In his short story “The Overcoat”, Nikolai Gogol revealed tragedies as well as satirical jokes by imagining a wide range of roles that an overcoat can fulfill in a world oppressive, bureaucratic, and a strongly materialistic society. Without losing humor, he showed his reader different perceptions of the overcoat as a simple necessity for a decent life, an object beyond admiration, a tenuous link between a man and his "brother" (Gogol, 29 years old), and maybe even worse. , a cause of the rage of ghosts. However, along with these playful exaggerations, Gogol also transforms the overcoat into a motif that expresses his serious concerns for the well-being of humanity, and ultimately these concerns also stand out among all the comedies in his tale. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay To set the tragic tone of the story, Gogol appears to his reader as an omniscient and anonymous third-person narrator who observes the parallels between Akaky Akakievich, a poor employee, and his worn overcoat, which often represents his image in society. The narrator notices that Akaky's overcoat is mocked by others as it becomes "worn" (Gogol, 5), and to keep it from falling apart, Akaky must use his collar to repair any further damage. In "The Overcoat", such a strange and absolutely "zero-sum" way of making, in addition to explaining the variegated appearance and reduced collar of Akaky's overcoat, also seems to reflect a typical motif of the deprived life of 'Akaky. Indeed, while the hemorrhoidal complexion of Akaky's face reminds the narrator of Akaky's birth into a modest family, his low rank and his old age, the narrator exclaims "No help!" » (Gogol, 1) not only out of sympathy for Akaky's physical appearance, but rather because he realizes that in a society that depends on the virtue of rank, family influence and perhaps also good physical appearance, there is simply no way for Akaky to progress in his life. Within such a society, Akaky's only merit is his careful writing, and as the story develops, the narrator suggests that Akaky's life has become as hopeless as his broken overcoat, especially when Akaky finds it impossible to progress in his life. compensate for all his inherent disadvantages by working diligently as a copy clerk: as this type of role is almost negligible within his company, his achievements are generally not recognized. So, from the narrator's point of view, Akaky's hard work only further degrades his life, and so it is nothing better than mending the collar of an overcoat. Furthermore, by revealing Akaky's reluctance to transform a third-person document into a first-person letter, the narrator also attested to the demeaning effect that Akaky's work had on him. The narrator describes Akaky's obsession with his copying work as his desperate recourse to avoid any further misfortune in his life. From there, the narrator comes to the taciturn conclusion that Akaky is so oppressed by society that he doesn't even have the courage to tell his own story or write anything resembling it, and as most people around Akaky are unaware of his dwindling existence. , the narrator also wonders if the individuals who share Akaky's suffering will ever be known to their fellow men if he has not taken the trouble to include any of them in his story. The irony of Gogol's narration comes not only from his mockery of the old overcoat, but also from his factual description and facetious dramatizations of theAkaky's new overcoat. Gogol devoted much of his story to emphasizing the pragmatic appeal of a new overcoat for Akaky. Through the cold and merciless voice of the narrator, Gogol unquestionably states that Akaky needs a new overcoat to survive the harsh winter and protect himself from the contemptuous remarks of his colleagues. Gogol describes how Akaky's frequent visits to the tailor Petrovich and his persistent endurance through months of hardship, with a clear vision of an ultimate goal in mind, finally afforded him the luxury of a new overcoat. To give the story a more realistic feel, Gogol even describes every detail of the new overcoat, such as its material, its shiny and attractive texture, and its sturdy quality, as if every aspect of the new overcoat had been carefully considered since the point of view of Akaky in the story. What concerns Gogol, however, is certainly more than reality: after venturing into Akaky's earthly life, he immediately creates a stark contrast between Akaky's physical and spiritual world by transforming the materialistic image of an ordinary overcoat into something. much more edifying in the story. For example, in a rather oxymoronic sense, Gogol describes Akaky's efforts to acquire a new overcoat as an effort by which he "nourished himself spiritually" (Gogol, 10), which only seems to indicate the extent to which his life would become aimless without the ordeal. a new overcoat. To further exaggerate the unusual importance of an overcoat, Gogol also mentions Akaky's enthusiastic colleagues, who suddenly become friendly towards Akaky, begin to congratulate Akaky on his new overcoat and are even ready to throw a party for it, as if they were. enchanted by a magical power and all confused the overcoat with Akaky's wedding ring. Apparently, expanding the role of an overcoat far beyond what is usual in Akaky's life, or rather, endowing him with the ability to perform all sorts of miracles, Gogol told a slightly absurd story, but with all these absurdities as intentional contradictions. to reality, Gogol also illustrates the limits of materialism without being didactic for his reader. Towards the end of the story, as Akaky's new overcoat disappears along with his "brotherly" relationship between his colleagues, Akaky is once again plunged into his deep abyss. of misery. Gogol shows that Akaky's abundance of material wealth in fact neither truly dissolved his isolation from other humans nor enriched him spiritually nor provided him with any happiness other than the satisfaction of his most human needs. fundamental. So, as in Gogol's story, a perhaps somewhat mystical overcoat, turns out to be nothing more than an overcoat, the reader can also clearly feel that even if Akaky's new overcoat n If ever stolen, he would still be left with a tragic and unfulfilling life. - if an overcoat was all Akaky had asked for, or, sadly, if it was the most precious gift the world could give him. In addition to recounting Akaky's particular grievance, Gogol also adds a rather fantastic ending to his story by reporting the thefts of several other overcoats. , all of which further resonates with his discontent against a corrupt and oppressive society, even though all these incidents are insignificant compared to Akaky's immense misfortunes throughout his life. Towards the end of the story, Akaky is single-mindedly focused on finding his new overcoat, and he doesn't notice his other losses at all until he meets the "important person" (Gogol, 16), someone who would rather entertain. his friend out of boredom rather than hearing Akaky's complaints. Although this may”.