What is the main idea of the story The Overcoat. Analysis of “The Overcoat” Gogol

History of creation

In the mid-30s, Gogol heard a joke about an official who had lost his gun. It sounded like this: there lived one poor official who was a passionate hunter. He saved for a long time for a gun, which he had long dreamed of. His dream came true, but, sailing across 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 an Official Stealing an Overcoat.” In this version, some anecdotal motives and comic effects were visible. The official's last name was Tishkevich. In 1842, Gogol completed the story and changed the hero's surname. The story is published, completing the cycle of “Petersburg Tales”. This cycle includes the stories: “Nevsky Prospekt”, “The Nose”, “Portrait”, “The Stroller”, “Notes of a Madman” and “The Overcoat”. The writer worked on the cycle between 1835 and 1842. The stories are united based on a common place of events - St. Petersburg. Petersburg, however, is not only the place of action, but also a kind of hero of these stories, in which Gogol depicts life in its various manifestations. Typically, writers, when talking about St. Petersburg life, illuminated the life and characters of the capital's society. Gogol was attracted to petty officials, artisans, and poor artists - “little people.” It was no coincidence that St. Petersburg was chosen by the writer; it was this stone city that was especially indifferent and merciless to the “little man.” This topic was first opened by A.S. Pushkin. She becomes the leader in the work of N.V. Gogol.

Genre, genre, creative method

The story “The Overcoat” shows the influence of hagiographic literature. It is known that Gogol was an extremely religious person. Of course, he was well acquainted with this genre of church literature. Many researchers have written about the influence of the life of St. Akaki of Sinai on the story “The Overcoat,” including famous names: V.B. Shklovsky and G.P. Makogonenko. Moreover, in addition to the striking external similarity of the destinies of St. Akaki and Gogol's hero 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. It received its specific name - a story - not so much for its volume, but for its enormous semantic richness, which is not found in every novel. The meaning of the work is revealed only by compositional and stylistic techniques with the extreme simplicity of the plot. A simple story about a poor official who invested all his money and soul into a new overcoat, after the theft of which he dies, under the pen of Gogol found a mystical denouement and turned into a colorful parable with enormous philosophical overtones. “The Overcoat” is not just an accusatory satirical story, it is a wonderful work of art that reveals the eternal problems of existence that will not be translated either in life or in literature as long as humanity exists.

Sharply criticizing the dominant system of life, its internal falsehood and hypocrisy, Gogol’s work suggested the need for a different life, a different social structure. The great writer’s “Petersburg Tales,” which include “The Overcoat,” are usually attributed to the realistic period of his work. Nevertheless, they can hardly be called realistic. The sad story about the stolen overcoat, according to Gogol, “unexpectedly takes on a fantastic ending.” The ghost, in whom the deceased Akaki Akakievich was recognized, tore off everyone’s greatcoat, “without discerning rank and title.” Thus, the ending of the story turned it into a phantasmagoria.

Subjects

The ethical or humanistic interpretation was built on the pitiful moments of “The Overcoat”, the call for generosity and equality, which was heard in Akaki Akakievich’s weak protest against office jokes: “Leave me alone, 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.

Idea

“Why depict poverty... and the imperfections of our life, digging people out of life, the remote corners 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 - Akaki 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 towards the main character of the story. The relationship between the first and second determines the humanistic pathos of the work: even a person like Akaki 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 towards the entire world around him, and, first of all, about the sense of dignity and respect that every person should arouse towards himself, regardless of his social and financial status, but only taking into account his personal qualities and merits.

Nature of the conflict

The idea is based on N.V. Gogol lies in 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 hero’s life. The whole life of a person appears before us: we are present at his birth, the naming of his name, we learn 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” series, became firmly entrenched in Russian literature of the 19th century.

Main characters

Gogol does not hide the limitations, scarcity of interests of his hero, and tongue-tiedness. But something else comes to the fore: his meekness, uncomplaining patience. Even the name of the hero carries this meaning: Akaki is humble, gentle, does not do 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. Akaki Akakievich remains speechless even at the critical moment of 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 varied and pleasant world of his own,” he did not think at all about his dress or anything else practical, he ate without noticing the taste, he did not indulge in any entertainment, in a word, he lived in some kind of ghostly and strange world, far from reality, he was a dreamer in uniform. And it’s 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 an overcoat plays an important role in the story. It is also fully correlated with the broad concept of “uniform honor,” which characterized the most important element of noble and officer ethics, to the norms of which the authorities under Nicholas I tried to introduce commoners and all officials in general.

