What is the description of a hero called in literature? Literary character, hero

Literary ideas about the character system

This work is devoted to the analysis of the character system in literature lessons in high school. We will understand the term “analysis” in in a broad sense- as “a study that includes both the mental decomposition of a work and the combination of selected aspects of elements into a whole.” The organization of characters in a literary work appears as a system. The description of its specific aspects is a task of paramount importance for this work, the starting point for the analysis of the work. Our task is to identify these aspects and understand by what principle the characters are organized into a system. To begin with, let’s try to decompose the work into its component elements, highlight important aspects, and then combine them into a whole according to common characteristics.

Turning to the consideration of the work, we proceed from the ideas reflected in the work of V.G. Zinchenko "Methods of studying literature". According to these ideas, we are dealing with meaningful form and artistic content. According to the same source, the concept of “meaningful form” consists of several components that can become the subject of independent consideration or the starting point for analyzing a work, for example: plot or composition. One of the levels of the meaningful form of a work should be considered a system of characters. The importance of the system of characters in a literary work is evidenced, for example, by the following statement by V.G. Belinsky: “ Artistic creation must be completely ready in the artist’s soul before he takes up the pen... He must first to see before you the faces from whose mutual relationships his drama or story is formed...". Thus, already V.G. Belinsky noted that there is a certain connection between the heroes of the work, without which the implementation of the plan is impossible.

What is the system in a broad sense? The term "system" comes from the Greek word "systema", meaning a whole made up of parts. The definition of a system is present in various branches of science in a narrow and broad sense - both as a naturally organized collection of homogeneous elements, and as a collection of systems and subsystems. According to the opinion of V.G. Zinchenko “A system is understood as a certain integrity formed by a set of elements that are in connections and in relationships with each other. In addition to the property of connectivity, hierarchy is also usually mentioned as the most important feature of the system.” The system of characters in a work, just like any other system, represents integrity. In the case of a character system, its elements will be the characters themselves, that is, the heroes acting in the work. Subsystems can be considered their groups, connections formed by several characters, which are united according to their main characteristics. Let's not forget about the hierarchy, which is somehow present in any work with a sufficient number of characters.

What is a character as an element of a system? The terminological designation of the image of a person in a literary work is one of important issues modern literary criticism. In accordance with the task of this work, we will consider that a character is a character in a plot-driven work of art, most often embodying character traits image of a person. The main characters of the work have a character expressed in complex system artistic means. Thus, a specific analysis of the system of characters in a literary work will simultaneously identify the characters and the artistic means of their embodiment.

There are quite a lot of references to the concept of “character system” today. In literary criticism, the term “character system” appeared only in the 80s of the 20th century.

The concept of a character system is still used by many researchers without a special definition, although it should be noted that we're talking about mainly about the system of images, where “by image we mean the image of a person in work of art» .

Without using the term “character system”, Yu.V. Mann writes about various kinds of connections between characters. Drawing attention to the importance of the “motive of abandonment, departure” for the entire artistic fabric of the novel by I.S. Turgenev’s “Smoke”, the researcher states “a special kind of character connections” that arise as a result of the development of this motive: “Meanwhile, since the motive of leaving realizes not only a moment of ideological confrontation, but a subtle play of sympathies or antipathies, intimacy or alienation - in a word, everything the diversity of human relationships, then it, this motive, becomes the unifying beginning of the novel’s action.” In the work of Yu.V. Mann, it is important for us, firstly, to highlight the various connections between the characters, and secondly, to establish a connection between the “ideological confrontation” and a wide range of relationships that form the event-psychological basis of the character system.

The article by V.A. is also important for us. Grekhneva from the book “ Verbal image and literary work": "In large genre forms ah (primarily in a novel) the composition can be organized around one or several broadly outlined characters.” Thus, the author of the article strives to designate the system of characters in the work. But we think it would not be entirely correct to assume that this phenomenon is characteristic only of large genre forms.

A.G. also dwells on some features of the character system. Tseitlin in the book “The Work of a Writer”. Firstly, “the characters in a work of fiction act in some way, i.e. perform actions and are therefore in certain relationships.” It is further noted: “The writer strives... to ensure that state of mind the hero would become clear from his actions." The character system is “continuously changing”, while a certain “hierarchy of characters” is maintained. In addition, a grouping occurs, which “within the system of characters each time corresponds to the correlation of certain social forces.” The literary critic pays attention to both the external properties of the character system (its variability, hierarchy), and its internal features based on the interaction and opposition of characters - the embodiment of the “mental state of the heroes”, a reflection of the struggle of social forces, i.e. ultimately - the ideological content of the work.

N.D. Tamarchenko in the book “ Literary terms” gives the following definition of the concept that interests us: “The system of characters is an artistically purposeful correlation of all the “leading” characters and all the so-called “minor” characters in a literary work. Through the system of characters, a single author’s idea of ​​a person is expressed in his relationship with nature, society and history, as well as about the types of people...” This definition clearly expresses the idea that the character system serves, first of all, as a means of expression author's attitude to the environment and understanding of life as such.

