In Gogol’s Overcoat, the reader is overcome with a great sense of pity for Akaky. He’s a sad man – not just because of his relative linguistic incompetency or his inability to perform tasks that extend beyond a simple copy job but because all of his peers see him as utterly beneath them. He is unfit of any type of respect. They can torment him without any sort of recognition for the important tasks he can complete without fail.… Read the rest here
Tag Archives: The Overcoat
The Overcoat (or really the Dressing-Gown)
Gogol’s The Overcoat has the same sticky, slimy, unpleasant-to-view feeling of George Orwell’s 1984. Akaky Akakievich has a monotonous job that only he loves, one that he takes very seriously and even does in his free time. Winston Smith, Orwell’s protagonist, has a fairly boring occupation as well, doing almost the same thing: where Akaky simply copies the words, Winston changes them to reflect Big Brother’s infallibility. Akaky and Winston both live alone, eat the bland foods that their meager government salaries can afford them, and either willingly ignores or is encouraged to ignore every attempt at meaningful human interaction.… Read the rest here
Gogol’s “The Overcoat”
In “The Overcoat”, Gogol ridicules Russia’s ranking system and the emphasis placed on being a “significant person” in society. The flaws in this, system which is based in superficiality and vanity, are most readily evident in Akaky Akakiyevich’s attempts to report the theft of his greatcoat. He begins his efforts with a policeman, who failed to witness the crime even though it happened right in front of him. Akaky then implores the assistance of the next highest level of authority, the district superintendent.… Read the rest here
The Overcoat
Akaky Akakievich is the epitome of the antihero. A boring, insignificant little man whose main pleasure in life is to copy documents, in fact his whole life consists of copying documents. His life however, is changed the day he realizes he has to buy a new coat. Lacking the money, he undertakes what could be called austerity measures and starves himself to be able to buy his new coat. Here we witness a first change in the character.… Read the rest here
The Overcoat
The language and imagery with which Nikolai Gogol writes allows the reader to further identify with the plight of Akaky Akakievich Bashmachin and his need to buy a new coat. This story really discusses how class affected how people interacted with one another and how people had to behave in order to live according to the social norms of the time. Akaky believed that by having a proper coat, he would be more successful in his job, however his need to conform to this social norm that results in his death.… Read the rest here
Gogol- The Overcoat
As an author, Gogol has often been considered one of the most famous writers in Russia, and seen as a champion of the everyday man. In his short story “The Overcoat”, Gogol focuses on that particular type of character in depicting the story of Akaky Akakievich, a penniless government clerk and copyist in the city of St. Petersburg. Akaky is blatantly overworked and overlooked by everyone in his life.
In the story, the reader learns how Akaky is a timid, alienated individual whose sole perceived purpose is copying.… Read the rest here