The loss of his overcoat turns out to be not only a material, but also a moral loss for Akaki Akakievich. After all, thanks to the new overcoat, Bashmachkin felt like a human being for the first time in a departmental environment. The new overcoat can 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

Hopeless need surrounds Akaki Akakievich, but he does not see the tragedy of his situation, since he is busy with business. Bashmachkin is not burdened by his poverty because he does not know any other life. And when he has a dream - a new overcoat, he is ready to endure any hardships, just to bring the realization of his plans closer. The overcoat becomes a kind of symbol of a happy future, a beloved brainchild, for which Akaki Akakievich is ready to work tirelessly. The author is quite serious when he describes his hero’s delight at realizing his dream: the overcoat is sewn! Bashmachkin was completely happy. However, with the loss of his new overcoat, Bashmachkin is overtaken by real grief. And only after death is justice done. Bashmachkin's soul finds peace when he returns his lost item.

The image of the overcoat is very important in the development of the plot of the work. The plot of the story revolves around the idea of sewing a new overcoat or repairing an 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, on which Akaki Akakievich’s overcoat must be “washed.” The action culminates in the theft of a new overcoat. And finally, the denouement lies in Bashmachkin’s unsuccessful attempts to return his overcoat; the death of the hero, who caught a cold without his 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 about the “posthumous existence” of Akaki Akakievich is full of horror and comedy at the same time. In the deathly silence of the St. Petersburg night, he tears off the greatcoats from officials, not recognizing the bureaucratic difference in ranks and operating 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 official party, goes to “a certain lady Karolina Ivanovna”, and, having torn off his general’s greatcoat, the “spirit” of the dead Akaki Akakievich calms down, disappears from St. Petersburg squares and streets . Apparently, “the general’s overcoat suited him perfectly.”

Artistic originality

“Gogol’s composition is not determined by the plot - his plot is always poor, rather, there is no plot at all, but only one comic (and sometimes not even comic in itself at all) position is taken, which serves, as it were, only as an impetus or reason for the development comic techniques. This story is especially interesting for this kind of analysis, because in it a pure comic tale, with all the techniques of language play characteristic of Gogol, is combined with pathetic declamation, forming, as it were, a second layer. Gogol allows his characters 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 narration in “The Overcoat” is told in the first person. The narrator knows the life of officials well and 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 regarding the hero’s deplorable appearance. The climate forces Akaki Akakievich to go to great lengths to buy 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: portrait, depiction of details of the environment in which the hero lives, the plot of the story - all this shows the inevitability of Bashmachkin’s transformation into a “little man.”

The style of storytelling itself, when a pure comic tale, built on wordplay, puns, and deliberate tongue-tiedness, is combined with sublime, pathetic declamation, is an effective artistic means.

Meaning of the work

Gogol's works have been 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, “The Overcoat” was staged by director Valery Fokin.

“Staging Gogol’s “The Overcoat” has been my long-time 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 because I didn’t see the leading 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 this,” says the director. Fokin's choice fell on Marina Neelova. “During the rehearsal and in what happened during the work on the play, I realized that Neelova was the only actress who could do what I had in mind,” says the director. The play premiered on October 5, 2004. The set design of the story and the performing skills of actress M. Neyolova were highly appreciated by the audience and the press.

“And here is Gogol again. Sovremennik again. Once upon a time, Marina Neelova said that she sometimes imagines herself as a white sheet of paper, on which every director is free to depict whatever he wants - even a hieroglyph, even a drawing, even a long, tricky phrase. Maybe someone will imprison a blot in the heat of the moment. A viewer who looks at “The Overcoat” may imagine that there is no woman named Marina Mstislavovna Neyolova in the world, that she was completely erased from the drawing paper of the universe with a soft eraser and a completely different creature was drawn in her place. Gray-haired, thin-haired, evoking in everyone who looks at him both disgusting disgust and magnetic attraction.”

