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Characteristics of Vulich (based on the novel "A Hero of Our Time" by M. Yu

The chapter "The Fatalist" completes Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time". At the same time, it is also the last in Pechorin's Journal. Chronologically, the events of this chapter take place after Pechorin visited Taman, Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk, after the episode with Bela, but before the hero's meeting with Maxim Maksimovich in Vladikavkaz. Why does Lermontov place the chapter "The Fatalist" at the end of the novel, and why exactly her?

A peculiar core of the analyzed episode is a bet between lieutenant Vulich and Pechorin. Main character served in one Cossack village, "officers gathered at each other's place in turn, played cards in the evenings." On one of these evenings, the bet happened. Sitting up for a long game card game, the officers talked about fate and predestination. Unexpectedly, Lieutenant Vulich offers to check whether "a person can arbitrarily dispose of his life, or whether everyone ... has a fateful minute in advance."
No one, except Pechorin, enters into a bet. Vulich loaded the pistol, pulled the trigger, and shot himself in the forehead. The gun misfired. So the lieutenant proved that the already predetermined fate still exists.

The theme of predestination and a player who is trying his luck was developed before Lermontov by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin (“Shot” and “ Queen of Spades"). And in the novel A Hero of Our Time, up to the chapter Fatalist, the theme of fate arose repeatedly. Maxim Maksimovich says about Pechorin in "Bel": "After all, there are, really, such people who have a life written, various unusual things must happen to them." In the chapter “Taman”, Pechorin asks himself: “And why did fate throw me into a peaceful circle honest smugglers? In "Princess Mary": "... fate somehow always led me to the denouement of other people's dramas ... what purpose did fate have for this?"

Basic philosophical aspect novel - the struggle of personality and fate. In the chapter “The Fatalist”, Lermontov asks the most important, urgent question: to what extent is a person himself the builder of his life? The answer to this question will be able to explain to Pechorin his own soul and destiny, and will also reveal crucial point- the author's decision of the image. We will understand who, according to Lermontov, Pechorin: a victim or a winner?

The whole story is divided into three episodes: a bet with Vulich, Pechorin's reasoning about predestination and Vulich's death, as well as a capture scene. Let's see how Pechorin changes as the episodes progress. At the beginning, we learn that he does not believe in fate at all, and therefore agrees to the bet. But why does he allow himself to play with impunity not his own, but someone else's life?
Grigory Alexandrovich manifests himself as a hopeless cynic: “Everyone dispersed, accusing me of selfishness, as if I had bet with a man who wanted to shoot himself, and without me he seemed unable to find a convenient opportunity!” Despite the fact that Vulich provided Pechorin with evidence of the existence of fate, the latter continues to doubt: “... it became funny to me when I remembered that there were once wise people who thought that the heavenly bodies were taking part in our insignificant disputes for a piece of land or for some some fictitious rights! .. "
Another proof of the existence of fate for the hero was to be the death of Vulich. Indeed, during the bet, it seemed to Pechorin that he “read the seal of death on the pale face” of the lieutenant, and at four in the morning the officers brought the news that Vulich had been killed under strange circumstances: he had been hacked to death by a drunken Cossack. But this circumstance did not convince Pechorin either, he says that instinct told him “on ... the changed face the seal of imminent death” of Vulich.
Then Pechorin decides to try his luck himself and helps to capture the killer of Vulich, who has locked himself in an empty hut. He successfully captures the criminal, but is never convinced that his fate is destined from above: “After all this, how would it seem not to become a fatalist? ... how often do we take for conviction a deception of feelings or a mistake of reason.”

It is amazing how subtly and precisely one more facet of his spiritual tragedy is revealed in Pechorin's last confession. The hero admits to himself in a terrible vice: unbelief. And it's not just about religious faith, no. The hero does not believe in anything: neither in death, nor in love, nor in truth, nor in lies: “And we ... wandering the earth without conviction and pride, without pleasure and fear ... we are no longer capable of great sacrifices for the good of mankind , not even for our own happiness, because we know its impossibility, and indifferently we pass from doubt to doubt, as our ancestors rushed from one error to another, having, like them, neither hope, nor even that indefinite, although true pleasure, which the soul meets in every struggle with people and fate.
The worst thing is that Pechorin does not believe in life, and, therefore, does not love it: “In my early youth, I was a dreamer: I loved to caress alternately gloomy, then rosy images that my restless and greedy imagination painted for me. But what is left of it? - one fatigue ... I exhausted both the heat of the soul and the constancy of the will necessary for real life; I entered this life, having already experienced it mentally, and I became bored and disgusted, like someone who reads a bad imitation of a book he has known for a long time.

