The Caucasus Mountains of the 1830's provides the setting for Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermantov. While New York of the 1920's The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Both of these novels contrast dramatically in culture, time, and language. Although set in different time periods, the characters Pechorin and Gatsby have some comparable attributes. Pechorin of Lermantov's Hero of Our Time, although not a typical hero, and Jay Gatsby of The Great Gatsby, although not truly great, have their similarities in irony, character, and plot.

Irony appears as an important aspect because it shows how Pechorin and Gatsby share similar qualities. "`Malicious irony!' they'll retort" (Lermantov 76.) Lermantov means that Pechorin really does not represent a true "hero." In actuality Pechorin portrays something completely opposite from a hero. Fitzgerald says that calling "is not politically correct" (Fitzgerald vii.) Although the title of the book is The...