“In this series, Fokine’s “The Overcoat”, which opened a new stage, looks like just an academic repertoire line. But only at first glance. Going to a performance, you can safely forget about your previous ideas. For Valery Fokin, “The Overcoat” is not at all where all humanistic Russian literature with its eternal pity for the little man came from. His “Overcoat” belongs to a completely different, fantastic world. His Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin is not an eternal titular adviser, not a wretched copyist, unable to change verbs from the first person to the third, he is not even a man, but some strange creature of the neuter gender. To create such a fantastic image, the director needed an actor who was incredibly flexible and flexible, not only physically, but also psychologically. The director found such a versatile actor, or rather actress, in Marina Neelova. When this gnarled, angular creature with sparse tangled tufts of hair on his bald head appears on stage, the audience unsuccessfully tries to guess in him at least some familiar features of the brilliant prima “Contemporary”. In vain. Marina Neelova is not here. It seems that she has 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 play (Bashmachkin’s few phrases, consisting mainly of prepositions, adverbs and other particles that absolutely do not have any meaning, serve rather as a speech or even sound characteristic of the character), the role of Marina Neyolova practically turns into a pantomime. But the pantomime is truly fascinating. Her Bashmachkin settled comfortably in his old giant overcoat, as if in a house: he fiddles around there with a flashlight, relieves himself, and settles down for the night.”

Can one small work revolutionize literature? Yes, Russian literature knows such a precedent. This is a story by N.V. Gogol's "The Overcoat". The work was very popular among contemporaries, caused a lot of controversy, and the Gogolian direction developed among Russian writers until the mid-20th century. What is this great book? About this in our article.

The book is part of a series of works written in the 1830s-1840s. and united by a common name - “Petersburg Tales”. The story of Gogol's "The Overcoat" goes back to an anecdote about a poor official who had a great passion for hunting. Despite the small salary, the ardent fan set himself a goal: at all costs to buy a Lepage gun, one of the best at that time. The official denied himself everything in order to save money, and finally he bought the coveted trophy and went to the Gulf of Finland to shoot birds.

The hunter set sail in the boat, was about to take aim, but did not find a gun. It probably fell out of the boat, but how remains a mystery. The hero of the story himself admitted that he was in a kind of oblivion when he anticipated the treasured prey. Returning home, he fell ill with a fever. Fortunately, everything ended well. The sick official was saved by his colleagues who bought him a new gun of the same type. This story inspired the author to create the story “The Overcoat”.

Genre and direction

N.V. Gogol is one of the most prominent representatives of critical realism in Russian literature. With his prose, the writer sets a special direction, sarcastically called “Natural School” by the critic F. Bulgarin. This literary vector is characterized by an appeal to acute social themes relating to poverty, morality, and class relations. Here the image of the “little man”, which became traditional for writers of the 19th century, is actively being developed.

A narrower direction characteristic of “Petersburg Tales” is fantastic realism. This technique allows the author to influence the reader in the most effective and original way. It is expressed in a mixture of fiction and reality: the real in the story “The Overcoat” is the social problems of Tsarist Russia (poverty, crime, inequality), and the fantastic is the ghost of Akaki Akakievich, who robs passers-by. Dostoevsky, Bulgakov and many other followers of this trend turned to the mystical principle.

The genre of the story allows Gogol to succinctly, but quite clearly, illuminate several plot lines, identify many current social themes, and even include the motif of the supernatural in his work.

Composition

The composition of “The Overcoat” is linear; an introduction and an epilogue can be designated.

The story begins with a unique writer's discussion about the city, which is an integral part of all “Petersburg Tales”. This is followed by a biography of the main character, which is typical for the authors of the “natural school”. It was believed that these data help to better reveal the image and explain the motivation for certain actions.
Exposition - a description of the situation and position of the hero.
The plot occurs at the moment when Akaki Akakievich decides to acquire a new overcoat; this intention continues to move the plot until the climax - a happy acquisition.
The second part is devoted to the search for the overcoat and the exposure of senior officials.
The epilogue, where the ghost appears, brings this part full circle: first the thieves go after Bashmachkin, then the policeman goes after the ghost. Or maybe behind a thief?

About what?

One poor official Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, due to severe frosts, finally dares to buy himself a new overcoat. The hero denies himself everything, skimps on food, tries to walk more carefully on the pavement so as not to change his soles again. By the required time, he manages to accumulate the required amount, and soon the desired overcoat is ready.

But the joy of possession does not last long: that same evening, when Bashmachkin was returning home after a festive dinner, robbers took the object of his happiness from the poor official. The hero is trying to fight for his overcoat, he goes through several levels: from a private person to a significant person, but no one cares about his loss, no one is going to look for the robbers. After a visit to the general, who turned out to be a rude and arrogant man, Akaki Akakievich came down with a fever and soon died.