An amazing episode that reveals to us Lermontov's attitude to the fate of Pechorin is the capture scene. In fact, only here, at the end of the story and the entire novel, Grigory Alexandrovich performs an act that benefits people. This act, as the last ray of hope that Pechorin will again feel a taste for life, find his happiness in helping others, will use his composure in situations where a common person cannot pull himself together: “I like to doubt everything: this is the disposition of character - on the contrary, as for me, I always go forward more boldly when I don’t know what awaits me.”
But we learn all this only at the end of the novel, when we already understand that there is no hope left, that Pechorin died without revealing his mighty talents. Here is the author's answer. Man is the master of his own destiny. And there is always a chance to take the reins into your own hands.
The clue to the image of Pechorin is simple. Surprisingly, he, who does not believe in fate, always presented himself and his lack of demand in this life as the tricks of evil Fortune. But it's not. Lermontov in last chapter of his novel answers us that Pechorin himself is to blame for his fate and this is a disease of time. It is this theme and this lesson that the classic taught us that make the novel A Hero of Our Time a book for all ages and for all times.

Pechorin and Bela

The author named one of the stories of his novel after the Circassian girl Bela. This name seems to predetermine the touchingness and some drama of the plot. And indeed, as the story is told on behalf of Staff Captain Maksim Maksimych, we get to know bright, unusual characters.
The protagonist of the story is officer Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin, who arrived in the Caucasus to pass military service.
He immediately appears before us as an unusual person: enthusiastic, courageous, smart: “He was nice, just a little strange. After all, for example, in the rain, in the cold all day hunting; everyone will be cold, tired - but nothing to him ... I went to the wild boar one on one ... ”- this is how Maxim Maksimych characterizes him.
The character of Pechorin is complex and contradictory. Along with his positive qualities, we are soon convinced of his ambition, selfishness, spiritual callousness.
For his own pleasure, out of a thirst for new experiences, he enters into an agreement with the reckless Circassian Azamat, who raved about good horses. In exchange for Kazbich's horse, Pechorin secretly decides to get his sister, the young girl Bela, from the Circassian, without even thinking about her consent.
To Maxim Maksimych’s objections that this is “a bad thing,” Pechorin replies: “A wild Circassian woman should be happy having such a sweet husband like him ...”.
And this unthinkable exchange of a girl for a horse took place. Officer Pechorin became the owner of Bela and tried to accustom her to the idea "that she would not belong to anyone except him ...".
With attention, gifts, persuasion, Pechorin managed to achieve the love of the proud and incredulous Bela. But this love couldn't have happy ending. In the words of the author: “What began in an extraordinary way must end the same way.
Very soon, Pechorin's attitude towards the "poor girl changed." Bela quickly got tired of him, and he began to look for every reason to leave her, at least for a while.
Bela is the exact opposite of Pechorin. If he is a nobleman, a secular aristocrat and a heartthrob, then Bela is a girl living according to the laws of the mountains, in accordance with her national traditions and customs. She is ready to love one man all her life, to be completely devoted to him and faithful.
And how much pride and independence there was in this young Chechen woman, although she understood that she had become a prisoner of Pechorin. As a real resident of the mountains, she is ready to accept any turn of fate: "If they stop loving her, she herself will leave, because she is a prince's daughter ...".
In fact, Bela fell in love with Pechorin so much that, despite his coldness, she thought only of him.
Her great unrequited feeling for this officer was the cause of her death at the hands of Kazbich.
Bela accepted death calmly, speaking only of her sincere love for Pechorin. She probably deserved a better fate, but she fell in love with an indifferent and cold person and sacrificed her life for this.
What was Pechorin's reaction to her death? He sat quietly with a face that "expressed nothing in particular." And in response to Maksim Maksimych's words of consolation, "he raised his head and laughed."
Wherever Pechorin appeared, he brought suffering and misfortune to people. Torn from native family and Bela abandoned by him perished. But her love and death became just simple episodes in Pechorin's life.

