The well-known phrase of the French critic E. Vogüe that a whole galaxy of writers grew out of Gogol's "The Overcoat" is quite true. The image of the "little man", which became popular thanks to Charlie Chaplin, in a sense, is also from there, from her. In the thirties and forties, descriptions of the great feats of outstanding personalities not only became boring to the reader, but they wanted something else, something unusual. At this time, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol wrote "The Overcoat". The analysis of this work was carried out repeatedly, both before the revolution and after it. In it they found either dreams of universal equality and fraternity, or even calls for the overthrow of the autocracy. Today, having re-read the story through the eyes of a contemporary, we can safely say that none of this is there.
Main character, A. A. Bashmachkin
In order to establish the opinion that the story lacks not only revolutionary motives, but also a social idea in general, it is enough to understand who N.V. Gogol wrote about in The Overcoat. Analysis of the main character's personality leads to the search for modern analogies. The notorious "middle managers", contemptuously also called "office plankton", who carry out routine assignments, come to mind. Workers, according to one literary character, are divided into two main categories: the majority are not capable of anything, and only a few can practically everything. Judging by the description of Akaky Akakievich and his relationship with the team, he does not belong to the all-powerful minority. But Gogol would not be himself if he did not see in him certain virtues, which he also writes about with a fair amount of irony. Bashmachkin, a typical "eternal titular" (such in the Soviet Army were called fifteen-year-old captains, according to the term of service in a junior officer rank), loves his work, he is diligent and submissive to the point of humility. To the jokes of his comrades, sometimes angry, he reacts gently and peacefully. He has no friends, besides beautiful calligraphic letters, and he doesn’t need to.
In order to assess the financial situation of Bashmachkin, the modern reader needs to delve into the literature and understand what and how much it cost then. This job requires diligence and patience. The prices for many things were completely different, just as the assortment of a modern supermarket differs from the choice of goods in the shops and stores of that era in which Gogol wrote The Overcoat. Purchasing power analysis can be done approximately.
It is absolutely impossible to compare the prices of the middle of the 19th century with today's prices. Now there are many goods that do not fit into the then consumer basket (mobile phones, computers, etc.). In addition, the choice of clothes has become very wide (from cheap consumer goods sewn by our Chinese friends to offers from super-prestigious boutiques). It is more expedient to make a comparison with salaries in the relatively recent Soviet past.
Calculation of the financial capabilities of the protagonist
The hero's salary is known - 800 rubles a year. By the standards of that time, not so little, you won’t die of hunger. Judging by indirect signs and based on the text of the story, we can conclude that the scale of prices approximately corresponded to the capabilities of an ordinary engineer of the late Soviet era (70s or 80s), who received 120 rubles of salary. It is also known how much the new overcoat cost Akaky Akakievich. The story was written in 1842, there was no shortage of food and there were no queues, but getting to know the right people mattered even then. “According to the pull”, a certain Petrovich, a tailor, is ready to make the right thing for only 80. It was impossible to buy a decent coat in the USSR for that kind of money, and in order to collect for a new thing, an ordinary worker needed to save several months.
So Akaki Akakievich cut his budget in order to sew a new overcoat for himself. His problems were exclusively economic in nature, and, in general, were completely solvable.
What happened?
The plot of Gogol was inspired by a story about the same poor and ordinary official, who saved up for a long time for a gun and lost it on his first hunt. One had to be a genius to see in such an unfunny anecdote the plot of a future work and develop it to a tragicomedy, which is rightfully considered the story "The Overcoat". Its main characters are also officials, and for the most part they receive as much as Bashmachkin, or more, but not much. Seeing a new thing, they jokingly demand to “splash” (today they often use the verbs “wash” or “put down”). Colleagues know that Bashmachkin has no money for excesses, and if he had, then, obviously, he would not be in a hurry to part with them either - for many years they studied his character. Help came from the assistant clerk (judging by the title of the position, he is also not a great rich man), who offers refreshments and invites to visit him. And after the banquet, Akaky Akakievich was robbed and stripped, taking away his new overcoat. The summary of the scene of a friendly drinking clearly shows how spirited the humble official soared, having bought, in general, an ordinary thing. He even shows interest in a certain lady, however, not for long.
And then such a collapse.
The image of the boss
Of course, Nikolai Vasilyevich tells us not just a story about how an unknown official found and lost his overcoat. The story, like all outstanding literary works, is about relationships between people. A person is known by gaining power. Some people just need to get a job...
So the new boss, who recently took up his post, poses in front of a friend, scolding Akaky Akakievich on a far-fetched pretext of mistreatment, and in general, anxiety of the highest authority on such a petty issue as some kind of overcoat. The summary of the angry tirade of the Significant Person (as it is designated by the author) comes down to a reminder of who Bashmachkin is talking to, to whom he is standing, and a rhetorical question about how he dares. At the same time, the general has his own problems, he was recently appointed, and does not know how to behave at all, which is why he spreads fear on everyone. In his heart, he was a kind, decent, good comrade, and even not stupid (in many respects).
Having received such an affront, the poor official came home, fell ill, and died, it is not clear whether it was from a cold or due to severe stress.
What the author wanted to say
The tragic ending is also characteristic of other Russian writers of the 19th and 20th centuries, who “grew up” from the same outerwear mentioned. A.P. Chekhov (“The Death of an Official”) “kills” (only without subsequent mysticism) his main character in the same way as N.V. Gogol (“The Overcoat”). An analysis of these two works, their comparison suggests the spiritual relationship of the masters of the pen and their general rejection of fear of anyone. The declaration of inner freedom became the main leitmotif of both works created on the basis of the antithesis technique. The classics seem to be telling us: “Don’t be Akaky Akakiyevich! Live boldly, do not be afraid! All problems are solved!
How strange that in the intervening decades and centuries so few have taken this call to heart.
The idea of the story "The Overcoat" arose from N.V. Gogol under the influence of a real story told to him. One poor official had been saving up money for a very expensive gun for a long time. Having bought it and went hunting, the official did not notice how the priceless purchase slipped from the boat into the river. The shock of the loss was so strong that the unlucky hunter became seriously ill. The official's health began to improve only after his friends chipped in and bought him exactly the same gun.
Gogol took this amusing incident very seriously. He knew firsthand about the hard life of poor officials. In the first years of service in St. Petersburg, the writer himself "took off the whole winter in a summer overcoat."
