Duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky summary. The duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky is a desperate and rash step

The events described in the work take place in the Caucasus. And this is probably not an accident, since at that time people persecuted by the government were sent here. Among them was Pechorin, who was exiled to the Caucasus for some sensational story in St. Petersburg. Here he met Grushnitsky, who had arrived at the waters to heal his wounds. Pechorin and Grushnitsky served together in the active detachment and met like old friends.

Grushnitsky is a cadet, he somehow wears his thick soldier’s overcoat in a special way, speaks in pompous phrases, the mask of disappointment does not leave his face. Producing an effect is his main pleasure. The goal of his life is to become the hero of a novel. He is proud. Bored Pechorin, having nothing else to do, decided to play on his friend’s pride, foreseeing in advance that one of them would be in trouble. And the opportunity was not long in coming. Pechorin was forced to challenge Grushnitsky to a duel for the vile slander that he spread against his friend. Incited by “his friends,” Grushnitsky, so as not to look like a coward, accepted the challenge.

The night before the duel, Pechorin could not sleep and mentally asked himself: “Why did I live? For what purpose was I born?” And he noted with sadness that he did not guess his “high purpose”, “he lost forever the ardor of noble aspirations, the best color of life and played the role of an ax in the hands of fate.” Pechorin feels the presence of two people in him: “. one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges it. “Our hero, who deeply and subtly feels nature, before the fight peers into every dewdrop and says: “I don’t remember a bluer and fresher morning. ”

And here Pechorin stands at gunpoint. The conditions of the duel are very strict. With the slightest injury, you can find yourself in the abyss. How much self-control and endurance he has! He knows that his gun is not loaded, that in a minute his life could end. He wants to test Grushnitsky to the end. But he forgets about honor, conscience and decency when his pride is affected. No generosity awoke in Grushnitsky’s petty soul. And he shot at an unarmed man. Fortunately, the bullet only grazed his opponent's knee. Contempt and anger gripped Pechorin at the thought that this man could so easily kill him.

But despite everything, Pechorin is ready to forgive his opponent and says: “Grushnitsky, there is still time. Give up your slander, and I will forgive you everything, you didn’t manage to fool me, and my pride is satisfied.” Grushnitsky, his eyes flashing, replied: “Shoot. I despise myself, and I hate you. There is no place for the two of us on earth. “Pechorin did not miss.

The author showed that in the face of death, the hero of the novel turned out to be as dual as we saw him throughout the entire work. He sincerely feels sorry for Grushnitsky, who, with the help of intriguers, found himself in a stupid position. Pechorin was ready to forgive him, but at the same time he could not refuse the duel due to the prejudices that existed in society. Feeling his loneliness among the water society, among people like Grushnitsky, condemning this society, Pechorin himself is a slave to its Morality.

Pechorin repeatedly speaks of his duality, and his duality, as we see, is not a mask, but a real state of mind.

(1 ratings, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Essays on topics:

1. Pechorin in the novel is contrasted with the young cadet Grushnitsky. He is a romantic by the will of fashion, loves to put on a “mask of disappointment” and imitate “extraordinary feelings”....

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov is one of the few writers in world literature whose prose and poems are equally perfect. In the last years of his life, Lermontov created his surprisingly deep novel “A Hero of Our Time” (1838 - 1841). This work can be called an example of socio-psychological prose. Through the image of the main character of the novel, Grigory Aleksandrovich Pechorin, the author conveys the thoughts, feelings, and quests of people of the 30s of the 19th century.

The main character traits of Pechorin are “passion for contradictions” and dual personality. In life, the hero is contradictory and unpredictable. Moreover, he is very selfish. It often seems that Pechorin lives only to have fun and amuse himself. The scary thing is that the people around the hero become the reason for his entertainment. However, Grigory Alexandrovich does not always behave like a villain.

V.G. Belinsky said that the “tragic” lies “in the collision of the natural dictates of the heart” with duty, in the “struggle, victory or fall that arises from it.” His words are confirmed by one of the most important scenes in the novel - the scene of Pechorin’s duel with Grushnitsky.