Roman M. Yu. Lermontov "A Hero of Our Time" consists of five independent chapters. The final chapter is called "The Fatalist". The hero himself, Pecho-rin, tells about the events that took place in it. Being "in the Cossack village on the left flank", Grigory Alexandrovich meets Lieutenant Vulich. Pechorin describes him as “High growth and dark color faces, black hair, black piercing eyes, a large but regular nose, belonging to his nation, a sad and cold smile that always wandered on his lips - all this seemed to be in harmony in order to give him the appearance of a special being. , unable to share thoughts and passions with those whom fate gave him as comrades.

Once, one evening, the officers started a conversation about “that the Muslim belief that the fate of a person is written in heaven, finds between. Christians ... many worshipers. Lieutenant Vu-lich decided to resolve the dispute by checking on himself the predetermination of fate: “Gentlemen, ... I suggest you try on yourself whether a person can arbitrarily dispose of his life, or each of us has been assigned a fateful minute in advance” Everyone refused and, perhaps, this conversation would have ended with nothing if Pechorin had not offered a bet, arguing that there was no pre-determination .. He poured "two dozen black pieces on the table." Vulich supported the conditions and "randomly removed one of the different-caliber pistols from the nail ...". It seemed to Pechorin that he was reading "the seal of death on the pale face" of the lieutenant, and he told him about it. The Wu-lich remained calm. The officers made new bets. And here is the culminating moment: “everyone’s breathing stopped, all eyes, expressing fear and some kind of indefinite curiosity, ran from the pistol to the fatal ace, which, fluttering in the air, descended slowly; the minute he touched the table, Vulich pulled the trigger... a misfire!” Of course, there were suggestions that the gun was not loaded, to which Vulich, without reloading the weapon, fired again and pierced the cap. Vulich was satisfied with his experiment, but Pechorin does not leave the thought that the lieutenant must certainly "die today."

And premonitions did not deceive our hero: Vulich was stabbed to death that same night by a drunken Cossack. Perhaps everything would have worked out if Vulich himself had not spoken to the distraught Cossack. Already dying, Vulich became convinced of the validity of Pechorin's prediction. It can be seen that he was destined to die, but not from a bullet, but from the saber of an unfamiliar Cossack.

I think that Pechorin himself believed in fate (after all, he believed in fortune-telling, which predicted death to him "from an evil wife", after which he experienced "an irresistible disgust for marriage"), but constantly experienced it. It seems that the hero is even looking for death (duel with Grushnitsky). IN Once again he “thought of trying his luck” when he decided to capture that same Cossack who had locked himself in a barn. This time, fate was favorable to Pechorin: a bullet fired by a Cossack tore off the epaulette without harming the hero.

I believe that sometimes you need to rely on your fate, but you should not test it; and if misfortune has befallen in life, you should not give up, believing that everything is already predetermined and nothing can be changed. After all, by and large, each person is the blacksmith of his own happiness.

Vulich is a lieutenant, the hero of the last chapter of the work. The reader sees him as an unusual and rather mysterious person. His appearance is fully consistent with his character: he is rather tall, his nose is large, his skin is rather dark, his eyes and hair are pitch black. The defining feature of Vulich is his smile - cold and even sad. All this tells the reader that this is not an ordinary person. Somehow special.

This hero is very closed in himself, he does not have ordinary, ordinary joys in life. His favorite pastime is games. Vulich crazy gambler who will stop at nothing and no one. His behavior suggests that he is very stubborn. All his failures cheer him up. His position is based on the fact that no one but him can control his life. This man is not afraid of death and that is why he makes a deal with the main character, Pechorin. The pistol, with which Vulich was supposed to shoot his own temple, unexpectedly misfired.

Perhaps Lermontov created such a character as Vulich in order to "set off" Pechorin. They are completely different young people. Pechorin can be described as an insensitive and cold person, and Vulich, in turn, is the complete opposite. Vulich likes to take risks, because he unconditionally believes in fate. He believes that everything is destined for a long time for a person and they are afraid of something - stupid and pointless. If you are meant to die young, then you will die young. Everyone thinks this young man not just risky, but even desperate.

Vulich is the person who has an unusual, mysterious and even mystical past behind him. This passionate nature, but passion, unfortunately, manifests itself only in the game.

Summing up the logical conclusion, we can say that Pechorin and Vulich are both completely different and similar. They are united by one feature - the love of excitement and the game. Vulich is quite positive and interesting hero. His story line simple, but there is something in it that clings to the soul. This is the person who goes to the victorious goal and will stop at nothing, even death. He is a desperately brave young man, for him life is a trifle. The main thing is what he feels now, and not what will happen later.