Combining the main idea from the story of the official with his own memories, in 1839 Gogol began work on The Overcoat. The story was finished at the beginning of 1841 and first published a year later.
The meaning of the name
The overcoat in the story is not just a piece of clothing. She practically becomes one of the heroes of the work. Not only the happiness of poor Akaky Akakievich, but even his life, turn out to be dependent on an ordinary overcoat.
The main theme of the story is the plight of petty bureaucracy.
The protagonist Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin evokes unfeigned pity. The whole life path was destined for him from birth. At baptism, the child made such a face, "as if he had a presentiment that there would be a titular adviser."
Akaky Akakievich is just a cog in a huge bureaucratic machine. The work of an official consists in the primitive rewriting of documents. Akaky Akakievich is not capable of more.
The authorities treat Bashmachkin "coldly and despotically." In addition, he serves as a constant target for jokes from colleagues. Akaky Akakievich does not react in any way to ridicule. Only in extreme cases does he plaintively ask: “Leave me, why do you offend me?”.
In the eyes of those around him, Bashmachkin's life is boring and colorless. Although the official himself sees "a diverse and pleasant world" in his rewriting of papers. Akaki Akakievich does not even notice anything around, completely immersed in his monotonous work.
The “strong enemy” of all petty officials, the Russian frost, brings Bashmachkin out of his state of detachment. Akaki Akakievich understands with horror that buying a new overcoat is a severe necessity. The required sum could be accumulated only by the most severe economy and limitation of expenses. This led Bashmachkin to an even more disastrous financial situation, but, on the other hand, gave him his first real goal in life.
Dreaming of a new greatcoat, Akaki Akakievich seemed to be born again: "he became somehow more alive, even firmer in character." “Fire was sometimes shown in the eyes” of the obedient titular adviser.
The long-awaited realization of the dream became the most significant event in the life of Akaky Akakievich - "a great solemn holiday." Thanks to an ordinary overcoat, he felt like a different person and even agreed to go to a colleague's birthday, which he never did.
The bliss of Akaky Akakievich did not last long. Being attacked at night and having lost his dream, he fell into despair. The efforts to find the criminal did not help. The only means was the help of one "significant person". However, the sharp reception given to Bashmachkin by the general killed his last hope. "Proper scolding" led to a fever and an early death.
The figure of the titular adviser was so insignificant that in the service they learned about his funeral only on the fourth day. The replacement of the place by another official was completely painless for the work of the institution.
Issues
The main problem of the story lies in the fact that in the era of Gogol a huge number of people were the same Akaki Akakievich. Their lives passed without a trace and did not represent any value. For any higher official, Akaki Akakievich is not even a person, but a submissive and defenseless executor of orders.
The bureaucratic system breeds a soulless attitude towards people. A striking example is the “significant person”. This person "compassion was ... not alien", but the position he holds kills the best feelings in him. Upon learning of the death of the poor petitioner, the general feels remorse, but it quickly passes. The ending of the story with the appearance of the ghost of an official emphasizes that in real life the death of Akaky Akakievich would not have affected the established order in any way.
Composition
The story is a life story of the official Bashmachkin, the main event in which was the purchase of a new overcoat. The end of the work is the fantastic revenge of the deceased titular adviser.
What does the author teach
Gogol knew from his own experience what a negative impact on a person his cramped financial situation has. He calls to pay attention to the downtrodden and humiliated people, to pity them and try to help, because their lives may depend on it.
History of creation
Gogol, according to the Russian philosopher N. Berdyaev, is "the most mysterious figure in Russian literature." To this day, the writer's works cause controversy. One of these works is the story "The Overcoat".
In the mid-1930s, Gogol heard a joke about an official who had lost his gun. It sounded like this: there lived one poor official, he was a passionate hunter. He saved up for a long time for a gun, which he dreamed about for a long time. His dream came true, but while sailing through the Gulf of Finland, he lost it. Returning home, the official died of frustration.
The first draft of the story was called "The Tale of the Official Stealing the Overcoat." In this version, some anecdotal motifs and comic effects were visible. The official bore the surname Tishkevich. In 1842, Gogol completes the story, changes the name of the hero. The story is being printed, completing the cycle of "Petersburg Tales". This cycle includes the stories: "Nevsky Prospekt", "The Nose", "Portrait", "Carriage", "Notes of a Madman" and "Overcoat". The writer works on the cycle between 1835 and 1842. The stories are united according to the common place of events - Petersburg. Petersburg, however, is not only a scene of action, but also a kind of hero of these stories, in which Gogol draws life in its various manifestations. Usually writers, talking about life in St. Petersburg, covered the life and characters of the capital's society. Gogol was attracted by petty officials, artisans, impoverished artists - "little people". Petersburg was not chosen by the writer by chance, it was this stone city that was especially indifferent and ruthless to the “little man”. This topic was first discovered by A.S. Pushkin. She becomes the leader in the work of N.V. Gogol.
Genus, genre, creative method
In the story "The Overcoat" the influence of hagiographic literature is visible. It is known that Gogol was an extremely religious person. Of course, he was well acquainted with this genre of church literature. Many researchers wrote about the influence of the life of St. Akakiy of Sinai on the story "The Overcoat", among which are well-known names: V.B. Shklovsky and G.P. Makogonenko. Moreover, in addition to the conspicuous outward similarity of the fates of St. Akaki and the hero Gogol were traced the main common points of plot development: obedience, stoic patience, the ability to endure various kinds of humiliation, then death from injustice and - life after death.
The genre of "The Overcoat" is defined as a story, although its volume does not exceed twenty pages. Its specific name - a story - it received not so much for its volume, but for its enormous semantic richness, which you will not find in any novel. The meaning of the work is revealed only by compositional and stylistic devices with the extreme simplicity of the plot. A simple story about a poor official who invested all his money and soul in a new overcoat, after stealing which he dies, under Gogol's pen found a mystical denouement, turned into a colorful parable with enormous philosophical overtones. "The Overcoat" is not just a diatribe-satirical story, it is a wonderful work of art that reveals the eternal problems of being, which will not be translated either in life or in literature as long as humanity exists.
