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How is the narrative of A Hero of Our Time structured?
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Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Lermontov.
The narrative structure of A Hero of Our Time is notable for being both nonchronological and fragmented.1
Rather than following a linear progression, the novel presents a series of episodes that provide a psychologically probing portrait of its protagonist, Grigory Pechorin. This innovative approach to storytelling influenced major figures in Russian literature, such as Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy, and served as a precursor to the antiheroes and antinovels found in 20th-century Western fiction.1