a true highlander. Lermontov does not try to make him a kind of romantic warrior, but points to a strong connection with the established traditions of the mountain people, for whom duty and honor are valued above all else.

Azamat looks no less traditional in terms of describing the highlanders. He is like a young prototype of Kazbich, who has not yet lost his mischief and prowess, but in years will turn into his brother.

Bela, thanks to the efforts of Lermontov, appears before the reader as a passionate nature, capable of love from the heart. In it, see from the very beginning, a person is read who wants a worthy appeal to her. She is not devoid of self-esteem, her spirit cannot be broken by expensive gifts.or voluptuous courtship. She got mean lines in the novel. Apparently, the author wanted the reader to guess about the raging passions in the girl's heart, analyzing her actions.

The social meaning of the novel

The description of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" demonstrates that Lermontov is the first among his contemporaries who managed to place not the events themselves at the center of the development of the storyline, but the inner world of the central character. He was able to describe Pechorin's spiritual quest as an ongoing process, not a static state. The writer managed to achieve this effect thanks to a literary trick with a violation of the chronological events in the story, which makes it impossible for the reader to concentrate on the events, he is forced to direct his attention to the only object he knows that unites all the chapters - Pechorin.

Lermontov managed to describe the souls of the characters so organically that they are forever rooted in the minds of readers as heroes of our time.