But the story "takes on a fantastic ending." The spirit of Akaki Akakievich wanders around St. Petersburg, who wants to take revenge on his offenders, and, mainly, he is looking for a significant person. One evening, the ghost catches the arrogant general and takes away his overcoat, which is where he calms down.

The main characters and their characteristics

The main character of the story is Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin. From the moment of birth it was clear that a difficult, unhappy life awaited him. The midwife predicted this, and the baby himself, when born, “cried and made such a grimace, as if he had a presentiment that there would be a titular councilor.” This is the so-called “little man,” but his character is contradictory and goes through certain stages of development.
Overcoat image works to reveal the potential of this seemingly modest character. A new thing dear to the heart makes the hero obsessed, as if an idol controls him. The little official shows such persistence and activity that he never showed during his life, and after death he completely decides to take revenge and keeps St. Petersburg at bay.
The role of the overcoat in Gogol's story it is difficult to overestimate. Her image develops in parallel with the main character: the holey overcoat is a modest person, the new one is the proactive and happy Bashmachkin, the general’s is an omnipotent spirit, terrifying.
Image of St. Petersburg in the story it is presented completely differently. This is not a lush capital with elegant carriages and flowery front doors, but a cruel city, with its fierce winter, unhealthy climate, dirty staircases and dark alleys.

Themes

The life of a little man is the main theme of the story “The Overcoat”, so it is presented quite vividly. Bashmachkin does not have a strong character or special talents; higher-ranking officials allow themselves to manipulate him, ignore him, or scold him. And the poor hero only wants to regain what belongs to him by right, but significant persons and the big world have no time for the problems of a little man.
The contrast between the real and the fantastic allows us to show the versatility of Bashmachkin’s image. In the harsh reality, he will never reach the selfish and cruel hearts of those in power, but by becoming a powerful spirit, he can at least take revenge for his offense.
The running theme of the story is immorality. People are valued not for their skill, but for their rank, a significant person is by no means an exemplary family man, he is cold towards his children and seeks entertainment on the side. He allows himself to be an arrogant tyrant, forcing those of lower rank to grovel.
The satirical nature of the story and the absurdity of the situations allow Gogol to most expressively point out social vices. For example, no one is going to look for the missing overcoat, but there is a decree to catch the ghost. This is how the author exposes the inactivity of the St. Petersburg police.

Issues

The problems of the story “The Overcoat” are very broad. Here Gogol raises questions concerning both society and the inner world of man.

The main problem of the story is humanism, or rather, the lack of it. All the heroes of the story are cowardly and selfish, they are incapable of empathy. Even Akaki Akakievich does not have any spiritual goal in life, does not strive to read or be interested in art. He is driven only by the material component of existence. Bashmachkin does not recognize himself as a victim in the Christian sense. He has fully adapted to his miserable existence, the character does not know forgiveness and is only capable of revenge. The hero cannot even find peace after death until he fulfills his base plan.
Indifference. Colleagues are indifferent to Bashmachkin’s grief, and a significant person is trying by all means known to him to drown out any manifestations of humanity in himself.
The problem of poverty is touched upon by Gogol. A person who performs his duties approximately and diligently does not have the opportunity to update his wardrobe as needed, while careless flatterers and dandies are successfully promoted, have luxurious dinners and arrange evenings.
The problem of social inequality is highlighted in the story. The general treats the titular councilor like a flea that he can crush. Bashmachkin becomes shy in front of him, loses the ability to speak, and a significant person, not wanting to lose his appearance in the eyes of his colleagues, humiliates the poor petitioner in every possible way. Thus, he shows his power and superiority.

What is the meaning of the story?

The idea of Gogol’s “The Overcoat” is to point out acute social problems relevant in Imperial Russia. Using the fantastic component, the author shows the hopelessness of the situation: the little man is weak in front of the powers that be, they will never respond to his request, and they will even kick him out of his office. Gogol, of course, does not approve of revenge, but in the story “The Overcoat” it is the only way to reach the stony hearts of high-ranking officials. It seems to them that only the spirit is above them, and they will agree to listen only to those who are superior to them. Having become a ghost, Bashmachkin takes precisely this necessary position, so he manages to influence arrogant tyrants. This is the main idea of the work.

The meaning of Gogol’s “The Overcoat” is the search for justice, but the situation seems hopeless, because justice is possible only by turning to the supernatural.

