Summary “Changing”
“Hero of Our Time” – the most outstanding creation of Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov in prose. This novel is different story singularity. Each chapter is a complete story, reflecting one of the facets of the character’s character. But we will not consider the entire work, but only one part, more precisely, its brief content. “Maxim Maksimych” – a chapter that is valuable to us in that it reflects Pechorin’s attitude toward close people. Therefore, let us dwell on its analysis.
The novel “The Hero of Our Time”
This work was the first novel in Russian literature that absorbed the moral and philosophical and socio-psychological problems of the 30s of the XIX century. By the time the work was published, the genre of the novel was not yet fully formed and developed.
The uniqueness of this work is the combination of two different and even contradictory literary directions used by Lermontov: romanticism and realism.
Lermontov, creating the “Hero of Our Time”, in fact, synthesized such genres as an essay, travel notes, short story, confession, diary entries, philosophical and psychological story. Combining all these forms, the poet achieved the fact that the image of Pechorin appears to the reader as complex, multifaceted, ambiguous, but incredibly alive and real. The heads of the novel in their own way highlight each of the sides of the personality of the hero. This feature affects the volume of parts. The same can be said about our brief content. “Maxim Maksimych” – the chapter written in the genre of the story.
Timeline of narration
As noted above, the “Hero of Our Time” is characterized by fragmentation and unrelated narrative. The only thing that unites all parts of the novel is the main character. And the characters that arise
The chapters in the novel are presented in the following order: “Bela”, then “Maxim Maksimych”, the preface to the “Pechorin Magazine”, after which the chapters from it are quoted: “Taman”, “Princess Mary”, “Fatalist”. If we consider the events in chronological order, they should be built like this: “Taman”, then “Princess Mary”, then “Bela”, “Fatalist”, “Maxim Maksimych” and the closing list of the preface to the Pechorin Magazine. Lermontov for good reason chose a chronologically inconsistent way of describing Pechorin’s life. It is in the novel sequence of the chapters that the portrait of the main character is most accurately depicted. Of particular importance is the story “Maxim Maksimych,” a brief summary of which we give below.
The image of Pechorin
Pechorin is a representative of his time, he is an officer and a nobleman, intelligent and educated. But he is dissatisfied with his life, does not know where to apply his talents, he is tormented by longing, loneliness and restlessness. He tirelessly strives to find the meaning of existence, challenges destiny, but he quickly gets bored.
Pechorin is always on his way, he does not stay anywhere for long, even death overtakes him on the road. Lermontov seems to want to emphasize the hero’s lack of restraint and his desire to find his place in the world. Bored by boredom, the protagonist can not only go on an adventure, but also start playing with the destinies of other people. However, nothing can give him joy and satisfaction. Pechorin is selfish and not used to appreciate those who surround him. This character trait was especially evident in the chapter “Maxim Maksimych,” a brief summary of which we will describe below.
Even love is not capable of distracting Pechorin from his longing for a long time, he quickly becomes disillusioned and leads his beloved to suffering and death.
The image of Maxim Maksimych
Information about this hero contains the chapter “Bela” and the chapter “Maxim Maksimych”, the brief content of which helps to reveal and understand the image.
Maxim Maksimych is one of the central characters in the novel. With his eyes we see Pechorin, he is both a storyteller and a hero. Maxim Maksimych is a staff captain, has been serving in the Caucasus for a long time, he knows perfectly the terrain, nature and customs of the local inhabitants. This character is endowed with a kind heart and a wide soul, he values peace and does not seek adventure. The main thing for him is to fulfill his duty. All these features of the nature of the character can be found by reading the summary.
Maxim Maksimych never abused his rank and behaved in a friendly manner with his subordinate. Only during the service he recalled his rank, but interferes only when one of the subordinates commits wrong actions. Friendship for this person is in the first place, so the coldness of Pechorin so much offends him.
Chapter “Maxim Maksimych”: a summary
The retelling of this chapter can begin with a description of the meeting of Maxim Maksimych and Pechorin. The staff captain had not seen his friend for a long time, his attention was attracted by a dandy carriage. The lackey, who protects her, reports that she belongs to Pechorin, who stopped at the colonel. Maksim Maksimych, believing that an old friend would be glad to see him, asked the servant to report to the owner about the place of his stay. However, evening passes, and Pechorin does not appear.
In the morning the staff captain goes on official business, and almost immediately after his departure is the main character – he is going to leave. And then the narrator sees Maxim Maximich running to them, who is ready to rush to his friend’s neck. But Pechorin smiles coldly and stretches out his hand to shake. The staff-captain wants to talk with a friend, but the protagonist is in a hurry. Asked whether he will take the papers that Maxim Maximich kept carefully, Pechorin says that his fate does not interest him. The main character leaves. Lermontov draws openness and joy in the image of an old officer.
“Maxim Maksimych,” whose summary we retell, – the chapter is very indicative in terms of the attitude of Pechorin to other people.
Maxim Maksimych is very upset with the coldness of the protagonist, he is even ready to cry. And without hesitation, gives the storyteller papers, from which Pechorin so easily refused. The staff captain wishes to leave as soon as possible, but because of the unresolved cases he is forced to stay another day.
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