Speaking about the role of the author in the character system, researcher V.E. Khalizev notes that the author invariably expresses (of course, in the language of artistic images, and not by direct conclusions) his attitude towards the position, attitudes, and value orientation of his character. At the same time, the image of the character, according to V.E. Khalizeva (like all other links in the verbal and artistic form), “appears as the embodiment of a writer’s concept, idea, i.e. as something whole within the framework of another, broader, artistic integrity (the work as such). It depends on this integrity; one might say, it serves it at the will of the author.” With any serious mastery of the character sphere of the work, the reader inevitably penetrates into the spiritual world of the author: in the images of the heroes he sees (primarily by direct feeling) the creative will of the writer.

Expressed by V.E. Khalizev’s idea that the author’s attitude towards the hero can be predominantly either alienated or related, but not neutral, allows us to understand that each character, regardless of his position in the system, has a certain author’s assessment, which, perhaps, in turn, determines his place in this system of characters. Equally interesting is the thought of V.E. Khalizeva about the importance of group, collective characters that can act in a work. In addition, characters are often the stimulus for the development of events that make up the plot, which is important when characters appear in the plot and thus their functions in the system.

Turning to the concept of character as an element of the system of the work of L.V. Chernets notes that the concept of character (hero, character) is the most important in the analysis of epic and dramatic works, where exactly the characters that form a certain system, and the plot (system of events) form the basis objective world.

We know that most often a literary character is a person. The degree of concreteness of its presentation, according to L.V. Chernets, can be different and depends on many reasons: on the place in the system of characters, on the type and genre of the work, etc. But most of all, the principles of the image, the very direction of detailing are determined by the concept of the work, creative method writer: oh minor character realistic story in biography, socially more can be said than about the protagonist of a modernist novel. Thus, we cannot judge a character’s place in the system only by the amount of text that the author allocated to this particular hero. It is important to determine the author’s intention and clearly understand which of the heroes serves to implement this idea.

The character sphere of literature consists not only of isolated individuals, but also of collective heroes. L.V. Chernets notes in this regard: “Interest in the problems of nationality, social psychology stimulated in literature XIX-XX V. development of this image angle (the crowd in the “Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris» V. Hugo, the bazaar in “The Belly of Paris” by E. Zola, the workers’ settlement in M. Gorky’s novel “Mother”, “old women”, “neighbors”, “guests”, “drunkards” in L. Andreev’s play “The Life of a Man” and etc.)" .

If the characters in a work are usually not difficult to count, then understanding the characters embodied in them and the corresponding grouping of persons is, according to L.V. Chernets, the act of interpretation, analysis. The author further notes that the number of characters in a work (as in a writer’s work as a whole) usually does not coincide: there are much more characters. There are persons who have no character, who only perform plot role(for example, in “Poor Liza” N.M. Karamzina is the heroine’s friend who informed the mother about the death of her daughter). There are doubles, variants of the same type (the six Tugoukhovsky princesses in “Woe from Wit” by A.S. Griboedov, Dobchinsky and Bobchinsky in “The Government Inspector” by N.V. Gogol, Berkutov and Glafira, forming a contrasting pair in relation to Kupavina and Lynyaev, in comedy “Wolves and Sheep” by A.N. Ostrovsky). Usually you have to figure out whether heroes of this type are so important in the system, and for what purpose they are present in a particular work.

Researchers also emphasize that the character system is directly related to the plot of the work. L.V. Chernets believes that the basis of the objective world of epic and dramatic works is usually a system of characters and plot. “Even in works whose main theme is man alone with wild, virgin nature (“Robinson Crusoe” by D. Defoe, “Walden, or Life in the Woods” by G. Thoreau, “Mowgli” by R. Kipling), the character sphere, as a rule, , is not limited to one hero."

It is important to remember, according to L.V. Chernets: like any system, the character sphere of a work is characterized through its constituent elements (characters) and structure - “a relatively stable way (law) of connecting elements.” This or that image receives the status of a character precisely as an element of a system, a part of the whole, which is especially clearly seen when comparing images of animals, plants, things, etc. in various works with a person.

Around the main characters are grouped the secondary ones, participating in the struggle on one side or the other (the most important property of the structure is hierarchy). At the same time, the diversity of specific characters in archaic plot genres can be classified.

Plot connections as a system-forming principle can be very complex, branched and cover a huge number of characters. As an example, L.V. Chernets cites “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy, where there are about six hundred characters, and “ The human comedy» O. Balzac - about two thousand. The appearance of these individuals is in most cases motivated by the plot.

However, the researcher further notes, plot connection is not the only type of connection between characters. “A character system is a certain ratio of characters. Most often, the plot roles of the heroes more or less correspond to their importance as characters.”

Among the main provisions addressed to the character system, L.V. Chernets highlights a kind of peculiarity, which consists in the fact that characters, along with people, can also be fantastic creatures. Collective heroes also make up the character sphere. In addition, there are characters who have no character, fulfilling only a plot role. The appearance of minor characters in most cases is motivated by the plot. Here the author introduces us to the concept extra characters. As for the author of the work, his creative position is important here, since the principle of depicting characters is determined by the writer’s creative method.