Composition about Vulich

Vulich - minor character novel "A Hero of Our Time" by Russian poet, prose writer and playwright Mikhail Lermontov. Acquaintance with the hero occurs only in the last chapter "The Fatalist". The title of the chapter makes it clear that it will be about a new character who will help the reader understand the plot. The chapter is of particular interest due to the fact that the reader is waiting for the solution of the novel, but receives new questions.

Who is the hero Vulich and why did Mikhail Lermontov introduce him into his novel? On the one hand, Vulich is a simple guarantor Serbian origin. A tall man with dark hair and dark skin, his eyes were black and piercing. But that's only appearance. Inside, he is a very hidden person and never shared his own experiences with strangers. The only thing he cares about is the game. Defeats in the game do not bother him at all. Excitement and faith in fate overpower, and he does not stop. hallmark Vulich is the absolute absence of fear. He is not even afraid of death. In a dispute with Pechorin, when Vulich was supposed to shoot himself in the temple, he miraculously remained alive. Vulich is a fatalist. He believes in the predetermination of fate, so he risks his life without fear. Even his death is the result of a constant game with fate. Vulich is killed by a drunken Cossack who made a bet. The death of Vulich well reveals the problems in the society of that time, as well as the weakness of human nature.

Researchers claim that Vulich is a twin of Pechorin and that is why he meets him only in the last chapter. In the image of this hero unite negative traits Pechorin's character. This is both insincerity and arrogance. The similarity is both external and internal. Both heroes believe in their own singularity and exclusivity. Pechorin also has a passion for gambling. An example is the passage with Bela's abduction or the duel with Grushnitsky. fatalism is also common feature heroes. Pechorin, unlike Vulich, thinks out a plan of action in advance (for example, when he climbed into the killer's house).

In conclusion, it is important to note that the image of Vulich helps to better reveal not only the image of Pechorin and the logic of his actions, but also the society of the 30s of the 19th century. Mikhail Lermontov, with the help of irony, shows the passivity of society, as well as blind faith in fate. And it is in the chapter “The Fatalist” that Pechorin shows better side its character and awakens in the reader good feelings. The author justifies his actions by society, era, fate.

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When was the novel written?

The novel was written in 1839-1840. Events take place during the conquest of the Caucasus.

Where did the events of the novel "A Hero of Our Time" take place?

Pechorin's adventures take place in such cities as: Pyatigorsk, Taman, Kislovodsk, in fortress N in the Caucasus and in the Cossack village.

How does Pechorin Lermontov want to show?

Lermontov presents Pechorin to readers as a person endowed with a large number of negative qualities, as an immoral and immoral person.

How is the image of Pechorin presented?

Pechorin is presented as a person "superfluous" in society. In those years, he cannot find a place for himself where he could direct his strength and skills, and therefore he is doomed to loneliness.

What was the character of Pechorin?

Pechorin's heart lived in discord with reason. On the one hand, he is a skeptic who lives by comprehending his own curiosity, but on the other hand, he is an unbridled romantic who still secretly hopes that sincere feelings have a place in his life.

Who is Pechorin secretly in love with?

He is secretly in love with a woman named Vera.

How can you call Pechorin?

It can be called - a player of other people's destinies. He interferes with the life of smugglers, exchanges Bela for a horse (but when he has achieved it, he forgets that hour and tries to erase it from his life), takes care of Mary (however, just as soon as things start to go to marriage, he immediately runs away).

Why does Pechorin risk his life?

Pechorin loves to get adrenaline and challenge his fate. He risked his life many times and each time one can hardly call this risk justified. First, he catches a drunken Cossack who killed Vulich, and this situation begins to threaten him own life. After that, he goes on a date with a smuggler who tried to kill him. Then he participates in a duel with Grushnitsky.

Can Pechorin be called happy?

Grigory Pechorin is actually far from an unhappy person, he emphasized this as follows:

“... I have an unhappy character: did my upbringing make me like that, did God create me that way, I don’t know; I only know that if I am the cause of the unhappiness of others, then I myself am unhappy ... "

Does Vera Pechorin consider herself an unhappy person?

Yes. Vera believed that Pechorin too often convinced himself that he was happy and thus deceived himself.

Can Pechorin be called an egoist?

Yes, he is definitely selfish. Pechorin does not know how to sacrifice anything for the sake of other people. This is evidenced by his actions. Pechorin too often left an incorrigible mark on the destinies of others just for the sake of his own fun.

Why does Pechorin consider himself a moral invalid?