What does it teach?

Gogol’s “The Overcoat” was written almost two centuries ago, but remains relevant to this day. The author makes you think not only about social inequality and the problem of poverty, but also about your own spiritual qualities. The story “The Overcoat” teaches empathy; the writer encourages not to turn away from a person who is in a difficult situation and asks for help.

To achieve his author's goals, Gogol changes the ending of the original anecdote, which became the basis for the work. If in that story the colleagues collected enough money to buy a new gun, then Bashmachkin’s colleagues did practically nothing to help their comrade in trouble. He himself died fighting for his rights.

Criticism

In Russian literature, the story “The Overcoat” played a huge role: thanks to this work, a whole movement arose - the “natural school”. This work became a symbol of new art, and confirmation of this was the magazine “Physiology of St. Petersburg”, where many young writers came up with their own versions of the image of a poor official.

Critics recognized Gogol's mastery, and "The Overcoat" was considered a worthy work, but the controversy was mainly conducted around the Gogol direction, opened precisely by this story. For example, V.G. Belinsky called the book “one of Gogol’s deepest creations,” but considered the “natural school” a direction without prospects, and K. Aksakov denied Dostoevsky (who also started with the “natural school”), the author of “Poor People,” the title of artist.

Not only Russian critics were aware of the role of “The Overcoat” in literature. The French reviewer E. Vogüe made the famous statement “We all came out of Gogol’s overcoat.” In 1885, he wrote an article about Dostoevsky, where he spoke about the origins of the writer’s work.

Later, Chernyshevsky accused Gogol of excessive sentimentality and deliberate pity for Bashmachkin. Apollo Grigoriev, in his criticism, contrasted Gogol's method of satirical depiction of reality with true art.

The story made a great impression not only on the writer’s contemporaries. V. Nabokov, in his article “The Apotheosis of the Mask,” analyzes Gogol’s creative method, its features, advantages and disadvantages. Nabokov believes that “The Overcoat” was created for “a reader with a creative imagination,” and for the most complete understanding of the work, it is necessary to get acquainted with it in the original language, because Gogol’s work “is a phenomenon of language, not ideas.”

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 such 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 who was a passionate hunter. He saved for a long time for a gun, which he had long dreamed of. His dream came true, but, sailing across 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 an Official Stealing an Overcoat.” In this version, some anecdotal motives and comic effects were visible. The official's last name was Tishkevich. In 1842, Gogol completed the story and changed the hero's surname. The story is published, completing the cycle of “Petersburg Tales”. This cycle includes the stories: “Nevsky Prospekt”, “The Nose”, “Portrait”, “The Stroller”, “Notes of a Madman” and “The Overcoat”. The writer worked on the cycle between 1835 and 1842. The stories are united based on a common place of events - St. Petersburg. Petersburg, however, is not only the place of action, but also a kind of hero of these stories, in which Gogol depicts life in its various manifestations. Typically, writers, when talking about St. Petersburg life, illuminated the life and characters of the capital's society. Gogol was attracted to petty officials, artisans, and poor artists—“little people.” It was no coincidence that St. Petersburg was chosen by the writer; it was this stone city that was especially indifferent and merciless to the “little man.” This topic was first opened by A.S. Pushkin. She becomes the leader in the work of N.V. Gogol.

Genre, 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 have written about the influence of the life of St. Akaki of Sinai on the story “The Overcoat,” including famous names: V.B. Shklovsky and G.L. Makogonenko. Moreover, in addition to the striking external similarity of the destinies of St. Akaki and Gogol's hero 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. It received its specific name - a story - not so much for its volume, but for its enormous semantic richness, which is not found in every novel. The meaning of the work is revealed only by compositional and stylistic techniques with the extreme simplicity of the plot. A simple story about a poor official who invested all his money and soul into a new overcoat, after the theft of which he dies, under the pen of Gogol found a mystical denouement and turned into a colorful parable with enormous philosophical overtones. “The Overcoat” is not just an accusatory satirical story, it is a wonderful work of art that reveals the eternal problems of existence that will not be translated either in life or in literature as long as humanity exists.
Sharply criticizing the dominant system of life, its internal falsehood and hypocrisy, Gogol’s work suggested the need for a different life, a different social structure. The great writer’s “Petersburg Tales,” which include “The Overcoat,” are usually attributed to the realistic period of his work. Nevertheless, they can hardly be called realistic. The sad story about the stolen overcoat, according to Gogol, “unexpectedly takes on a fantastic ending.” The ghost, in whom the deceased Akaki Akakievich was recognized, tore off everyone’s greatcoat, “without discerning 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.” Akakiy Akakievich was viewed as a typical “little man”, a victim of the bureaucratic system and indifference. Emphasizing the typicality of the “little man’s” fate, 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 - a victim of the social system - is brought to its logical conclusion.
The ethical or humanistic interpretation was built on the pitiful moments of “The Overcoat”, the call for generosity and equality, which was heard in Akaki Akakievich’s weak protest against office jokes: “Leave me alone, 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 "The Overcoat"