In Grushnitsky, Grigory Alexandrovich wants to find something good, wants to help him understand himself, become a normal person. We understand and do not condemn Pechorin when he says before the duel that he wants to give himself the moral right not to spare Grushnitsky. Pechorin gives this hero freedom of choice and tries to push him to the right decision.

Grigory Alexandrovich decides to risk his life for the sake of one psychological experiment, for the sake of awakening the best feelings and qualities in Grushnitsky. The abyss on the edge of which the newly minted officer stands is an abyss in the literal and figurative sense. Grushnitsky falls into it under the weight of his own anger and hatred. How did this psychological experiment take place?

Grushnitsky, together with the dragoon captain, decided to “teach a lesson” to Pechorin because he began to court Princess Mary. Their plan was quite simple: to load only Grushnitsky’s pistol during the duel.
Grushnitsky wanted to scare Pechorin and humiliate him. But is that all there is to it? After all, it could have happened that he would have ended up with Pechorin. It turns out that Grushnitsky was planning to practically kill an innocent person. The laws of honor for this “officer” turned out to be unwritten.

Pechorin accidentally learns about the conspiracy, but decides not to give up the duel. Lermontov writes that “there was some kind of anxiety in Grushnitsky’s gaze, revealing an internal struggle.” Unfortunately, this struggle in the hero’s soul ended with the victory of baseness and meanness.

However, Pechorin does not immediately decide to go into a duel with a loaded pistol. Grigory Alexandrovich had to be convinced more than once that the meanness in Grushnitsky was ineradicable before he decided on retribution. But Grushnitsky did not take advantage of any of the opportunities given to him for reconciliation or repentance.

Seeing this, Pechorin still decides to go to the duel. There, on the mountain, “he was ashamed to kill an unarmed man...” But at that moment Grushnitsky fired! Even though the bullet only grazed his knee, he fired! “The annoyance of offended pride, and contempt, and anger, born at the thought that this man ... wanted to kill him like a dog, could not help but rebel in Pechorin’s soul. Grushnitsky did not feel remorse, although if the wound had been even a little more serious, he would have fallen off the cliff,” writes Lermontov.

Only after all this Pechorin asked to load his pistol. But even before that, he gave Grushnitsky one more opportunity to apologize. But: “Shoot,” he answered, “I despise myself, but I hate you. If you don't kill me, I'll stab you at night from around the corner. There is no place for the two of us on earth!” And Pechorin shot...

I think that Pechorin’s cruelty is caused by insult not only for himself. He was amazed that a person can make faces and lie even before death. Pechorin was shocked to the depths of his soul by the fact that petty pride in Grushnitsky turned out to be stronger than honor and nobility.

Who is right and who is wrong in the scene of Pechorin’s duel with Grushnitsky is, at first glance, obvious. You might think that human vices should be punished. Here, perhaps, the method of punishment is not even important. On the other hand, every person has the right to protect his honor and his dignity. But the question arises: who gave Pechorin the right to judge other people? Why did this hero take upon himself the responsibilities of the Lord God to decide who lives and who dies?

At the center of Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time” is the problem of the individual, the “hero of the time,” who, while absorbing all the contradictions of his era, is at the same time in deep conflict with society and the people around him. This conflict determines the figurative system of the work. All characters are grouped around the main character - Pechorin, and, entering into various relationships with him, help highlight one or another trait of his personality.

By nature, Pechorin is a romantic of the Byronic type. He, a bright, strong and extremely contradictory personality, stands out from all the other heroes and is aware of his originality, despising other people and striving to make them toys in his hands. It is interesting that in the eyes of those around him, he also appears in the aura of a romantic hero, but the attitude towards him is ambiguous.

All this is manifested in the relationship between Pechorin and Grushnitsky, depicted in the chapter “Princess Mary”. Grushnitsky is the antipode of Pechorin. He. the personality is quite ordinary and ordinary, he tries with all his might to look like a romantic, an unusual person. As Pechorin ironically notes, “his goal is to become the hero of a novel.”