Sharply criticizing the ruling system of life, its internal falsity and hypocrisy, Gogol's work suggested the need for a different life, a different social order. "Petersburg Tales" of the great writer, which includes "The Overcoat", is usually attributed to the realistic period of his work. Nevertheless, they can hardly be called realistic. The mournful tale of the stolen overcoat, according to Gogol, "unexpectedly takes on a fantastic ending." The ghost, in which the deceased Akaky Akakievich was recognized, ripped off everyone's overcoat, "without disassembling the rank and title." Thus, the ending of the story turned it into a phantasmagoria.
Subject
The story raises social, ethical, religious and aesthetic problems. Public interpretation emphasized the social side of the "Overcoat". Akaky Akakievich was seen as a typical "little man", a victim of the bureaucratic system and indifference. Emphasizing the typical fate of the "little man", Gogol says that death did not change anything in the department, Bashmachkin's place was simply taken by another official. Thus, the theme of man - the victim of the social system - is brought to its logical end.
An ethical or humanistic interpretation was based on the pitiful moments of The Overcoat, a call for generosity and equality, which was heard in Akaky Akakievich’s weak protest against clerical jokes: “Leave me, why are you offending me?” - in these penetrating words, other words rang out: "I am your brother." Finally, the aesthetic principle, which came to the fore in the works of the 20th century, focused mainly on the form of the story as the focus of its artistic value.
Idea
“Why portray poverty ... and the imperfections of our life, digging people out of life, remote nooks and crannies of the state? ... No, there is a time when otherwise it is impossible to direct society and even a generation to the beautiful, until you show the full depth of its real abomination" - wrote N.V. Gogol, and in his words lies the key to understanding the story.
The author showed the "depth of abomination" of society through the fate of the protagonist of the story - Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin. His image has two sides. The first is spiritual and physical squalor, which Gogol deliberately emphasizes and brings to the fore. The second is the arbitrariness and heartlessness of others in relation to the main character of the story. The ratio of the first and second determines the humanistic pathos of the work: even such a person as Akaky Akakievich has the right to exist and be treated fairly. Gogol sympathizes with the fate of his hero. And it makes the reader involuntarily think about the attitude to the whole world around, and first of all about the sense of dignity and respect that every person should arouse for himself, regardless of his social and financial situation, but only taking into account his personal qualities and merits.
The nature of the conflict
At the heart of N.V. Gogol lies the conflict between the "little man" and society, a conflict leading to rebellion, to the uprising of the humble. The story "The Overcoat" describes not only an incident from the life of the hero. The whole life of a person appears before us: we are present at his birth, naming him, find out how he served, why he needed an overcoat and, finally, how he died. The story of the life of the “little man”, his inner world, his feelings and experiences, depicted by Gogol not only in The Overcoat, but also in other stories of the Petersburg Tales cycle, firmly entered Russian literature of the 19th century.
Main heroes
The hero of the story is Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, a petty official of one of the St. Petersburg departments, a humiliated and disenfranchised man "short, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, somewhat even blind-sighted, with a slight bald spot on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of his cheeks." The hero of Gogol's story is offended by fate in everything, but he does not grumble: he is already over fifty, he did not go beyond the correspondence of papers, did not rise above the rank of titular councilor (a state official of the 9th class who does not have the right to acquire personal nobility - if he is not born a nobleman) - and yet humble, meek, devoid of ambitious dreams. Bashmachkin has neither family nor friends, he does not go to the theater or visit. All his "spiritual" needs are satisfied by rewriting papers: "It is not enough to say: he served zealously - no, he served with love." No one considers him a person. “Young officials laughed and made fun of him, as long as clerical wit was enough ...” Bashmachkin did not answer a single word to his offenders, did not even stop working and did not make mistakes in the letter. All his life Akaky Akakievich has served in the same place, in the same position; his salary is meager - 400 rubles. a year, the uniform has long been no longer green, but a reddish-flour color; co-workers call an overcoat worn to holes a hood.
Gogol does not hide the limitations, the scarcity of the interests of his hero, tongue-tied. But something else brings to the fore: his meekness, uncomplaining patience. Even the name of the hero carries this meaning: Akaki is humble, gentle, does no harm, innocent. The appearance of the overcoat reveals the hero's spiritual world, for the first time the hero's emotions are depicted, although Gogol does not give the character's direct speech - only a retelling. Akaky Akakievich remains wordless even at a critical moment in his life. The drama of this situation lies in the fact that no one helped Bashmachkin.
An interesting vision of the main character from the famous researcher B.M. Eikhenbaum. He saw in Bashmachkin an image that "served with love", in the rewriting "he saw some kind of diverse and pleasant world of his own", he did not think at all about his dress, about anything else practical, he ate without noticing the taste, he did not indulge in any kind of entertainment, in a word, he lived in some kind of ghostly and strange world of his own, far from reality, he was a dreamer in uniform. And it is not for nothing that his spirit, freed from this uniform, so freely and boldly develops its revenge - this is prepared by the whole story, here is its whole essence, its whole whole.
Along with Bashmachkin, the image of the overcoat plays an important role in the story. It is also quite comparable with the broad concept of “honor of the uniform”, which characterized the most important element of noble and officer ethics, to the norms of which the authorities under Nicholas I tried to attach raznochintsy and, in general, all officials.
The loss of the overcoat turns out to be not only a material, but also a moral loss for Akaky Akakievich. Indeed, thanks to the new overcoat, Bashmachkin for the first time in the departmental environment felt like a man. The new overcoat is able to save him from frost and illness, but, most importantly, it serves as protection for him from ridicule and humiliation from his colleagues. With the loss of his overcoat, Akaki Akakievich lost the meaning of life.
Plot and composition
“The plot of The Overcoat is extremely simple. The poor little official makes an important decision and orders a new overcoat. While sewing it, it turns into a dream of his life. On the very first evening when he puts it on, thieves take off his overcoat on a dark street. The official dies of grief, and his ghost roams the city. That's the whole plot, but, of course, the real plot (as always with Gogol) is in the style, in the internal structure of this ... anecdote, "- this is how V.V. retold the plot of Gogol's story. Nabokov.
Hopeless need surrounds Akaky Akakievich, but he does not see the tragedy of his situation, as he is busy with business. Bashmachkin is not burdened by his poverty, because he does not know another life. And when he has a dream - a new overcoat, he is ready to endure any hardships, if only to bring the implementation of his plans closer. The overcoat becomes a kind of symbol of a happy future, a favorite brainchild, for which Akaki Akakievich is ready to work tirelessly. The author is quite serious when he describes the delight of his hero about the realization of a dream: the overcoat is sewn! Bashmachkin was completely happy. However, with the loss of Bashmachkin's new overcoat, real grief overtakes. And only after death is justice done. Bashmachkin's soul finds peace when he returns his lost thing.