In the book “Introduction to Literary Studies,” edited by G.N. Pospelov also emphasized the importance of the character system: “Characters, in their totality making up the system, are, apparently, the side of a literary work that is most closely connected with the content. And when understanding the idea of ​​an epic or dramatic work, it is important to understand, first of all, the function of the character system - its meaning and meaning. It is with this that it is natural to begin considering a short story or a novel, a comedy or a tragedy.”

A.B. Esin notes that when analyzing epic and dramatic works, certain attention should be paid to the composition of the system of characters, that is, the characters in the work (we emphasize that it is not the analysis of the characters themselves, but their mutual relations and relationships, that is, composition). For the convenience of approaching this analysis, notes A.B. Esin, it is customary to distinguish between main characters (who are at the center of the plot, have independent characters and are directly related to all levels of the content of the work), secondary characters (who are also quite actively involved in the plot, who have their own character, but who receive less authorial attention; in some cases, their function - help reveal the images of the main characters) and episodic (appearing in one or two episodes of the plot, often without their own character and standing on the periphery of the author’s attention; their main function is to give impetus to the plot action at the right moment or to highlight certain features of the main characters and secondary ones). This is the most common classification, but not the only one. It would seem a very simple and convenient division, and yet, notes A.B. Yesin, in practice it often causes bewilderment and some confusion. The fact is that the category of a character (main, secondary or episodic) can be determined according to two different parameters. The first is the degree of participation in the plot and, accordingly, the amount of text that this character is given. Second - degree of importance this character to reveal the sides artistic content. But it often happens that the character’s parameters do not coincide with each other; most often in the case where a minor or episodic person from the point of view of the plot carries a large content load.

But it should be noted that this gradation is not always important, in some artistic systems we encounter such an organization of the system of characters that the question of dividing them into main, secondary and episodic ones loses all meaningful meaning. Although in some cases there are differences between individual characters in terms of plot and volume of text. And A.B. himself Esin notes that Gogol wrote about his comedy “The Inspector General”: “every hero is here; the flow and progress of the play produces a shock to the whole machine: not a single wheel should remain rusty and not included in the work.”

The same principle, according to the literary critic, in the composition of the character system is maintained by Gogol in the poem “ Dead Souls" In the orbit of our attention, first of all, Chichikov is the “main” character (the word “main” inevitably has to be put in quotation marks, because, as it gradually turns out, he is not more important than all the others). Further, landowners, sometimes officials and, if time permits, one or two images from among Plyushkin’s “souls” come into our field of vision. And this is unusually small compared to the crowd of people that inhabits the space Gogol's poem. The number of people in the poem is simply amazing, they are at every step, and before we get to know Chichikov, we have already seen “two Russian men”, without a name or external signs, who do not play any role in the plot, do not characterize Chichikov in any way and in general seem to be of no use. And we will later meet a great many such figures... List them all, or at least a significant part, according to A.B. Yesina, there is no way. And the most interesting thing in Gogol’s system of “episodic” characters, he notes, is that each of them is unforgettably individual, and yet none of them performs any functions usual for this type of character; they do not provide impetus to the plot action and do not help characterize the main characters. In addition, Esin also draws attention to the detail in the depiction of these characters, which is clearly excessive for a “passing”, peripheral hero; the nameless owner of a roadside tavern turns out to be no less interesting for the author than Chichikov or Plyushkin. And this already creates a special setting, a special meaningful meaning of the composition: we are no longer looking at images individuals, but something broader and more significant - the image of the population, people, nation; peace at last.

Almost the same composition of the character system, notes A.B. Yesin, observed in Chekhov's plays, and here the matter becomes even more complicated: the main and minor characters cannot be distinguished even by the degree of participation in the plot and the volume of the image. And here, close, but somewhat different from Gogol’s, the following composition carries a meaningful meaning: Chekhov needs to show a certain set of ordinary people, ordinary consciousness, among which there are no outstanding, extraordinary heroes, on whose images one can build a play, but for the most part they , are nevertheless interesting and significant. To do this, it is necessary to show a multitude of equal characters, without singling out the main and minor ones; only in this way is something common revealed in them, namely the inherent ordinary consciousness the drama of a failed life, a life that has passed or is passing in vain, without meaning and even without pleasure.

Thus, although A.B. Esin suggests dividing characters into main, secondary and episodic, but in some artistic systems this division loses all meaning, so you need to understand whether it is possible to classify the characters of the work being studied in this way. It is assumed that two parameters should be taken into account to determine the category of characters. This is the degree of participation of a particular character in the plot (the amount of text that is allocated to him) and the degree of importance of this character for revealing aspects of the artistic content. Episodic characters may differ from the main ones only quantitatively (in terms of image volume), and not qualitatively (in terms of the degree of author’s interest in them). This creates a special meaningful meaning - the image of a people, a nation, a population. Sometimes the main and secondary characters cannot be distinguished either by the degree of participation in the plot or by the volume of the image. Many equal characters help to reveal something common. Characters can also be grouped according to the themes they embody.

So, having an idea of ​​what a character system is, it becomes absolutely necessary to understand the function of a character system, its meaning, its significance. It is with the analysis of the character system, as suggested by the above-mentioned researchers, that it is important to begin the analysis of the work. Even the smallest details related to the presence of a character in the system must be taken into account. Dividing characters into main, secondary and episodic, as noted, is not always possible. Can the characters who appear during the course of the work and are in one way or another included in the system of characters and form part of it be called episodic, that is, appearing only in some episodes? Is the name suitable for the main characters who are the center of the author’s attention? Can the characters who form the basis of the plot action be considered minor?