“Why depict poverty... and the imperfections of our lives, digging people out of life, from the remote corners of the state? ...no, there is a time when it is otherwise 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 - Akaki 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 those around him in relation to the main character of the story. The relationship between the first and second determines the humanistic pathos of the work: even a person like Akaki 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 towards the entire world around him, and, first of all, about the sense of dignity and respect that every person should arouse towards himself, regardless of his social and financial status, but only taking into account his personal qualities and merits.

Nature of the conflict

The main characters of the story “The Overcoat”

The hero of the story is Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, a petty official of one of the St. Petersburg departments, a humiliated and powerless man “of short stature, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, somewhat blind in appearance, with a small 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 complain: he is already over fifty, he has not gone beyond copying papers, has not risen to a rank higher than a titular councilor (a civil servant of the 9th class, who does not have the right to acquire personal nobility - unless he 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 to visit. All his “spiritual” needs are satisfied by copying papers: “It is not enough to say: he served zealously, - no, he served with love.” Nobody considers him to be a person. “The young officials laughed and made jokes at him, as much as their 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 Akaki Akakievich serves in the same place, in the same position; His salary is meager - 400 rubles. per year, the uniform has long been no longer green, but a reddish flour color; Colleagues call an overcoat worn to holes a hood.
Gogol does not hide the limitations, scarcity of interests of his hero, and tongue-tiedness. But something else comes to the fore: his meekness, uncomplaining patience. Even the hero’s name 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. Akaki Akakievich remains speechless even at the critical moment of 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 varied and pleasant world of his own,” he did not think at all about his dress or anything else practical, he ate without noticing the taste, he did not indulge in any entertainment, in a word, he lived in some kind of ghostly and strange world, far from reality, he was a dreamer in uniform. And it’s 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 an overcoat plays an important role in the story. It is also fully correlated with the broad concept of “uniform honor,” which characterized the most important element of noble and officer ethics, to the norms of which the authorities under Nicholas I tried to introduce commoners and all officials in general.
The loss of his overcoat turns out to be not only a material, but also a moral loss for Akaki Akakievich. After all, thanks to the new overcoat, Bashmachkin felt like a human being for the first time in a departmental environment. The new overcoat can 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 she is being sewn, she turns into the dream of his life. The very first evening he puts it on, his overcoat is taken off by thieves on a dark street. The official dies of grief, and his ghost haunts 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 Akaki Akakievich, but he does not see the tragedy of his situation, since he is busy with business. Bashmachkin is not burdened by his poverty because he does not know any other life. And when he has a dream - a new overcoat, he is ready to endure any hardships, just to bring the realization of his plans closer. The overcoat becomes a kind of symbol of a happy future, a beloved brainchild, for which Akaki Akakievich is ready to work tirelessly. The author is quite serious when he describes his hero’s delight at realizing his dream: the overcoat is sewn! Bashmachkin was completely happy. However, with the loss of his new overcoat, Bashmachkin is overtaken by real grief. And only after death is justice done. Bashmachkin's soul finds peace when he returns his lost item.
The image of the overcoat is very important in the development of the plot of the work. The plot of the story revolves around the idea of sewing a new overcoat or repairing an 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, on which Akaki Akakievich’s overcoat must 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 caught a cold without his 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 about the “posthumous existence” of Akaki Akakievich is full of horror and comedy at the same time. In the deathly silence of the St. Petersburg night, he tears off the greatcoats from officials, not recognizing the bureaucratic difference in ranks and operating 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 official party, goes to “a certain lady Karolina Ivanovna,” and having torn off his general’s overcoat, the “spirit” of the dead Akaki Akakievich calms down and disappears from St. Petersburg squares and streets. Apparently, “the general’s overcoat suited him perfectly.”