From the point of view of revealing the character of the “hero of the time,” Grushnitsky’s pseudo-romanticism emphasizes the depth of the tragedy of the true romantic - Pechorin. On the other hand, the development of their relationship is determined by the fact that Pechorin despises Grushnitsky, laughs at his romantic pose, which causes irritation and anger of the young man, who at first looks at him with delight. All this leads to the development of a conflict between them, which is aggravated by the fact that Pechorin, while courting Princess Mary and seeking her favor, finally discredits Grushnitsky.

All this leads to an open confrontation between them, which ends in a duel. This scene is very important both for understanding Pechorin’s character and for the general concept of the novel. It brings to mind another duel scene from Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin”. This is not surprising: if Belinsky called Pechorin “Onegin of our time,” then Grushnitsky is often compared to Lensky. There are quite sufficient reasons for this.

Lensky and Grushnitsky represent a type of romantic who takes first of all the external side of romanticism - behavior, enthusiastic speech, style of clothing - which immediately raises doubts about its authenticity. Both young men admire their older comrade (Onegin and Pechorin, respectively), listen to his judgment, and then, angry with him for courting a girl who was for them the subject of romantic interest and then love, they challenge him to a duel. Both are killed in a duel. But, perhaps, it is the difference in this scene that most clearly expresses the difference between these two images and their place in each of the novels.

Lensky's duel, no matter how insignificant its reason may seem, is serious and truly tragic. Lensky, carried away by his imagination, is actually ready to lay down his life for the honor of his beloved. He boldly goes to the end and dies, defending his, albeit not entirely legitimate, view of life. He is undoubtedly an honest and noble man, and his death evokes the sincere regret and sympathy of the author and readers. Pushkin notes that “perhaps this is also true: the poet / An ordinary destiny awaited him,” that is, the external side of his romanticism could disappear over time, revealing a completely ordinary nature. But at the same time, the author does not exclude the possibility that Lensky’s romanticism could be truly serious and reflect the true originality of his personality.

Grushnitsky's duel is a dirty game from start to finish. Together with the dragoon captain, even before the open clash with Pechorin, he decided to “teach him a lesson”, exposing him as a coward in front of everyone. But already in this scene it is obvious to the reader that Grushnitsky himself is a coward, who agrees to the vile proposal of the dragoon captain to leave the pistols unloaded. Pechorin accidentally learns about this conspiracy and decides to seize the initiative: now he, and not his opponents, is leading the party, planning to test not only the extent of Grushnitsky’s meanness and cowardice, but also entering into a kind of duel with his own destiny.

Werner informs Pechorin that the opponents' plans have changed: now they are planning to load one pistol. And then Pechorin decides to put Grushnitsky in such conditions that he has no choice but to either admit himself to everyone as a scoundrel, revealing the conspiracy, or become a real murderer. After all, the opportunity to simply satisfy his revenge by slightly wounding Pechorin and without exposing himself to danger was now excluded: Pechorin demanded that the duel be held on the edge of a cliff and that they shoot in turn. Under such conditions, even a slight wound to the enemy became fatal.

Obviously, compared to the duel between Lensky and Onegin, the situation here is much more acute. There, the outcome of the duel is to some extent predetermined only by the fact that Onegin, an experienced person in this kind of matter, has an advantage over a young and inexperienced opponent, who is also still in an extremely nervous state. And yet, for Onegin, the death of a friend is an unexpected and terrible blow. Later we learn that it was this story that began for Onegin a radical revision of his life positions, which resulted in the abandonment of romantic individualism and opened the path to true love.

In Lermontov, despite the importance of its ideological and compositional role, the scene of Pechorin’s duel with Grushnitsky, obviously, cannot be considered as the central episode of the entire novel, although in this chapter it is, to some extent, such. But it cannot be said that this story changed Pechorin’s life in significant ways, influenced the change in his character and inner appearance. As a result of a duel with Grushnitsky, Pechorin finds himself in a remote fortress, the story of which opens the novel (the story “Bela”). So by the time the events take place in “Princess Mary,” the reader already knows well that there, in the fortress, Pechorin remained the same as here. For him, a duel is just one of the arguments in his constant dispute with the people around him, with himself and his fate.