In order for students to understand the role of characters in a literary work and their role in the text, and to be able to correctly construct a retelling, it is necessary to try to correctly answer these questions in the first literature lessons in high school.

List of used literature

Andreev A.N. Theory of literature: personality, work, artistic creativity. Mn.: BSU, 2004. 187 p.

Belinsky V.G. Complete collection essays. In 5 volumes. M.: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1954. T.5 414 p.

Introduction to literary criticism / Rep. ed. G.N. Pospelov. M.: Higher. school, 1976. 283 p.

Grekhnev V.A. Verbal image and literary work. Book for teachers. M.: Education, 1992. 212 p.

Esin A.B. Principles and techniques of analysis literary work: Tutorial. M.: Flinta, Nauka, 2000. 248 p.

Zinchenko V.G. and others. Methods of studying literature. Systems approach(textbook)/ Zinchenko V.G., Zusman V.G., Kirnoze Z.I. M.: Flinta: Nauka, 2002. 200 p.

Literary encyclopedic Dictionary/ Rep. ed. V.M. Kozhevnikova, M.: Sov. encyclopedia, 1987. 432 p.

Mann Yu.V. Dialectics of artistic image. M.: Sov. writer, 1987. 137 p.

Tamarchenko N.D. Literary terms. Materials for the dictionary. Kolomna, 1999. 282 p.

Khabibulina, G.N. Introduction to Literary Studies and Literary Theory ( Toolkit) M: graduate School: Academy, 2008. 68 p.

Khalizev V. E. Theory of Literature. M.: Higher School, 2002. 437 p.

Chernets L.V., Khalizev V.E., Broitman S.N. Introduction to literary criticism. Literary work: Basic concepts and terms: Textbook. M.: Higher school: Publishing house. Center Academy, 1999. 556 p.

Tseitlin A.G. The work of a writer. M.: Sov. writer, 1962. 412s.

Who is a literary character? We devote our article to this issue. In it we will tell you where this name came from, what types of literary characters and images and how to describe them in literature lessons at your own request or at the request of the teacher.

Also from our article you will learn what an “eternal” image is and what images are called eternal.

Literary hero or character. Who is this?

We often hear the concept of “literary character”. But few can explain what we are talking about. And even schoolchildren who have recently returned from a literature lesson often find it difficult to answer the question. What is this mysterious word “character”?

It came to us from ancient Latin (persona, personnage). The meaning is “personality”, “person”, “person”.

So, a literary character is an active person. We are mainly talking about prose genres, since images in poetry are usually called “lyrical hero”.

It is impossible to write a story or poem, novel or story without characters. Otherwise, it will be a meaningless collection of, if not words, then perhaps events. The heroes are people and animals, mythological and fantastic creatures, inanimate objects, for example, Andersen's steadfast tin soldier, historical figures and even entire nations.

Classification of literary heroes

They can confuse any literature connoisseur with their quantity. And it’s especially hard for secondary school students. And especially because they prefer to play their favorite game instead of doing homework. How to classify heroes if a teacher or, even worse, an examiner demands it?

The most win-win option: classify the characters according to their importance in the work. According to this criterion, literary heroes are divided into main and secondary. Without the main character, the work and its plot will be a collection of words. But if we lose minor characters, we will lose a certain branch storyline or expressiveness of events. But overall the work will not suffer.

The second classification option is more limited and is suitable not for all works, but for fairy tales and fantasy genres. This is the division of heroes into positive and negative. For example, in the fairy tale about Cinderella, poor Cinderella herself is a positive hero, she evokes pleasant emotions, you sympathize with her. And here are the sisters and evil stepmother- clearly heroes of a completely different type.

Characteristics. How to write?

Heroes of literary works sometimes (especially in a literature lesson at school) need a detailed description. But how to write it? The option “once upon a time there was such a hero. He is from a fairy tale about this and that” is clearly not suitable if the assessment is important. We will share with you a win-win option for writing a characterization of a literary (and any other) hero. We offer you a plan with brief explanations what and how to write.

• Introduction. Name the work and the character you will talk about. Here you can add why you want to describe it.
• The place of the hero in the story (novel, story, etc.). Here you can write whether he is major or minor, positive or negative, a person or a mythical or historical figure.
• Appearance. It would not be amiss to include quotes, which will show you as an attentive reader, and will also add volume to your description.
• Character. Everything is clear here.
• Actions and their characteristics in your opinion.
• Conclusions.

That's all. Keep this plan for yourself, and it will come in handy more than once.

Famous literary characters

Although the very concept of a literary hero may seem completely unfamiliar to you, if you tell you the name of the hero, you will most likely remember a lot. Especially it concerns famous characters literature, for example, such as Robinson Crusoe, Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes or Robin Hood, Assol or Cinderella, Alice or Pippi Longstocking.

Such heroes are called famous literary characters. These names are familiar to children and adults from many countries and even continents. Not knowing them is a sign of narrow-mindedness and lack of education. Therefore, if you don’t have time to read the work itself, ask someone to tell you about these characters.