Artistic originality

“Gogol’s composition is not determined by the plot - his plot is always poor; rather, there is no plot at all, but only one comic (and sometimes not even comic in itself at all) situation is taken, which serves, as it were, only as an impetus or reason for the development comic techniques. This story is especially interesting for this kind of analysis, because in it a pure comic tale, with all the techniques of language play characteristic of Gogol, is combined with pathetic declamation, forming, as it were, a second layer. Gogol doesn’t 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 narration in “The Overcoat” is told in the first person. The narrator knows the life of officials well and 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 regarding the hero’s deplorable appearance. The climate forces Akaki Akakievich to go to great lengths to buy 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: portrait, depiction of details of the environment in which the hero lives, the plot of the story - all this shows the inevitability of Bashmachkin’s transformation into a “little man.”
The style of storytelling itself, when a pure comic tale, built on wordplay, puns, and deliberate tongue-tiedness, is combined with sublime, pathetic declamation, is an effective artistic means.

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 to shake souls with a faithful portrayal of this life.” N.V. is precisely such a writer, a writer who shakes the soul by depicting the most insignificant pictures of human existence in the world. Gogol. According to Belinsky, the story “The Overcoat” is “one of Gogol’s most profound 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 “The Overcoat.”
Gogol's works have been repeatedly staged and filmed. One of the last theatrical productions of “The Overcoat” was staged at the Moscow Sovremennik. On the new stage of the theatre, called “Another Stage”, intended primarily for staging experimental performances, “The Overcoat” was staged by director Valery Fokin.
“Staging Gogol’s “The Overcoat” has been my long-time dream. In general, I believe that Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol has three main works: “The Inspector General,” “Dead Souls” and “The Overcoat,” Fokin said. — I had already staged the first two and dreamed of “The Overcoat,” but I couldn’t start rehearsing because I didn’t see the leading actor... It always seemed to me that Bashmachkin was an unusual creature, neither female nor male, and someone... then here an unusual person, and really an actor or actress, had to play this,” says the director. Fokin's choice fell on Marina Neelova. “During the rehearsal and in what happened during the work on the play, I realized that Neelova was the only actress who could do what I had in mind,” says the director. The play premiered on October 5, 2004. The set design of the story and the performing skills of actress M. Neyolova were highly appreciated by the audience and the press.
“And here is Gogol again. Sovremennik again. Once upon a time, Marina Neelova said that she sometimes imagines herself as a white sheet of paper, on which every director is free to depict whatever he wants - even a hieroglyph, even a drawing, even a long, tricky phrase. Maybe someone will imprison a blot in the heat of the moment. A viewer who looks at “The Overcoat” may imagine that there is no woman named Marina Mstislavovna Neyolova in the world, that she was completely erased from the drawing paper of the universe with a soft eraser and a completely different creature was drawn in her place. Gray-haired, thin-haired, evoking in everyone who looks at him both disgusting disgust and magnetic attraction.”
(Newspaper, October 6, 2004)