The image of the overcoat is very important in the development of the plot of the work. The plot of the plot is connected with the emergence of the idea to sew a new overcoat or repair the old one. The development of the action - Bashmachkin's trips to the tailor Petrovich, an ascetic existence and dreams of a future overcoat, buying a new dress and visiting name days, on which Akaky Akakievich's overcoat should be "washed". The action culminates in the theft of a new overcoat. And, finally, the denouement lies in Bashmachkin's unsuccessful attempts to return the overcoat; the death of a hero who has caught a cold without an overcoat and yearns for it. The story ends with an epilogue - a fantastic story about the ghost of an official who is looking for his overcoat.
The story of Akaki Akakievich's "posthumous existence" is full of horror and comedy at the same time. In the dead silence of the Petersburg night, he rips off the overcoats from officials, not recognizing the bureaucratic difference in ranks and acting both behind the Kalinkin bridge (that is, in the poor part of the capital) and in the rich part of the city. Only having overtaken the direct culprit of his death, “one significant person”, who, after a friendly bossy party, goes to “one familiar lady Karolina Ivanovna”, and, having torn off the general’s overcoat, the “spirit” of the dead Akaki Akakievich calms down, disappears from St. Petersburg squares and streets . Apparently, "the general's overcoat came to him completely on the shoulder."
Artistic originality
Gogol's composition is not determined by the plot - his plot is always poor, rather - there is no plot, but only one comic (and sometimes not even comical in itself) position is taken, serving as if only an impetus or reason for developing comic tricks. This story is especially interesting for this kind of analysis, because in it a pure comic tale, with all the methods of language play characteristic of Gogol, is combined with pathetic declamation, which forms, as it were, a second layer. Gogol allows his actors in The Overcoat to speak a little, and, as always with him, their speech is formed in a special way, so that, despite individual differences, it never gives the impression of everyday speech, ”wrote B.M. Eikhenbaum in the article "How Gogol's Overcoat" was made.
The story in "The Overcoat" is in the first person. The narrator knows the life of officials well, expresses his attitude to what is happening in the story through numerous remarks. “What to do! the St. Petersburg climate is to blame, ”he notes about the deplorable appearance of the hero. The climate forces Akaky Akakievich to go all out for the sake of buying a new overcoat, that is, in principle, directly contributes to his death. We can say that this frost is an allegory of Gogol's Petersburg.
All the artistic means that Gogol uses in the story: a portrait, an image of the details of the situation in which the hero lives, the plot of the story - all this shows the inevitability of Bashmachkin's transformation into a "little man".
The very style of narration, when a pure comic tale, built on a play on words, puns, deliberate tongue-tied tongue, is combined with an elevated pathetic recitation, is an effective artistic tool.
The meaning of the work
The great Russian critic V.G. Belinsky said that the task of poetry is "to extract the poetry of life from the prose of life and shake souls with a true image of this life." It is precisely such a writer, a writer who shakes the soul with the image of the most insignificant pictures of human existence in the world, is N.V. Gogol. According to Belinsky, the story "The Overcoat" is "one of Gogol's deepest creations."
Herzen called the "Overcoat" a "colossal work." The enormous influence of the story on the entire development of Russian literature is evidenced by the phrase recorded by the French writer Eugene de Vogüe from the words of "one Russian writer" (as is commonly believed, F.M. Dostoevsky): "We all came out of Gogol's "Overcoat".
Gogol's works were repeatedly staged and filmed. One of the last theatrical productions of The Overcoat was undertaken at the Moscow Sovremennik. On the new stage of the theatre, called "Another Stage", intended primarily for staging experimental performances, directed by Valery Fokin, "The Overcoat" was staged.
“Staging Gogol's Overcoat is my old dream. In general, I believe that there are three main works by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol - these are The Inspector General, Dead Souls and The Overcoat, - said Fokin. I had already staged the first two and dreamed of The Overcoat, but I couldn’t start rehearsing in any way, because I didn’t see the lead actor ... It always seemed to me that Bashmachkin was an unusual creature, neither feminine nor masculine, and someone here an unusual, and indeed an actor or actress, had to play such a thing, ”says the director. Fokine's choice fell on Marina Neelova. “During the rehearsal and what was happening in the process of working on the performance, I realized that Neyolova is the only actress who could do what I had in mind,” says the director. The play premiered on October 5, 2004. The scenography of the story, the performance skills of the actress M. Neelova were highly appreciated by the audience and the press.
“And here is Gogol again. Again "Contemporary". Once upon a time, Marina Neelova said that sometimes she imagines herself as a white sheet of paper, on which each director is free to depict whatever he wants - even a hieroglyph, even a drawing, even a long catchy phrase. Maybe someone will plant a blot in the heat of the moment. The viewer who looks at The Overcoat may imagine that there is no woman named Marina Mstislavovna Neelova in the world at all, that she was completely erased from the drawing paper of the universe with a soft eraser and a completely different creature was drawn instead of her. Gray-haired, thin-haired, causing in anyone who looks at him, both disgusting disgust, and magnetic cravings.
“In this series, Fokine’s “Overcoat”, which opened a new stage, looks like just an academic repertoire line. But only at first glance. Going to the performance, you can safely forget about your previous performances. For Valery Fokin, The Overcoat is not at all where all humanistic Russian literature came from, with its eternal pity for the little man. His "Overcoat" belongs to a completely different, fantastic world. His Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin is not an eternal titular adviser, not a miserable copyist who is unable to change verbs from the first person to the third, he is not even a man, but some strange neuter creature. To create such a fantastic image, the director needed an incredibly flexible and plastic actor, not only physically, but also psychologically. The director found such a universal actor, or rather, an actress, in Marina Neelova. When this clumsy, angular creature with sparse matted tufts of hair on a bald head appears on the stage, the audience unsuccessfully tries to guess at least some familiar features of the brilliant prima Sovremennik in it. In vain. Marina Neelova is not here. It seems that she physically transformed, melted into her hero. Somnambulistic, cautious and at the same time awkward old man's movements and a thin, plaintive, rattling voice. Since there is almost no text in the performance (Bashmachkin's few phrases, consisting mainly of prepositions, adverbs and other particles that have absolutely no meaning, serve rather as a speech or even sound characteristic of the character), the role of Marina Neelova practically turns into a pantomime. But the pantomime is truly mesmerizing. Her Bashmachkin settled comfortably in his old giant overcoat, as in a house: he fumbles there with a flashlight, relieves himself, settles in for the night.