The concept of image in literature

Along with character, you can often hear the concept of “image”. What is this? Same as the hero or not? The answer will be both positive and negative, because a literary character may well be literary way, but the image itself does not have to be a character.

We often call this or that hero an image, but nature can appear in the same image in a work. And then the topic of the examination paper can be “the image of nature in the story...”. What to do in this case? The answer is in the question itself: if we are talking about nature, you need to characterize its place in the work. Start with a description, add character elements, for example, “the sky was gloomy,” “the sun was mercilessly hot,” “the night was frightening with its darkness,” and the characterization is ready. Well, if you need a description of the hero’s image, then how to write it, see the plan and tips above.

What are the images?

Our next question. Here we will highlight several classifications. Above we looked at one - images of heroes, that is, people/animals/mythical creatures and images of nature, images of peoples and states.

Also, images can be so-called “eternal”. What is an "eternal image"? This concept names a hero created once by an author or folklore. But he was so “characteristic” and special that after years and eras, other authors write their characters from him, perhaps giving them different names, but without changing the essence. Such heroes include the fighter Don Quixote, the hero-lover Don Juan and many others.

Unfortunately, modern fantasy characters do not become eternal, despite the love of fans. Why? What's better than this funny Don Quixote of Spider-Man, for example? It's difficult to explain this in a nutshell. Only reading the book will give you the answer.

The concept of "closeness" of the hero, or My favorite character

Sometimes the hero of a work or movie becomes so close and loved that we try to imitate him, to be like him. This happens for a reason, and it’s not for nothing that the choice falls on this character. Often a favorite hero becomes an image that somehow resembles ourselves. Perhaps the similarity is in character, or in the experiences of both the hero and you. Or this character is in a situation similar to yours, and you understand and sympathize with him. In any case, it's not bad. The main thing is that you imitate only worthy heroes. And there are plenty of them in the literature. We wish you to meet only good heroes and imitate only the positive traits of their character.

Hero of the work

one of the main characters in a work of art (as opposed to a character); the development of the hero's character and his relationships with other characters play decisive role in the development of the plot and composition of the work, in the disclosure of its themes and ideas.

“Epic and dramatic works depict human individuals with their inherent behavior, appearance, and worldview. These individuals are usually called either characters, or characters, or heroes of the work” (G.N. Pospelov).

"The right to special behavior (immoral, moral, crazy, unpredictable, strange - but always free from the obligations indispensable for stationary characters) is demonstrated by a long series of literary heroes from Vaska Buslaev to Don Quixote, Hamlet, Richard III, Grinev, Chichikov, Chatsky "(Yu.M. Lotman).

Terminological dictionary-thesaurus on literary criticism. From allegory to iambic. - M.: Flinta, Science. N.Yu. Rusova. 2004.

See what a “hero of a work” is in other dictionaries:

HERO- (Greek heros). In ancient times, a warrior distinguished by courage, strength, wisdom and experience; then a person of half-divine and half-human origin, who, after death, was deified for services rendered. According to Homer, kings were revered as heroes... Dictionary foreign words Russian language

hero- I, f. héros m., German Heroe. 1. Heroes or heroes were called children by the polytheists. born from the mixture of gods with a mortal wife, or of goddesses with a man; also those who for what important invention or an action famous after death among the gods... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

There must be only one hero- “There Must Be One Hero” is a novel written in 1995 by Henry Lyon Oldie. The novel is a reinterpretation of the ancient Greek myths about Hercules. Initially, the novel “We Live Here” was conceived as a continuation of “There Must Be One Hero,” but... ... Wikipedia

"Hero of our time"- “A HERO OF OUR TIME” (1837 40), L.’s novel, his pinnacle creation, the first prose. social psychological and philosopher novel in Russian lit re. “A Hero of Our Time” absorbed a variety of creatively transformed in the new historical. and national... ... Lermontov Encyclopedia

HERO- HERO, hero, husband. (Greek heros). 1. A person exceptional in courage or in his valor. || Notable for his bravery in war. Hero civil war. 2. In the theories of some bourgeois sociologists outstanding personality like a force... Dictionary Ushakova

HERO- HERO, me, husband. 1. A person who performs feats, unusual in his courage, valor, and dedication. Heroes of the Great Patriotic War. G. labor. 2. The main character of a literary work. G. tragedy. G. novel. 3. what...... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

hero- 1. A person who has accomplished military or labor feats. Selfless, fearless, brilliant (obsolete), daring (obsolete poet.), valiant, glorious (obsolete), famous, famous, true, legendary, courageous, popular, real, ... ... Dictionary of epithets

Works of Chingiz Aitmatov. Bibliographic information- Chingiz Aitmatov died the night before in a clinic in Nuremberg. Aitmatov gained worldwide fame as the author of philosophical novels and stories published in more than a hundred countries around the world. 2008 has been declared the year of Aitmatov in Kyrgyzstan.… … Encyclopedia of Newsmakers

Hero of our time- This article should be Wikified. Please format it according to the rules for formatting articles... Wikipedia

hero- noun, m., used. often Morphology: (no) whom? hero, who? hero, (I see) who? hero, who? hero, about whom? about the hero; pl. Who? heroes, (no) who? heroes, anyone? heroes, (I see) who? heroes, by whom? heroes, about whom? about heroes 1. A hero is courageous,... ... Dmitriev's Explanatory Dictionary

Books

• Hero of our time. Prose and poetry (audiobook MP 3), M. Yu. Lermontov. Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov - Russian classic literature of the 19th century century, poet and writer, “the night luminary of Russian poetry.” The disc contains works that, having read them in school,...