The problem of fate in the novel is the most important; its final solution will be presented only in the final part - the philosophical story “Fatalist”. But the question of fate is raised in one way or another in other parts of it. In the duel scene, Pechorin also decides to try his luck: “What if his happiness overtakes him? What if my star finally cheats on me? - he thinks on the eve of the duel. - And no wonder: she served my whims faithfully for so long; there is no more permanence in heaven than on earth.” As then in “Fatalist,” Pechorin suggests trusting fortune: he and Grushnitsky cast lots to see who should shoot first. And happiness smiled on the enemy.

But Pechorin’s dispute continues. He still has time to change everything - suffice it to say that he knows about the conspiracy. This is exactly what his second, Dr. Werner, expects from him. But Pechorin wants to test Grushnitsky, in whom conflicting feelings are struggling: shame to kill an unarmed person and repentance, fear of admitting meanness and at the same time fear of death. Pechorin, despite the mortal danger threatening him, looks at the poor young man with curiosity, like a guinea pig. After all, he deliberately set up an “experiment” to test human nature: what is more in it - meanness, anger and fear or repentance and good impulses. “For a minute it seemed to me that he would throw himself at my feet,” Pechorin thinks about Grushnitsky, who is about to shoot. At some point, it seems that conscience and good principles may prevail in him: “I can’t,” he said in a dull voice. But the cry of the dragoon captain is “coward!” - returns everything to its place: Grushnitsky is used to posing and cannot change his habit: he shoots and almost kills Pechorin, because he wounds him in the knee.

Then it’s up to Pechorin. If earlier he tried to understand the psychology of Grushnitsky’s actions, now his subtle analytical mind, as if under a microscope, examines all the smallest movements of his own soul. What is in it: “and the annoyance of offended pride, and contempt, and anger”? The hero cannot explain this complex feeling to himself.

But Grushnitsky's trial continues. Pechorin once again invites him to renounce the slander and ask for forgiveness. Why does he need this? I think not only for the “purity of the experiment.” A little earlier, Pechorin, giving the opportunity to cast lots, thinks that the “spark of generosity” that could awaken in Grushnitsky will certainly be defeated by “pride and weakness of character.” He, an expert on human souls who has studied Grushnitsky perfectly, was not mistaken in this. But there is another argument concerning himself: “I wanted to give myself the full right not to spare him if fate had mercy on me.” And then he strictly observes these “conditions with his conscience” concluded here.

After Pechorin demands to load the pistol, he calls out to Grushnitsky for the last time: “Give up your slander, and I will forgive you everything... remember - we were once friends.” What is it: a sincere desire to end the quarrel peacefully or something else? If we take into account Pechorin’s very specific attitude towards friendship (in fact, he does not believe in it, and even more so it is problematic to talk about friendship with Grushnitsky at all), as well as his views on enemies (“I love enemies, but not in a Christian way”), then we can draw the following conclusion. Pechorin had already become convinced of Grushnitsky’s weakness, he had already exposed him as a complete scoundrel and a coward in front of everyone, and now the fight with him had become uninteresting for him: the enemy turned out to be too insignificant. And then Pechorin, pulling the necessary strings, like a puppeteer, ensures that he has a real enemy in front of him: “Shoot! - Grushnitsky shouts. “...There is no place for the two of us on earth...” These are no longer just the words of despair of a deathly frightened boy. And Pechorin kills Grushnitsky in cold blood, concluding the scene just played with the words: “Finita la commedia.” A comedy, but one in which real people play, not actors, and they die for real. Truly a cruel comedy!

How does its director feel? “I had a stone on my heart,” notes Pechorin. Even nature, with which he, unlike people, had no contradictions, seemed to condemn him: “The sun seemed dim to me, its rays did not warm me.” It is no coincidence that the entire scene is framed by a landscape: the beautiful description of the “blue and fresh” morning at the beginning shows the only thing that is truly dear to the romantic hero: “This time, more than ever before, I loved nature.” The description of the place of the duel on the rock and the gloomy abyss below is also quite consistent with the spirit and mood of the hero. And having left after the duel far from people and having ridden on horseback through unfamiliar places until the evening, Pechorin regains peace of mind. The romantic remained a romantic: a person’s life is worth nothing to him compared to the power and beauty of nature, and his own individuality will always be more significant and important than everything that concerns others: “What do I care about the joys and misfortunes of people!..” - this the hero's position remained unchanged.

