The cult novel “A Hero of Our Time”, a description of the heroes and its storyline went down in the history of Russian literature as an undying classic. Each character is registered in such a way that the reader involuntarily has a sense of presence in the unfolding actions of the novel.
History of the work
Obviously, Mikhail Lermontov did not assume that the protagonists of his story about the notorious ensign Pechorin will go down in history forever and will 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 complete novel. Lermontov wrote it for three years, publishing each chapter individually in the journal "Domestic Notes".
The development of events in the novel is due to the writer’s stay in exile in the Caucasus. Literary scholars did not fully establish the chronological sequence of writing individual chapters of the work, but found many facts indicating the similarity of the characters with some personalities with whom Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov contacted in exile.
Author's literary techniques for conveying the image of characters
The description “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 description of their characters.
Mikhail Lermontov was the first to bring to the attention of readers the image of the protagonist from the perspective of several parties. The main characters are the ensign Pechorin, Princess Mary, the princely daughter Bela, Kazbich, the captain, the son of Prince Azamat, the cadet Grushnitsky. The story of the interweaving of their fates in the novel is revealed by three storytellers. The author deliberately used this technique to make sure that “heroes of our time” appeared before readers as accurately as possible. The description of the characters due to this came to be complete and symbolic. The fact is that Mikhail Yuryevich not only came up 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 not involved in events.
A special technique with which the author masterfully coped with the task set before him is to illuminate all the subtleties of Pechorin’s soul — a violation of the chronological sequence in the chapters. Lermontov, who decided to combine separate novels in a novel, decided to glow the atmosphere and make the reader tremble in anticipation of a denouement.
"Heroes of our time" (description of heroes) is the quintessence of the vision of the author of lost souls, desecrated by contradictions, rushing about in the dark environment 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 identify additional facets of the ensign's personality through the prism of their interaction.
The image of Pechorin in the novel “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 man of the 30s of the 19th century. Being endowed with a beautiful appearance, wealth and capabilities, this hero did not feel satisfaction from life, could not enjoy all the blessings surrounding him. However, contrary to the deep-rooted stereotype that a character with such a mental content should have been flowing, Lermontov attributes Pechorin with a passionate desire to find the meaning of life through a constant “dispute” with fate.
The novel "Heroes of our time", a description of the heroes and events with absolute accuracy reflect the entire spiritual depravity of the Lermontov generation. The author describes with absolute accuracy not only the characters' characters, but also their appearance so that the reader can better understand how “Pechorin’s never laughing eyes” can 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 gives each of these characters a unique soul limitation with seeming organicity. 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 personality.
The main emphasis in the image of Kazbich Lermontov makes 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 decisive man who values ​​freedom and exploits the most - 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 mountainous people, for whom duty and honor are valued above all.
Azamat looks no less traditional, in terms of the description of the highlanders. He is like a young prototype of Kazbich, who has not yet lost his mischief and dare, but in years will turn into his brother.
Bela thanks to the efforts of Lermontov appears before the reader with a passionate nature, capable of love from the heart. In it, 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 stingy cues in the novel. Apparently, the author wanted the reader himself to guess about the raging passions in the heart of the girl, analyzing her actions.
The social meaning of the novel
The description of the novel “A Hero of Our Time” demonstrates that Lermontov was the first who among his contemporaries managed to put not the events themselves, but the inner world of the central character in the center of the storyline. He was able to describe Pechorin’s mental quest as an ongoing process, rather than a static state. The writer succeeded in achieving this effect thanks to a literary trick with violation of chronological events in the story, because of which it is impossible for the reader to concentrate on 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 characters so organically that they were forever rooted in the minds of readers as heroes of our time.