Pechorin himself emphasizes that the constant presence in society makes him hide his true feelings and emotions and taught him hypocrisy and pretense. Sometimes even Gregory could not understand what he really wants from life and how he truly relates to people, he simply stopped sincerely experiencing feelings.

Did Pechorin have friends?

Pechorin has no friends. He believed that friendship is actually a form of hidden slavery. It was easier for Pechorin to think that friendship could be replaced by lackeys and money.

What is the relationship between Pechorin and Grushnitsky?

Pechorin despises him for his deceit, weakness and meanness. Although in public they played the role of friends.

What is the relationship between Pechorin and Dr. Werner?

Pechorin considers the doctor his equal in moral and mental development, so he respects Werner.

How does Pechorin feel about Vulich?

Pechorin calls Vulich a "special creature" only because of his mysterious appearance, which is different from the others:

“... his whole appearance seemed to be coordinated in order to give him the appearance of a special being, incapable of sharing thoughts and reasoning with those that fate gave him as comrades ...”

What is the cause of Pechorin's death?

Since the order of the chapters in the novel is violated, readers will learn about Pechorin's death already in the middle of the novel. The author does not indicate the cause of death, it is only emphasized that he dies on the way from Persia to Russia.

Describing the hero of the novel, it is important to understand the role of this hero. Accordingly, it is necessary to show what the hero was before meeting with Pechorin (or at the very beginning of the meeting), what after.

The characterization should begin with a portrait (description of appearance), which Lermontov always psychologizes, that is, it helps to understand the personality of the hero.

Here is a portrait of Vulich, where the description of the appearance turns into a direct characterization of the hero:

“At this time, one officer, who was sitting in the corner of the room, got up and, slowly approaching the table, looked around at everyone with a calm and solemn look. He was a Serb by birth, as was clear from his name.

The outward appearance of Lieutenant Vulich fully corresponded to his character. Tall stature and a dark complexion, black hair, black piercing eyes, a large but regular nose, belonging to his nation, a sad and cold smile, forever wandering on his lips - all this seemed to be coordinated in order to give him the appearance of a special being, unable to share thoughts and passions with those whom fate gave him as comrades.

He was brave, spoke little, but sharply; did not confide his spiritual secrets to anyone; he hardly drank wine at all, and he never dragged himself behind young Cossack women—whose charm is hard to comprehend without betraying them. It was said, however, that the colonel's wife was not indifferent to his expressive eyes; but he was not jokingly angry when it was alluded to.

There was only one passion that he did not hide: the passion for the game. Behind green table he forgot everything and usually lost; but constant failure only irritated his stubbornness.

The character of the hero helps to reveal various situations. So, one day, while playing cards, the alarm sounded. All the officers jumped up, but Vulich did not get up until he had thrown the hoist. Then he found a “happy punter” in the chain, right during the shootout he gave him his wallet and wallet and then fought bravely, dragged the soldiers along “and until the very end of the case, he exchanged fire with the Chechens in cold blood.”

It is important to show the interaction between the hero and Pechorin, identifying the problem that drives this interaction.

So, at the heart of the bet between Pechorin and Vulich are the problems of value. human life and faith in fate that dominates a person. Pechorin plays with other people's lives - Vulich, making a bet, plays with his life :

“—... You want proof: I suggest you try it for yourself, whether each person can arbitrarily dispose of his life, or whether each of us has been assigned a fateful minute in advance ...”

Vulich puts his life on the line - and life itself immediately puts his existence on the line. In India, this would be called the inevitability of karma: you can’t joke about such things.

But the situation with a misfire would not have arisen if Pechorin had not offered Vulich a bet, which he, as a player, could not refuse. In addition, Pechorin acted as a provocateur:

“You are going to die today! I told him. He quickly turned to me, but answered slowly and calmly:

"Maybe yes, maybe no..."material from the site

It must be said that such behavior of Vulich is possible only if total absence meaningful life guidelines: his life is not expensive for him, because he does not see anything in it that would fill his existence with meaning, would give meaning to his actions.

In this, Vulich is similar to Pechorin, it was not for nothing that Pechorin, after the death of Vulich, risked taking the killer who had locked himself in the house alive:

“At that moment, a strange thought flashed through my head: like Vulich, I decided to try my luck.”

However, Pechorin differs from Vulich in that Vulich, in his meaningless life, reached extreme point, and Pecho-rin at that time the world, despite his declarations, was still interesting.

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