Can it be justified? The author does not hide his ambivalent attitude towards his hero, but he is a romantic himself and, probably, for him in some ways Pechorin’s behavior was, if not closer, then at least more understandable than for us. Maybe he himself decided at one time to conduct such an “experiment” with his old friend Martynov? But life turned out to be more cruel to its hero - Martynov’s bullet pierced the poet’s heart. This is the tragic ending of the duel, which stretched a thread from the artistic world of the novel into the real world.

episode analysis. Duel between Pechorin and Grushnitsky

1. Grushnitsky died
2. Pechorin admits: I have long lived not with my heart, but with my head. I weigh and examine my own passions and actions both with strict curiosity and without participation. (recorded on June 16).
   Is the hero absolutely right in this statement? (Remember his state before the duel, his behavior upon learning of Vera’s departure, and his general attitude towards her). Does this quality that he does not notice in himself enrich or impoverish his nature?
3. Roman M. Yu. Lermontov The hero of our time is psychological. It is dedicated to an extraordinary personality, a person who, unfortunately, cannot find application for his abilities. To further reveal the character of the main character, the author depicts his friends and enemies. Thus, the suffering Pechorin is contrasted by Grushnitsky with his distorting mirror, which wears a mask of disappointment, constantly plays with extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering.

   This cadet considers himself an honest and decent person, but if his pride is touched, he will immediately forget about his nobility. The best confirmation of this is the quarrel and duel of the hero with Pechorin. The episode of the duel is one of the key ones in the novel: here, being between life and death, each of the rivals reveals his true face.

   The duel in Princess Mary is unlike any other in Russian literature, because this tragic way of resolving a quarrel usually excludes any treachery and is distinguished by the impeccable honesty of the participants. Here, the fight is based on a vile conspiracy between Grushnitsky and a certain dragoon captain. The latter, of course, does not think about the terrible outcome of the case, his goal is to have fun by presenting Pechorin as a coward and disgracing him, but this does not reduce his guilt. Grushnitsky is stupid: he trusted a self-confident and irresponsible person. At the beginning of the duel, the captain is convinced that events will unfold according to his plan: “We have been waiting for you for a long time,” he says with an ironic smile to Werner and Pechorin, hinting at their lateness. But the heroes arrived on time! Instead of reconciling the participants in the duel, the captain tries to intensify the conflict. Grushnitsky's second violates the first rule of conduct in a duel. But Werner diplomatically corrects the situation: you, gentlemen, could explain yourself and end this matter amicably. Pechorin expresses his readiness to make peace, but here the dragoon captain enters again, blinking at Grushnitsky. Here we understand how dangerous the cadet's second is. He personifies the opinion of society, which with great pleasure will mock Grushnitsky if he refuses to duel. Now there is no turning back for the cadet. “We will shoot,” says Grushnitsky, not yet suspecting that he is signing his own death warrant.

   Pechorin is a good psychologist. I think he would also make an excellent teacher, because he skillfully tries to re-educate his opponent, to awaken his conscience. Grushnitsky would have repented, but he is so weak in spirit, and here is the dragoon captain nearby!

   We should also note the courage of Pechorin. Taking mortal risks, he remains confident. He even has time to notice the beauty of the landscape. The hero complicates the already cruel conditions of the duel, continuing to test not only Grushnitsky, but also himself, and in advance freeing himself from the future pangs of conscience. By lot, the cadet gets to shoot first.

   He blushed; he was ashamed to kill an unarmed man, but how could he admit to such vile intent? . It's a pity for the poor fellow: he paid very dearly for pride and selfishness. Grushnitsky aims at Pechorin's forehead. Does he really want to commit murder? For what? There is only one answer: to get rid of shame, from accusations of cowardice. At the fatal moment for Pechorin, Werner behaves interestingly. He is obliged to prevent the tragedy, as an honest second who knows about the conspiracy, and finally, as a doctor who took the Hippocratic oath, but does not do this. How so? I condemn Werner and sympathize with Pechorin, who is doomed to proud loneliness among weak-willed people. Everyone obeys the main character, but this only makes things worse for him.