Character (actor)- in prose or dramatic work artistic image a person (sometimes fantastic creatures, animals or objects), who is both the subject of the action and the object of the author’s research.

In a literary work there are usually characters of different levels and varying degrees of participation in the development of events.

Hero. Central character, the main one for the development of action is called hero literary work. Characters who enter into ideological or everyday conflict with each other are the most important in character system. In a literary work, the relationship and role of the main, secondary, episodic characters(and off-stage characters V dramatic work) are determined by the author's intention.

The role that authors assign to their hero is evidenced by the so-called “character” titles of literary works (for example, “Taras Bulba” by N.V. Gogol, “Heinrich von Oftendinger” by Novalis) . This, however, does not mean that in works entitled with the name of one character, there is necessarily one main character. So, V.G. Belinsky considered Tatyana equal the main character A.S. Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin”, and F.M. Dostoevsky considered her image even more significant than the image of Onegin. The title can introduce not one, but several characters, which, as a rule, emphasizes their equal importance for the author.

Character- personality type formed individual traits. The set of psychological properties that make up the image of a literary character is called character. Incarnation in a hero, a character of a certain life character.

Literary type – a character that carries a broad generalization. In other words, a literary type is a character in whose character the universal human traits inherent in many people prevail over personal, individual traits.

Sometimes the writer's focus is whole group characters, as, for example, in “family” epic novels: “The Forsyte Saga” by J. Galsworthy, “Buddenbrooks” by T. Mann. In the 19th–20th centuries. begins to be of particular interest to writers collective character as a certain psychological type, which sometimes also manifests itself in the titles of works (“Pompadours and Pompadours” by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, “The Humiliated and Insulted” by F.M. Dostoevsky). Typification is a means of artistic generalization.

Prototype- a specific person who served the writer as the basis for creating a generalized image-character in a work of art.

Portrait How component character structures, one of important components works, organically fused with the composition of the text and the idea of ​​the author. Types of portrait (detailed, psychological, satirical, ironic, etc.).

Portrait– one of the means of creating an image: depicting the appearance of the hero of a literary work as a way of characterizing him. A portrait may include a description of the appearance (face, eyes, human figure), actions and states of the hero (the so-called dynamic portrait, which depicts facial expressions, eyes, facial expressions, gestures, posture), as well as features formed by the environment or that are a reflection of the character’s individuality: clothing , manners, hairstyles, etc. A special type of description - psychological picture– allows the author to reveal character, inner world and soul feelings hero. For example, the portrait of Pechorin in the novel “Hero of Our Time” by M.Yu. Lermontov, portraits of heroes of novels and stories by F.M. Dostoevsky are psychological.

An artistic image is a specificity of art, which is created through typification and individualization.

Typification is the knowledge of reality and its analysis, as a result of which the selection and generalization of life material is carried out, its systematization, the identification of what is significant, the discovery of essential tendencies of the universe and folk-national forms of life.

Individualization is the embodiment of human characters and their unique identity, the artist’s personal vision of public and private existence, contradictions and conflicts of time, concrete sensory exploration of the non-human world and the objective world through artistic means. words.

The character is all the figures in the work, but excluding the lyrics.

Type (imprint, shape, sample) is highest manifestation character, and character (imprint, distinguishing feature) is the universal presence of a person in complex works. Character can grow from type, but type cannot grow from character.

The hero is a complex, multifaceted person. He is an exponent of plot action that reveals the content of works of literature, cinema, and theater. The author, who is directly present as a hero, is called a lyrical hero (epic, lyric). The literary hero opposes the literary character, who acts as a contrast to the hero, and is a participant in the plot

A prototype is a specific historical or contemporary personality of the author, who served as the starting point for creating the image. The prototype replaced the problem of the relationship between art and a real analysis of the writer’s personal likes and dislikes. The value of researching a prototype depends on the nature of the prototype itself.

• - a generalized artistic image, the most possible, characteristic of a certain social environment. A type is a character that contains a social generalization. For example, the type of “superfluous man” in Russian literature, with all its diversity (Chatsky, Onegin, Pechorin, Oblomov) had common features: education, dissatisfaction real life, the desire for justice, the inability to realize oneself in society, the ability to strong feelings etc. Each time gives birth to its own types of heroes. The “superfluous person” has been replaced by the type of “new people”. This, for example, is the nihilist Bazarov.

Prototype- a prototype, a specific historical or contemporary personality of the author, who served as the starting point for creating the image.

