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| Portrait of Mikhail Lermontov (or Pechorin?) |
As always, answer TWO of the following for Monday's class:
Q1: Though these stories are told by two different narrators, our main Narrator and Pechorin (via his Journal), what makes them strangely similar? What echoes or connections do both seem to share? Similarly, is there a reason that "Taman" follows the brief "Maksim Maksimich"?
Q2: In "Taman," Pechorin writes, "She was far from beautiful, but I have my preconceptions in regard to beauty, too. She revealed a good deal of breeding." In what way is this girl like Bela from our first story? And in general, what seems to attract our 'bored' hero to specific women? What might this say about his character and outlook?
Q3: The only time our Narrator ever sees Pechorin is in the tiny story, "Maksim Maksimich," and then only very briefly. What does he observe about our literary hero, and how does this confirm, or contrast with Maksim Maksimich's account in "Bela"? Why might it also be significant that Pechorin seems to be less friendly with M.M. than first reported?
Q4: When the Narrator takes Pechorin's Journal from M.M., he quicky sees that it's published under his name, which he later admits is an "innocent forgery." Why does he do this? Do you believe his claim that "solely the desire to be useful compelled me to print excerpts from a journal that came accidentally into my possession"?
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