   Grushnitsky did not have time to complete his dirty deed: the same weakness prevented him. The bullet grazed Pechorin's knee, and he was able to stay on the narrow platform. We can say that here fate is already giving Grushnitsky another chance. But instead of repentance, the hero continues his vile game. He is calm, even cheerful: everything is about to end. Now Grushnitsky is not interested in either God or the soul. But in vain. Doctor, these gentlemen, probably in a hurry, forgot to put the pool

4. Pechorin fired, but missed, and Grushnitsky, because he was standing on the edge of a cliff, shuddered and fell and died.
5. Pechorin and Grushnitsky in a duel scene
   The main character of the novel by M. Yu. Lermontov, Hero of Our Time, is Pechorin.
   The events described in the work take place in the Caucasus. And this is probably not an accident, since at that time people persecuted by the government were sent here. Among them was Pechorin, who was exiled to the Caucasus for some sensational story in St. Petersburg. Here he met Grushnitsky, who had arrived at the waters to heal his wounds. Pechorin and Grushnitsky served together in the active detachment and met like old friends.
   The Grushnitsky cadet, he somehow wears his thick soldier’s overcoat in a special way, speaks in pompous phrases, the mask of disappointment does not leave his face. Producing an effect is his main pleasure. The goal of his life is to become the hero of a novel. He is proud. Bored Pechorin, having nothing else to do, decided to play on his friend’s pride, foreseeing in advance that one of them would be in trouble. And the opportunity was not long in coming. Pechorin was forced to challenge Grushnitsky to a duel for the vile slander that he spread against his friend. Incited by his friends, Grushnitsky, so as not to look like a coward, accepted the challenge.
   The night before the duel, Pechorin could not sleep and mentally asked himself: Why did I live? For what purpose was I born? And he noted with sadness that he had not guessed his high purpose, had lost forever the ardor of noble aspirations, the best color of life and played the role of an ax in the hands of fate. Pechorin feels the presence of two people in him: ...one lives in the full sense of the word, the other thinks and judges him... Our hero, deeply and subtly feeling nature, before the fight peers into every dewdrop and says: I don’t remember the morning anymore blue and fresh...
   And here Pechorin stands at gunpoint. The conditions of the duel are very strict. With the slightest injury, you can find yourself in the abyss. How much self-control and endurance he has! He knows that his gun is not loaded, that in a minute his life could end. He wants to test Grushnitsky to the end. But he forgets about honor, conscience and decency when his pride is affected. No generosity awoke in Grushnitsky’s petty soul. And he shot at an unarmed man. Fortunately, the bullet only grazed his opponent's knee. Contempt and anger gripped Pechorin at the thought that this man could so easily kill him.
   But despite everything, Pechorin is ready to forgive his opponent and says: Grushnitsky, there is still time. Give up your slander, and I will forgive you everything, you did not manage to fool me, and my pride is satisfied. Grushnitsky, his eyes flashing, replied: Shoot. I despise myself, and I hate you... There is no place for the two of us on earth... Pechorin did not miss.
   The author showed that in the face of death, the hero of the novel turned out to be as dual as we saw him throughout the entire work. He sincerely feels sorry for Grushnitsky, who, with the help of intriguers, found himself in a stupid position. Pechorin was ready to forgive him, but at the same time he could not refuse the duel due to the prejudices that existed in society. Feeling his loneliness among the water society, among people like Grushnitsky, condemning this society, Pechorin himself is a slave to its Morality.
   Pechorin repeatedly speaks of his duality, and his duality, as we see, is not a mask, but a real state of mind.

M. Yu. Lermontov's novel "A Hero of Our Time" is a novel about the struggle and contradictions in human character, deep introspection and self-awareness. Undoubtedly, it is these signs that make it possible to classify the work as psychologism. One of the important episodes that reveals the inner world of two heroes: Pechorin and Grushnitsky, is the scene of their duel. But how exactly does this scene help us understand the characters' characters? How does Pechorin appear, how does Grushnitsky appear?