Character - the image of a person in a literary work, which combines the general, repetitive and individual, unique. The author's view of the world and man is revealed through character. The principles and techniques for creating character differ depending on tragic, satirical and other ways of depicting life, from literary kind works and genre. Literary character should be distinguished from character in life. When creating a character, a writer can reflect the features of the real, historical person. But he inevitably uses fiction, “invents” the prototype, even if his hero is a historical figure. "Character" and "character" - concepts are not identical. Literature is focused on creating characters, which often cause controversy and are perceived ambiguously by critics and readers. Therefore, in the same character one can see different tempers(the image of Bazarov from Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons”). In addition, in the system of images of a literary work, there are, as a rule, much more characters than characters. Not every character is a character; some characters only serve a plot role. Typically not in character minor characters works.

Literary hero is an image of a person in literature. Also in this sense, the concepts “actor” and “character” are used. Often, only the more important characters (characters) are called literary heroes.

Literary heroes are usually divided into positive and negative, but this division is very arbitrary.

Often in literature there was a process of formalization of the character of heroes, when they turned into a “type” of some vice, passion, etc. The creation of such “types” was especially characteristic of classicism, with the image of a person playing a auxiliary role in relation to a certain advantage, disadvantage, or inclination.

A special place among literary heroes is occupied by genuine persons introduced into a fictional context - for example, historical characters in novels.

Lyrical hero - the image of the poet, the lyrical “I”. Inner world lyrical hero is revealed not through actions and events, but through a specific mental state, through the experience of a certain life situation. Lyric poem- a specific and individual manifestation of the character of the lyrical hero. The image of the lyrical hero is revealed most fully throughout the poet’s work. Thus, in individual lyrical works of Pushkin (“In the depths of the Siberian ores...”, “Anchar”, “Prophet”, “Desire for Glory”, “I Love You...” and others) various states of the lyrical hero are expressed, but, taken together, they give us a fairly holistic picture of him.

The image of the lyrical hero should not be identified with the personality of the poet, just as the experiences of the lyrical hero should not be perceived as the thoughts and feelings of the author himself. The image of a lyrical hero is created by the poet in the same way as an artistic image in works of other genres, through the selection of life material, typification, and artistic invention.

Character - protagonist of a work of art. Typically, the character accepts Active participation in the development of the action, but the author or one of the literary heroes can also talk about it. There are main and secondary characters. In some works the focus is on one character (for example, in Lermontov’s “Hero of Our Time”), in others the writer’s attention is drawn to whole line characters (“War and Peace” by L. Tolstoy).

Artistic image- a universal category of artistic creativity, a form of interpretation and exploration of the world from the position of a certain aesthetic ideal, through the creation of aesthetically affecting objects. Any phenomenon creatively recreated in a work of art is also called an artistic image. An artistic image is an image of art that is created by the author of a work of art in order to most fully reveal the described phenomenon of reality. At the same time, the meaning of an artistic image is revealed only in a certain communicative situation, and final result such communication depends on the personality, goals and even the mood of the person encountering it, as well as on the specific

Hero, character, character in a work of art.

Character (French)
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personnage, from lat. persona - person, face, mask) - a type of artistic image, the subject of an action, experience, statement in a work. The phrases used in modern literary criticism have the same meaning literary hero, character(mainly in drama, where the list of characters traditionally follows the title of the play). In this synonymous series the word character- the most neutral, its etymology (persona - a mask worn by an actor in ancient theater) is barely noticeable. Hero (from gr.
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heros - demigod, deified person) in some contexts it is awkward to call someone who is devoid of heroic traits ("It is impossible for a hero to be petty and insignificant," Boileau wrote about the tragedy), and an actor - an inactive one (Podkolesin or Oblomov).

The concept of character (hero, protagonist) is the most important in the analysis epic and dramatic works, where exactly the characters forming a certain system and the plot (system of events) form the basis of the objective world.

Most often, a literary character is a person. The degree of concreteness of its presentation should be different and depends on many reasons: on the place in the system of characters, on the type and genre of the work, etc.
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But most of all, the principles of depiction, the very direction of detailing are determined by the concept of the work, the creative method of the writer: more should be said about the minor character of a realistic story (for example, about Gagin in “Ace” by I.S. Turgenev) in biographical and social terms, than about the protagonist of a modernist novel. Along with people, animals, plants, things, natural elements, fantastic creatures, robots, etc. can act and talk in a work. (ʼʼ Blue bird"M. Maeterlinck", "Mowgli" by R. Kipling, "Amphibian Man" by A. Belyaev). There are genres, types of literature in which such characters are obligatory or very likely: fairy tale, fable, ballad, animalistic literature, Science fiction and etc.

The character sphere of literature consists not only of isolated individuals, but also collective heroes (their prototype is the choir in ancient drama). Interest in problems of nationality and social psychology was stimulated in the literature of the 19th-20th centuries. development of this image angle (the crowd in “Notre Dame Cathedral” by V. Hugo, the bazaar in “The Belly of Paris” by E. Zola, the workers’ settlement in M. Gorky’s novel “Mother”, “old women”, “co-workers”, “guests”, “drunkards” in L. Andreev’s play “The Life of a Man” and others. ).

The variety of character types comes close to question about the subject artistic knowledge : non-human characters act as bearers of moral, i.e. human, qualities; the existence of collective heroes reveals the writers’ interest in what is common in different individuals. No matter how broadly interpreted subject of knowledge in fiction, its center is ʼʼhuman essences , i.e., first of all, social” 2. In relation to epic and drama, this characters(from gr.
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charakter - sign, distinctive feature), i.e. socially significant features, manifested with sufficient clarity in the behavior and state of mind of people; highest degree characteristics - type(from gr.
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typos - imprint, imprint). (Often words character And type used interchangeably.)