The history of the creation of Gogol's work "The Overcoat"
Gogol, according to the Russian philosopher N. Berdyaev, is "the most mysterious figure in Russian literature." To this day, the writer's works cause controversy. One of these works is the story "The Overcoat".
In the mid 30s. Gogol heard a joke about an official who lost his gun. It sounded like this: there lived one poor official, he was a passionate hunter. He saved up for a long time for a gun, which he dreamed about for a long time. His dream came true, but while sailing through the Gulf of Finland, he lost it. Returning home, the official died of frustration.
The first draft of the story was called "The Tale of the Official Stealing the Overcoat." In this version, some anecdotal motifs and comic effects were visible. The official bore the surname Tishkevich. In 1842, Gogol completes the story, changes the name of the hero. The story is being printed, completing the cycle of "Petersburg Tales". This cycle includes the stories: "Nevsky Prospekt", "The Nose", "Portrait", "Carriage", "Notes of a Madman" and "Overcoat". The writer works on the cycle between 1835 and 1842. The stories are united according to the common place of events - Petersburg. Petersburg, however, is not only a scene of action, but also a kind of hero of these stories, in which Gogol draws life in its various manifestations. Usually writers, talking about life in St. Petersburg, covered the life and characters of the capital's society. Gogol was attracted by petty officials, artisans, impoverished artists - "little people". Petersburg was not chosen by the writer by chance, it was this stone city that was especially indifferent and ruthless to the “little man”. This topic was first discovered by A.S. Pushkin. She becomes the leader in the work of N.V. Gogol.
Genus, genre, creative method
An analysis of the work shows that the influence of hagiographic literature is visible in the story "The Overcoat". It is known that Gogol was an extremely religious person. Of course, he was well acquainted with this genre of church literature. Many researchers wrote about the influence of the life of St. Akakiy of Sinai on the story "The Overcoat", among which are well-known names: V.B. Shklovsky and GL. Makogonenko. Moreover, in addition to the conspicuous outward similarity of the fates of St. Akaki and the hero Gogol were traced the main common points of the plot development: obedience, stoic patience, the ability to endure various kinds of humiliation, then death from injustice and - life after death.
The genre of "The Overcoat" is defined as a story, although its volume does not exceed twenty pages. It received its specific name - a story - not so much for its volume, but for its enormous semantic richness, which you will not find in any novel. The meaning of the work is revealed only by compositional and stylistic devices with the extreme simplicity of the plot. A simple story about a poor official who invested all his money and soul in a new overcoat, after stealing which he dies, under Gogol's pen found a mystical denouement, turned into a colorful parable with enormous philosophical overtones. "The Overcoat" is not just a diatribe-satirical story, it is a wonderful work of art that reveals the eternal problems of being, which will not be translated either in life or in literature as long as humanity exists.
Sharply criticizing the ruling system of life, its internal falsity and hypocrisy, Gogol's work suggested the need for a different life, a different social order. "Petersburg Tales" of the great writer, which includes "The Overcoat", is usually attributed to the realistic period of his work. Nevertheless, they can hardly be called realistic. The mournful tale of the stolen overcoat, according to Gogol, "unexpectedly takes on a fantastic ending." The ghost, in which the deceased Akaky Akakievich was recognized, ripped off everyone's overcoat, "without disassembling the rank and title." Thus, the ending of the story turned it into a phantasmagoria.
Subject of the analyzed work
The story raises social, ethical, religious and aesthetic problems. Public interpretation emphasized the social side of the "Overcoat". Akaky Akakievich was seen as a typical "little man", a victim of the bureaucratic system and indifference. Emphasizing the typical fate of the "little man", Gogol says that death did not change anything in the department, Bashmachkin's place was simply taken by another official. Thus, the theme of man - the victim of the social system - is brought to its logical conclusion.
An ethical or humanistic interpretation was based on the pitiful moments of The Overcoat, a call for generosity and equality, which was heard in Akaky Akakievich’s weak protest against clerical jokes: “Leave me, why are you offending me?” - and in these penetrating words other words rang: "I am your brother." Finally, the aesthetic principle, which came to the fore in the works of the 20th century, focused mainly on the form of the story as the focus of its artistic value.
The idea of the story "Overcoat"
“Why, then, portray poverty ... and the imperfections of our life, digging people out of life, remote nooks and crannies of the state? ... no, there is a time when otherwise it is impossible to direct society and even a generation towards the beautiful, until you show the full depth of its real abomination, ”wrote N.V. Gogol, and in his words lies the key to understanding the story.
The author showed the "depth of abomination" of society through the fate of the main character of the story - Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin. His image has two sides. The first is spiritual and physical squalor, which Gogol deliberately emphasizes and brings to the fore. The second is the arbitrariness and heartlessness of others in relation to the protagonist of the story. The ratio of the first and second determines the humanistic pathos of the work: even such a person as Akaky Akakievich has the right to exist and be treated fairly. Gogol sympathizes with the fate of his hero. And it makes the reader involuntarily think about the attitude to the whole world around, and first of all about the sense of dignity and respect that every person should arouse for himself, regardless of his social and financial situation, but only taking into account his personal qualities and merits.
The nature of the conflict
At the heart of N.V. Gogol lies the conflict between the "little man" and society, a conflict leading to rebellion, to the uprising of the humble. The story "The Overcoat" describes not only an incident from the life of the hero. The whole life of a person appears before us: we are present at his birth, naming him, find out how he served, why he needed an overcoat and, finally, how he died. The story of the life of the “little man”, his inner world, his feelings and experiences, depicted by Gogol not only in The Overcoat, but also in other stories of the Petersburg Tales cycle, firmly entered Russian literature of the 19th century.
