Pechorin and his friends
In the 1800 period, precisely between the years 1838 and 1840, Mikhail Lermontov wrote A Hero of Our Time. The book falls right in the timeline regarded in the literary accounts as the Romantic moment. The period preceded the Enlightenment, which was a dominance period on the focus of the societal order, rationality, politics, and philosophy. The period of romance has several fundamental attributes, which bears reflection from arts and literature. The focus is more on the individuals with emphasis laid on the feelings, emotions and the darker side of nature. The period is also reflective of the glorification of nature. In Mikhail’s A Hero of Our Time, there is a character called Pechorin, who happens to exemplify the elements of the Romantic timeline. There are numerous means of telling a story and Mikhail Lermontov had the capability of making use of the narrative voice along with its numerous utilizations in the book, A Hero of Our Time (Hawkes 103). With his utilizations, the author had the capacity of painting an image of the anti-hero of the book, Penchorin, consequently enlightening the readers on the attributes of man disturbed. The scare on Penchorin was in certain ways derivable from life, and he did not know how he could deal with the pains life had inflicted on him.
The illustration of such inabilities is initially viewable from the Maxim Maximych’s narration. Maxim recounted on his meeting with Pechorin, who is the principal narrator at the start of the book. Maxim has numerous tales on Penchorin, but his main account was on Bela. Bela’s acquisition was from his brother, Azamat, for an attractive horse that was not even part of Penchorin but another person. The trade articulates a couple of elements regarding the behaviors of humans. On the account given by Azamat, there exists a reality that greed had a control over Penchorin’s endeavors. This resulted in Penchorin surrendering his family for an animal, which according to him, is a more worthy friend compared to his sister. Penchorin perceives this and consequently from the commencement of the novel it is easy to tell of Penchorin’s artistry in manipulation as he preys on the feeble persons in the world. From the onset, Penchorin was consistent in winning Bela’s affection. Initially there was resistance but that love slowly grows. Penchorin was powerless on the slow death Bela was undergoing he could not save her. Penchorin was keen on having a clear conscience concerning Bela’s death as he had transformed her life in numerous ways (Lermontov et al 78).
Penchorin is a creation by the author who encapsulates the principles of Byronism. Consequently, Penchorin is darker hero compared to what the majority of persons in the social order on Russia are familiar. Penchorin is cynical and sensitive as he has immense insight in his personality and remains exceedingly arrogant. On the contrary, Penchorin’s intelligence and preference of depending on the conviction of intellect instead of the impulsive nature of emotion is an outstanding. Penchorin is ambitious and vain but never satisfied with his accomplishment. Accordingly, when he sets out on a fresh adventure, he straightforwardly experiences boredom with whatever his accomplishments are and consequently suffers depression. Still in the contemporary world, Penchorin remains an intriguing literary character whose personality creation receives inspiration from the standards of Byronism (Powelstock et al 205).
Works Cited
Bagby, Lewis. Lermontov’s “a Hero of Our Time”: A Critical Companion. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University Press, 2001. Print.
Hawkes, David. John Milton: A Hero of Our Time. Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2011. Print.
Izod, John. Myth, Mind and the Screen: Understanding the Heroes of Our Times. New York: Cambridge Univ. Pr, 2001. Print.
Lermontov, Mikhail I. U, Max Bollinger, Marr Murray, and J H. Wisdom. A Hero of Our Time. London: Urban Romantics, 2011. Internet resource.
Lermontov, Mikhail. A Hero of Our Time. Boston: MobileReference.com, 2010. Internet resource.
Lermontov, Mikhail I. U, Natasha Randall, and Neil LaBute. A Hero of Our Time. New York: Penguin Books, 2009. Print.
Powelstock, David. Becoming Mikhail Lermontov: The Ironies of Romantic Individualism in Nicholas I’s Russia. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University Press, 2005. Print.
