Who are we used to consider as a positive character? A character whose ideals correspond to ours, whom we empathize with, whose behaviour should serve as a role model for us. Does such a hero have to wear armor and fight against evil to earn to be called positive? Not at all.

Every epoch has its own positive character. It might be a brave Theseus, piercing the body of a monster, a fearless captain, sailing the seas and fighting pirates, or it may be a simple scientist, whose sharp mind serves for the benefit of humankind. The new type of novel introduced into literature by Jules Verne corresponded to a new character: an inquisitive researcher, engineer, traveler, inventor, scientist, ready to accomplish any feat and make any sacrifice in order to achieve an almost unattainable goal. Unlike most heroes of bourgeois literature Jules Verne character’s aspirations are determined not by selfish premeditations, but by much broader and socially significant interests. For me, Impey Barbicane, the President of the Gun Club and a scientist passionate about his work, is a positive character. Barbicane is an attentive and sensitive man. During the Civil War, he and his Gun Club specialized in casting cannons and cannonballs; when the war ended and their weapons weren’t needed anymore, he conceived the completely adventurous idea of flying to the Moon. Life became difficult for the Gun Club members after the war and Barbicane did notice and understand that. In a newly formed world, the knowledge and skills of former soldiers were useless. Barbicane came up with a machine that made all of them world-famous, provided several thousand people work. A mass interest in his invention helped enrich and develop Florida, where the construction of the Columbiada took place. Readers also saw this man as dyed-in-the-wool scientist. When his sworn enemy, Captain Nicole, challenged him to a duel in the forest, Barbicane, completely forgotten about the danger that hung over him, was peacefully sitting under the tree, making necessary for the future flight calculations.

A positive character is not always the one who saves the world from a great villain, or changes it so that people could live better lives. Sometimes it is an inquisitive and ambitious wiseman, whose inventions and formidable ideas “enriches” people.

Чичерина Ксения,

студентка группы 0454-04ан направления 45.03.02 «Лингвистика», профиль «Иностранный язык и иностранный язык (английский / немецкий)»

Факультета русской филологии и иностранных языков Института гуманитарных наук и языковых коммуникаций

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