When creating a literary hero, a writer usually endows him with one character or another: one-sided or multi-sided, integral or contradictory, static or developing, respectful or contempt, etc. Your understanding, assessment life characters the writer conveys it to the reader, conjecturing and implementing prototypes, creating fictional individuals. ʼʼ Character and character are not identical concepts, which was noted by Aristotle:ʼʼThe character will have character if<...>in speech or action will reveal any direction of will, whatever it may be...ʼʼ In literature focused on the embodiment of characters (and this is what the classics are), the latter constitute the main content - the subject of reflection, and often debate among readers and critics. Critics see different characters in the same character.

In other words, the character appears, on the one hand, as a character, and on the other, as an artistic image that embodies this character with some degree of aesthetic perfection.

In the stories of A.P. Chekhov's “The Death of an Official” and “Fat and Thin” Chervyakov and “Thin” as images are unique: we meet the first in the theater, “at the height of bliss,” the second at the station, “laden” with his luggage; the first is endowed with a surname and position, the second with a name and rank, etc. The plots of the works and their denouements are different. But the stories are interchangeable when discussing the theme of veneration of rank in Chekhov, the characters of the characters are so similar: both act according to the same stereotype, not noticing the comedy of their voluntary lackey, which only brings them harm. Characters are reduced to a comic discrepancy between the characters’ behavior and an ethical standard unknown to them; as a result, Chervyakov’s death causes laughter: this is the “death of an official,” a comic hero.

If the characters in a work are usually not difficult to count, then understanding the characters embodied in them and the corresponding grouping of persons is an act of interpretation and analysis. In “Fat and Thin” there are four characters, but, obviously, only two characters: “Thin”, his wife Louise, “nee Vanzenbach... Lutheran”, and son Nathanael (the redundancy of information is an additional touch to the portrait of a funny person) form one cohesive family group. “The thin one shook three fingers, bowed with his whole body and chuckled like a Chinese: “Hee-hee-hee.” The wife smiled. Nathanael shuffled his foot and dropped his cap. All three were pleasantly stunned. The number of characters in a work (as in the writer’s work as a whole) usually does not coincide: there are much more characters. There are persons who have no character, performing only a plot role. There are doubles, variants of the same type (six Tugoukhovsky princesses in “Woe from Wit” by A.S. Griboyedov. The existence of characters of the same type gives critics the basis for classifications, for attracting a whole series of characters to the analysis of one type (ʼʼtyrantsʼʼ and ʼʼunresponsiveʼʼ in the article by N.A. Dobrolyubov ʼʼ Dark Kingdomʼʼ, dedicated to creativity Ostrovsky; Turgenevsky ʼʼan extra personʼʼ in the articles ʼʼLiterary type weak personʼʼ P.V. Annenkova, ʼʼWhen the real one will come day?ʼʼ Dobrolyubova). Writers return to the type and character they discovered, finding new facets in it, achieving aesthetic impeccability of the image.

According to their status in the structure of the work, character and character have different evaluation criteria. Unlike the characters that cause ethically attitude towards oneself, characters are assessed primarily with aesthetic point of view, that is, based on how brightly, fully and concentratedly they embody the characters.

The means of revealing character in a work are various components and details of the objective world: plot, speech characteristics, portrait, costume, interior, etc. At the same time, the perception of a character as a character does not necessarily require a detailed structure of the image. Images are particularly cost-saving off-stage heroes (for example, in the story “Chameleon” - the general and his brother, lovers of dogs of different breeds). The uniqueness of the category of character lies in its final, integral function in relation to all means of representation.

There is another way to study a character - solely as a participant in the plot. current face (but not as a character). In relation to archaic genres of folklore (in particular, to the Russian fairy tale, considered by V.Ya. Propp in the book “Morphology of Fairy Tales”, 1928), to the early stages of the development of literature, such an approach is to some extent motivated by the material: there are no characters as such yet or they less important than action. Aristotle considered the main thing in tragedy to be the action (plot): “So, the plot is the basis and, as it were, the soul of tragedy, and characters follow it, for tragedy is an imitation of action, and in this regard especially acting persons 1 .

With the formation of personality, it is characters that become the main subject of artistic knowledge. In the programs of literary movements (starting with classicism), the concept of personality is of fundamental importance, in close connection with its understanding in philosophy, social sciences. Both the view and the plot are affirmed in aesthetics as the most important way of revealing character, its testing and stimulus for development. “A person’s character can be revealed in the most insignificant actions; from the point of view of poetic evaluation, the greatest deeds are those that shed the most light on the character of a person" 2 - many writers, critics, and aestheticians could subscribe to these words of Lessing.

The plot functions of the characters - in abstraction from their characters - became the subject of special analysis in some areas of literary criticism of the 20th century. In the structuralist theory of plot, this is associated with the task of constructing general models (structures) found in the variety of narrative texts.

Hero, character, character in a work of art. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Hero, character, character in a work of art." 2017, 2018.