The main characters of the story "The Overcoat"
The hero of the story is Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, a petty official of one of the St. Petersburg departments, a humiliated and disenfranchised man "short in stature, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, somewhat even blind-sighted, with a slight bald spot on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of his cheeks." The hero of Gogol's story is offended by fate in everything, but he does not grumble: he is already over fifty, he did not go beyond the correspondence of papers, did not rise above the rank of titular councilor (a state official of the 9th class who does not have the right to acquire personal nobility - if he is not born a nobleman) - and yet humble, meek, devoid of ambitious dreams. Bashmachkin has neither family nor friends, he does not go to the theater or visit. All his "spiritual" needs are satisfied by rewriting papers: "It is not enough to say: he served zealously - no, he served with love." No one considers him a person. “Young officials laughed and made fun of him, as long as clerical wit was enough ...” Bashmachkin did not answer a single word to his offenders, did not even stop working and did not make mistakes in the letter. All his life Akaky Akakievich has served in the same place, in the same position; his salary is meager - 400 rubles. a year, the uniform has long been no longer green, but a reddish-flour color; co-workers call an overcoat worn to holes a hood.
Gogol does not hide the limitations, the scarcity of the interests of his hero, tongue-tied. But something else brings to the fore: his meekness, uncomplaining patience. Even the name of the hero carries this meaning: Akaki is humble, gentle, does no evil, innocent. The appearance of the overcoat reveals the hero's spiritual world, for the first time the hero's emotions are depicted, although Gogol does not give the character's direct speech - only a retelling. Akaky Akakievich remains wordless even at a critical moment in his life. The drama of this situation lies in the fact that no one helped Bashmachkin.
An interesting vision of the main character from the famous researcher B.M. Eikhenbaum. He saw in Bashmachkin an image that "served with love", in the rewriting "he saw some kind of diverse and pleasant world of his own", he did not think at all about his dress, about anything else practical, he ate without noticing the taste, he did not indulge in any kind of entertainment, in a word, he lived in some kind of ghostly and strange world of his own, far from reality, he was a dreamer in uniform. And it is not for nothing that his spirit, freed from this uniform, so freely and boldly develops its revenge - this is prepared by the whole story, here is its whole essence, its whole whole.
Along with Bashmachkin, the image of the overcoat plays an important role in the story. It is also quite comparable with the broad concept of “honor of the uniform”, which characterized the most important element of noble and officer ethics, to the norms of which the authorities under Nicholas I tried to attach raznochintsy and, in general, all officials.
The loss of the overcoat turns out to be not only a material, but also a moral loss for Akaky Akakievich. Indeed, thanks to the new overcoat, Bashmachkin for the first time in the departmental environment felt like a man. The new overcoat is able to save him from frost and illness, but, most importantly, it serves as protection for him from ridicule and humiliation from his colleagues. With the loss of his overcoat, Akaki Akakievich lost the meaning of life.
Plot and composition
The plot of The Overcoat is extremely simple. The poor little official makes an important decision and orders a new overcoat. While sewing it, it turns into a dream of his life. On the very first evening when he puts it on, thieves take off his overcoat on a dark street. The official dies of grief, and his ghost roams the city. That’s the whole plot, but, of course, the real plot (as always with Gogol) is in the style, in the internal structure of this ... anecdote, ”V.V. retold the plot of Gogol’s story. Nabokov.
Hopeless need surrounds Akaky Akakievich, but he does not see the tragedy of his situation, as he is busy with business. Bashmachkin is not burdened by his poverty, because he does not know another life. And when he has a dream - a new overcoat, he is ready to endure any hardships, if only to bring the implementation of his plans closer. The overcoat becomes a kind of symbol of a happy future, a favorite brainchild, for which Akaki Akakievich is ready to work tirelessly. The author is quite serious when he describes the delight of his hero about the realization of a dream: the overcoat is sewn! Bashmachkin was perfectly happy. However, with the loss of Bashmachkin's new overcoat, real grief overtakes. And only after death is justice done. Bashmachkin's soul finds peace when he returns his lost thing.
The image of the overcoat is very important in the development of the plot of the work. The plot of the plot is connected with the emergence of the idea to sew a new overcoat or repair the old one. The development of the action is Bashmachkin's trips to the tailor Petrovich, an ascetic existence and dreams of a future overcoat, the purchase of a new dress and a visit to the name day, at which Akaky Akakievich's overcoat should be “washed”. The action culminates in the theft of a new overcoat. And, finally, the denouement lies in the unsuccessful attempts of Bashmachkin to return the overcoat; the death of a hero who caught a cold without an overcoat and longing for it. The story ends with an epilogue - a fantastic story about the ghost of an official who is looking for his overcoat.
The story of Akaki Akakievich's "posthumous existence" is full of horror and comedy at the same time. In the dead silence of the Petersburg night, he rips off the overcoats from officials, not recognizing the bureaucratic difference in ranks and acting both behind the Kalinkin bridge (that is, in the poor part of the capital) and in the rich part of the city. Only having overtaken the direct culprit of his death, “one significant person”, who, after a friendly bossy party, goes to “one familiar lady Karolina Ivanovna”, and tearing off the general’s overcoat from him, the “spirit” of the dead Akaki Akakievich calms down, disappears from St. Petersburg squares and streets. Apparently, "the general's overcoat came to him completely on the shoulder."
Artistic originality
Gogol's composition is not determined by the plot - his plot is always poor, rather - there is no plot, but only one comic (and sometimes not even comical in itself) situation is taken, which serves as if only an impetus or reason for developing comic tricks. This story is especially interesting for this kind of analysis, because in it a pure comic tale, with all the methods of language play characteristic of Gogol, is combined with pathetic declamation, which forms, as it were, a second layer. Gogol does not allow his characters in The Overcoat to speak much, and, as always with him, their speech is formed in a special way, so that, despite individual differences, it never gives the impression of everyday speech, ”wrote B.M. Eikhenbaum in the article "How Gogol's Overcoat" was made.
The story in "The Overcoat" is in the first person. The narrator knows the life of officials well, expresses his attitude to what is happening in the story through numerous remarks. “What to do! the Petersburg climate is to blame, ”he notes about the deplorable appearance of the hero. The climate forces Akaky Akakievich to go to great lengths for the sake of buying a new overcoat, that is, in principle, directly contributes to his death. We can say that this frost is an allegory of Gogol's Petersburg.
All the artistic means that Gogol uses in the story: a portrait, an image of the details of the situation in which the hero lives, the plot of the story - all this shows the inevitability of Bashmachkin's transformation into a "little man".
The very style of narration, when a pure comic tale, built on a play on words, puns, deliberate tongue-tied tongue, is combined with an elevated pathetic recitation, is an effective artistic tool.