The main character, Pechorin, is a rather contradictory personality, which is typical for realism, to which the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov. In the duel scene, his character traits appear especially clearly.

Firstly, Pechorin has a sharp mind. Proposing to conduct a duel on a site from where the wounded person will fall onto sharp rocks, he thinks first of all about the strength of the consequences of the duel. "...one more condition; since we will fight to the death, we are obliged to do everything possible so that this remains a secret and so that our seconds are not held accountable." He instantly understands that in this way the murder will look like death through negligence.

Secondly, this implies another character trait - deep self-confidence. Pechorin knew in advance that he would survive. Despite the conspiracy that he knew about, Grushnitsky’s inflexibility and the difficult conditions that he himself proposed, the hero is confident in his victory, confident that Grushnitsky will lie on the rocks.

“I have not yet drained the cup of suffering,” writes Pechorin, “and now I feel that I still have a long time to live.”

Thirdly, despite the mask of indifference, coldness and detachment, the hero is still able to feel and experience. By challenging Grushnitsky to a duel, he does not wish him death, he only defends the honor of Mary, whom Grushnitsky slandered, intending to insult Pechorin. Before the duel, he is excited, although on the outside he looks rather reserved. “Let me feel the pulse!.. Oh! feverish!.. but nothing is noticeable on the face...”. He also tries to dissuade Grushnitsy several times, because he does not want to place the heavy burden of the death of his former friend on his shoulders. “You could, gentlemen, explain yourself and end this matter amicably. “I’m ready,” Pechorin says with confidence. “- Grushnitsky! - I said, - there is still time; give up your slander, and I will forgive you everything. You did not manage to fool me, and my pride is satisfied; - remember - we were once friends...” And then, when Grushnitsky nevertheless dies at the hands of Pechorin, the latter is very worried and writes. "I had a stone on my heart." Thanks to the duel scene, the inconsistency of Pechorin’s character is confirmed once again: he is cold, but capable of feeling, self-confident, but knows how to worry about the fate of others. He appears as a man with a complex inner world, clashing concepts and a difficult fate.

Grushnitsky, a former friend and current rival of the controversial Pechorin, has a not so complex character. His actions are understandable and somewhat predictable, he acts in accordance with the way he has been following for a long time. Grushnitsky is a romantic hero, but so imaginary that M.Yu. Lermontov, the author of the novel, treats the young man’s romantic mood with irony. His character is quite simple.

Firstly, Grushnitsky is not as smart as Pechorin. He rather follows the lead of feelings and emotions, which become especially strong at the time of the duel. “a dull pallor covered his cheeks,” “His knees trembled.” He is silent, although, as usual, he is very talkative, and he feels an insurmountable fear.

Secondly, Grushnitsky, due to his young age and inexperience, is unable to step over himself and fight back. He listens only to the dragoon captain. To all of Pechorin’s proposals to stop the duel, to stop before it’s too late, his answer is negative. “We will shoot...” he responds to another proposal from his former friend. His principles are too dear to him, he believes that Pechorin wants to dishonor him, make him look like a coward in the eyes of society, and not the hero he is diligently trying to seem like.

Thirdly, the image of a “romantic hero” becomes a feature of his character, which is incredibly important to him; he does not leave it for a moment. This is how he appears in the duel scene. His desperately romantic phrases are heard here: “There is no place for the two of us on earth...” he says before his death. Grushnitsky is not so complex and contradictory, he is predictable and dependent on the image of a romantic hero, and this is exactly how he appears in the scene of the duel with Pechorin.

Of course, the duel scene is one of the important scenes in M.Yu. Lermontov’s novel “A Hero of Our Time.” It helps to reveal the images of Pechorin and Grushnitsky more fully. Pechorin appears restrained and self-confident - the way he shows himself in any situation. Grushnitsky appears as an unchanging romantic hero, dependent on feelings and emotions, but unusually frightened and silent. In the duel scene, the heroes are opposed to each other, and this is its peculiarity, which helps to show their inner worlds quite openly and reveal the character traits characteristic of both.