The meaning of the work
The great Russian critic V.G. Belinsky said that the task of poetry is "to extract the poetry of life from the prose of life and shake souls with a true image of this life." It is precisely such a writer, a writer who shakes the soul with the image of the most insignificant pictures of human existence in the world, is N.V. Gogol. According to Belinsky, the story "The Overcoat" is "one of Gogol's deepest creations." Herzen called "The Overcoat" "a colossal work." The enormous influence of the story on the entire development of Russian literature is evidenced by the phrase recorded by the French writer Eugene de Vogüe from the words of "one Russian writer" (as is commonly believed, F.M. Dostoevsky): "We all came out of Gogol's "Overcoat".
Gogol's works were repeatedly staged and filmed. One of the last theatrical productions of The Overcoat was undertaken at the Moscow Sovremennik. On the new stage of the theatre, called "Another Stage", intended primarily for staging experimental performances, directed by Valery Fokin, "The Overcoat" was staged.
“Staging Gogol's Overcoat is my old dream. In general, I believe that there are three main works by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol - these are The Inspector General, Dead Souls and The Overcoat, ”said Fokin. - I already staged the first two and dreamed of The Overcoat, but I couldn’t start rehearsing in any way, because I didn’t see the lead actor ... It always seemed to me that Bashmachkin is an unusual creature, neither feminine nor masculine, and someone then here it was supposed to be played by an unusual, and indeed an actor or actress, ”says the director. Fokine's choice fell on Marina Neelova. “During the rehearsal and what was happening in the process of working on the performance, I realized that Neyolova is the only actress who could do what I was thinking,” says the director. The play premiered on October 5, 2004. The scenography of the story, the performance skills of the actress M. Neelova were highly appreciated by the audience and the press.
“And here is Gogol again. Again "Contemporary". Once upon a time, Marina Neyolova said that sometimes she imagines herself as a white sheet of paper, on which each director is free to depict whatever he wants - even a hieroglyph, even a drawing, even a long catchy phrase. Maybe someone will plant a blot in the heat of the moment. The viewer who looks at The Overcoat may imagine that there is no woman named Marina Mstislavovna Neelova in the world at all, that she was completely erased from the drawing paper of the universe with a soft eraser and a completely different creature was drawn instead of her. Gray-haired, thin-haired, causing in anyone who looks at him, both disgusting disgust, and magnetic cravings.
(Newspaper, October 6, 2004)
“In this series, Fokine’s “Overcoat”, which opened a new stage, looks like just an academic repertoire line. But only at first glance. Going to the performance, you can safely forget about your previous performances. For Valery Fokin, "The Overcoat" is not at all where all humanistic Russian literature came from, with its eternal pity for the little man. His "Overcoat" belongs to a completely different, fantastic world. His Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin is not an eternal titular adviser, not a miserable copyist who is unable to change verbs from the first person to the third, he is not even a man, but some strange creature of the middle gender. To create such a fantastic image, the director needed an incredibly flexible and plastic actor, not only physically, but also psychologically. Such a universal actor, or rather an actress, the director found in Marina Neelova. When this clumsy, angular creature with sparse matted tufts of hair on a bald head appears on the stage, the audience unsuccessfully tries to guess at least some familiar features of the brilliant prima Sovremennik in it. In vain. Marina Neelova is not here. It seems that she physically transformed, melted into her hero. Somnambulistic, cautious and at the same time awkward old man's movements and a thin, plaintive, rattling voice. Since there is almost no text in the performance (Bashmachkin's few phrases, consisting mainly of prepositions, adverbs and other particles that have absolutely no meaning, serve rather as a speech or even sound characteristic of the character), the role of Marina Neelova practically turns into a pantomime. But the pantomime is truly mesmerizing. Her Bashmachkin settled comfortably in his old giant overcoat, as in a house: he fumbles there with a flashlight, relieves himself, settles in for the night.
(Kommersant, October 6, 2004)
This is interesting
“As part of the Chekhov Festival, on the Small Stage of the Pushkin Theatre, where puppet performances often go on tour, and only 50 people fit in the audience, the Chilean Theater of Miracles played Gogol’s “The Overcoat”. We don’t know anything about the puppet theater in Chile, so we could expect something very exotic, but in fact it turned out that there is nothing special foreign in it - it’s just a small good performance made sincerely, with love and without any special ambitions. It was only funny that the heroes here are called exclusively by their patronymics, and all these “Buenos Dias, Akakievich” and “Por Favor, Petrovich” sounded comical.
Theater "Milagros" is a sociable affair. It was created in 2005 by the famous Chilean TV presenter Alina Kuppernheim along with her classmates. Young women say that they fell in love with The Overcoat, which is not very famous in Chile (where the Nose, it turns out, is more famous there), while still studying, and all of them studied as drama theater actresses. Deciding to make a puppet theater, for two whole years they composed everything together, adapted the story themselves, came up with scenography, and made puppets.
The portal of the theater "Milagros" - a plywood house, where four puppeteers are just placed, was placed in the middle of the Pushkinsky stage and closed a small curtain-screen. The play itself is played in a “black office” (puppeteers dressed in black almost disappear against the backdrop of a black velvet backdrop), but the action began with a video on the screen. First, there is a white silhouette animation - little Akakievich grows up, he gets all the bumps, and he wanders - long, thin, nosy, hunching more and more against the background of conditional Petersburg. The animation is replaced by a ragged video - the crackling and noise of the office, flocks of typewriters fly across the screen (several eras are deliberately mixed here). And then through the screen in a spot of light, the red-haired Akakievich himself, with deep bald patches, gradually appears at a table with papers that everyone brings and brings to him.
In fact, the most important thing in the Chilean performance is the thin Akakievich with long and awkward arms and legs. Several puppeteers lead it at once, someone is responsible for the hands, someone for the legs, but the audience does not notice this, they just see how the puppet becomes alive. Here he scratches himself, rubs his eyes, groans, with pleasure straightens his stiff members, kneading every bone, here he carefully examines the network of holes in the old overcoat, ruffled, trampling in the cold and rubbing his frozen hands. This is a great art to work so harmoniously with a puppet, few people master it; Quite recently, at the Golden Mask, we saw a production by one of our best puppet directors, who knows how such miracles are done - Evgeny Ibragimov, who staged Gogol's The Gamblers in Tallinn.
There are other characters in the play: colleagues and bosses looking out of the doors and windows of the stage, a small red-nosed fat man Petrovich, a gray-haired Significant person sitting at a table on a dais - all of them are also expressive, but they cannot be compared with Akakievich. With the way he humbles himself humbly and timidly in Petrovich's house, how later, having received his lingonberry-colored overcoat, he giggles in embarrassment, twists his head, calling himself handsome, like an elephant on parade. And it seems that the wooden doll even smiles. This transition from jubilation to terrible grief, which is so difficult for "live" actors, comes out very naturally with the doll.
During the holiday party hosted by colleagues to "sprinkle" the hero's new overcoat, a glittering carousel spun on the stage and small flat dolls made from cut out old photographs twirled in a dance. Akakievich, who used to worry that he couldn’t dance, returns from the party, full of happy impressions, as if from a disco, continuing to make knees and sing: “boo-boo-to-do-to-do.” This is a long, funny and touching episode. And then unknown hands beat him and take off his overcoat. Further, much more will happen with running around the authorities: the Chileans unfolded several Gogol lines into a whole anti-bureaucratic video episode with a map of the city, which shows how officials drive a poor hero from one to another, trying to return his overcoat.
Only the voices of Akakievich and those who are trying to get rid of him are heard: “You are on this issue with Gomez. - Gomez, please. - Do you want Pedro or Pablo? “Should I be Pedro or Pablo?” — Julio! - Please, Julio Gomez. “You go to another department.”
But no matter how inventive all these scenes may be, the meaning is still in the red-haired sad hero who returns home, lies down in bed and, pulling on the blanket, for a long time, sick and tormented by sorrowful thoughts, tossing and turning and trying to nest comfortably. Quite alive and desperately lonely.
(“Vremya novostei” 06/24/2009)
Bely A. Gogol's Mastery. M., 1996.
Mannyu. Poetics of Gogol. M., 1996.
Markovich V.M. Petersburg stories N.V. Gogol. L., 1989.
Mochulsky KV. Gogol. Solovyov. Dostoevsky. M., 1995.
Nabokov V.V. Lectures on Russian literature. M., 1998.
Nikolaev D. Gogol's satire. M., 1984.
Shklovsky V.B. Notes on the prose of Russian classics. M., 1955.
Eikhenbaum BM. About prose. L., 1969.
He became the most mysterious Russian writer. In this article, we will analyze the analysis of the story "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol, trying to penetrate the subtle intricacies of the plot, and Gogol is a master in building such plots. Do not forget that you can also read the summary of the story "The Overcoat".
The story "The Overcoat" is a story about one "little man" named Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin. He served as the simplest copyist in an unremarkable county town, in the office. However, the reader can think about what the meaning of a person’s life may be, and one cannot do without a thoughtful approach, which is why we are analyzing the story “The Overcoat”.
The main character "Overcoat"
So, the main character Akaki Bashmachkin was a "little man". This concept is widely used in Russian literature. However, his character, way of life, values and attitude attract more attention. He doesn't need anything. He detachedly looks at what is happening around him, there is emptiness inside him, and in fact, his slogan in life is: "Please leave me alone." Are there such people today? All around. And they are not interested in the reaction of others, they care little about what anyone thinks about them. But is it right?
For example, Akaki Bashmachkin. He often hears ridicule addressed to him by fellow officials. They tease him, saying hurtful words and competing in wit. Sometimes Bashmachkin will remain silent, and sometimes, raising his eyes, he will answer: "Why is that?". Making an analysis of this side of the "Overcoat", the problem of social tension becomes visible.
Bashmachkin's character
Akaki passionately loved his work, and this was the main thing in his life. He was engaged in rewriting documents, and his work could always be called neat, clean, done with diligence. And what did this petty official do at home in the evenings? After dinner at home, after returning from work, Akaky Akakievich paced up and down the room, slowly living through long minutes and hours. Then he sank into an armchair and throughout the evening he could be caught writing another scribble.
An analysis of the story "The Overcoat" by Gogol includes an important conclusion: when the meaning of a person's life in work is petty and bleak. Here is another confirmation of this idea.
Then, after such leisure activities, Bashmachkin goes to bed, but what are his thoughts in bed about? About what he will copy in the service in the office tomorrow. He thought about it, and it pleased him. The meaning of the life of this official, who was a "little man" and who was already in his sixties, was the most primitive: take paper, dip a pen into the inkwell and endlessly write - carefully and with zeal. However, another goal in the life of Akaki, nevertheless, appeared.
Other details of the analysis of the story "The Overcoat"
Akakiy had a very small salary in the service. He was paid thirty-six rubles a month, and almost all of them went to food and housing. Here came the harsh winter - an icy wind blew and frost hit. And Bashmachkin walks in worn-out clothes that cannot warm on a frosty day. Here Nikolai Gogol very accurately describes the situation of Akaki, his old shabby overcoat, and the actions of the official.
Akaki Akakievich decides to go to the workshop to repair his overcoat. He asks the tailor to fix the holes, but he announces that the overcoat cannot be repaired, and there is only one way out - to purchase a new one. For this thing he calls porn a gigantic sum (for Akaki) - eighty rubles. Bashmachkin does not have such money, he will have to save it, and for this it is worth entering a very economical mode of life. Analyzing here, one might think why this "little man" goes to such extremes: he stops drinking tea in the evenings, once again does not give his laundry to the laundress, walks so that his shoes are less washed ... Is it really all for the sake of a new overcoat, which he wears? then lose? But this is his new joy in life, his goal. Gogol tries to encourage the reader to think about what is most important in life, what to give priority to.
conclusions
We have briefly examined the plot incompletely, but have singled out from it only those details that are necessary in order to make a clear analysis of the story "The Overcoat". The main character is spiritually and physically untenable. He does not strive for the best, his condition is poor, he is not a person. After another goal appears in life, different from rewriting papers, it seems to change. Now Akaki is focused on buying an overcoat.
Gogol shows us the other side. How heartlessly and unfairly others treat Bashmachkin. He suffers ridicule and bullying. In addition, the meaning of his life disappears after Akaki's new overcoat is taken away. He loses his last joy, again Bashmachkin is sad and lonely.
Here, during the analysis, Gogol's goal is visible - to show the harsh truth of that time. "Little people" were destined to suffer and die, they were of no use to anyone and uninteresting. Just as the death of the Shoemaker did not interest his entourage and those who could help him.
You have read a brief analysis of the story "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol. In our literary blog you will find many articles on various topics, including analyzes of works.