This is interesting

“As part of the Chekhov Festival, on the Small Stage of the Pushkin Theater, where puppet productions often tour and the audience can accommodate only 50 people, the Chilean Theater of Miracles played Gogol’s “The Overcoat.” We don’t know anything about the puppet theater in Chile, so we could have expected something quite exotic, but in fact it turned out that there was nothing specially foreign in it - it was just a good little performance, made sincerely, with love and without any special ambitions. What was funny was that the characters here are called exclusively by their patronymics and all these “Buenos Dias, Akakievich” and “Por Favor, Petrovich” sounded comical.
The Milagros Theater is a sociable affair. It was created in 2005 by the famous Chilean TV presenter Alina Kuppernheim together with her classmates. Young women say that they fell in love with “The Overcoat,” which is not very well known in Chile (it turns out that “The Nose” is much more famous there), while still studying, and they all studied to become drama theater actresses. Having decided to make a puppet theater, we spent two whole years composing everything together, adapting the story ourselves, coming up with a set design, and making puppets.
The portal of the Milagros Theater, a plywood house that barely accommodates four puppeteers, was placed in the middle of the Pushkinsky stage and a small curtain-screen was closed. The performance itself is performed in a “black room” (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 is growing up, he gets all the bumps, and he wanders - long, thin, big-nosed, hunched over more and more against the background of the conventional Petersburg. The animation gives way to a torn video - the crackling and noise of the office, flocks of typewriters flying across the screen (several eras are deliberately mixed here). And then, through the screen, in a spot of light, the red-haired man himself, with deep bald patches, Akakievich himself gradually appears at a table with papers that are kept being brought and brought to him.
In essence, the most important thing in the Chilean performance is the skinny Akakievich with long and awkward arms and legs. It is led by several puppeteers at once, some are responsible for the hands, some for the legs, but the audience does not notice this, they just see how the doll becomes alive. Here he scratches himself, rubs his eyes, groans, with pleasure straightens his stiff limbs, kneading every bone, now he carefully examines the network of holes in his old overcoat, ruffled, stomps around in the cold and rubs his frozen hands. It is a great art to work so harmoniously with a puppet, few people master it; Just recently at the Golden Mask we saw a production by one of our best puppet directors who knows how such miracles are made - Evgeniy Ibragimov, who staged Gogol's The Players in Tallinn.
There are other characters in the play: colleagues and superiors looking out from the doors and windows of the stage, the little red-nosed fat man Petrovich, the gray-haired Significant Person sitting at the table on a dais - all of them are also expressive, but cannot be compared with Akakievich. With how he humiliatingly and timidly huddles in Petrovich’s house, and how later, having received his lingonberry-colored overcoat, he giggles embarrassedly, turns 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 for the doll.
During the festive party that colleagues threw to “sprinkle” the hero’s new overcoat, a sparkling carousel was spinning on the stage and small flat dolls made from cut out old photographs were spinning in a dance. Akakievich, who was previously worried that he did not know how to dance, returns from the party, full of happy impressions, as if from a disco, continuing to dance and sing: “boom-boom - tudu-tudu.” This is a long, funny and touching episode. And then unknown hands beat him and take off his overcoat. Further, a lot will happen with running around the authorities: the Chileans expanded several Gogol lines into a whole anti-bureaucratic video episode with a map of the city, which shows how officials drive from one to another a poor hero trying to return his overcoat.
Only the voices of Akakievich and those who are trying to get rid of him are heard: “You should contact Gomez on this issue. - Please Gomez. — Do you want Pedro or Pablo? - Should I Pedro or Pablo? - Julio! - Please Julio Gomez. “You need to go to another department.”
But no matter how inventive all these scenes are, the meaning is still in the red-haired sad hero who returns home, lies down in bed and, pulling the blanket, for a long time, sick and tormented by sad thoughts, tosses and turns and tries to nestle comfortably. Completely alive and desperately alone.”
(“Vremya Novostey” 06/24/2009)

Bely A. Gogol's mastery. M., 1996.
MannYu. Gogol's poetics. M., 1996.
Markovich V.M. Petersburg stories by N.V. Gogol. L., 1989.
Mochulsky KV. Gogol. Soloviev. 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.

The entire progress of the task can be divided into several sub-items:

It is necessary to recall the content of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's story "The Overcoat".
Try to understand what the author wants to convey to his reader.
Go directly to the search for the main artistic idea of the story "The Overcoat".

So let's get started.

Let's remember the plot of the work

The main character is Bashmachkin Akaki Akakievich, an ordinary working man, of which there are a great many. He didn’t have much friends, nor a wife or children. He lived only for his work, and although the work was not solid, it consisted of simple rewriting of texts, for Akaki it was everything. Even at the end of the working day, the main character took the papers home and continued to rewrite. For a very long time, Akaki collected money to purchase a new overcoat, with the thought that this purchase would change the attitude of those around him and his colleagues. And finally, having accumulated a large sum, the hero buys the desired item, but, unfortunately, his happiness did not last long. Returning home late at night, the hero was robbed. Along with the overcoat, the meaning of Akaki Akakievich’s life disappeared, because he could not earn another one. Returning home without his overcoat, the hero froze, which subsequently led to his death.

We display the topic

From the content it is clear that the work touches on the theme of a little man. A person on whom nothing depends. He is like a cog in a huge mechanism, without which the mechanism will not stop working. No one will even notice his disappearance. No one needs him or is interested in him, although he tries his best to attract attention to himself, all his efforts remain in vain.

The main artistic idea of the work

Gogol shows that only a person’s appearance is important for everyone. Personal qualities and inner world are of no interest to anyone. The main thing is what kind of “overcoat” you have. For Nikolai Vasilyevich himself, your rank does not matter; he does not look at whether your overcoat is new or old. For him, what is important is what lies inside, the spiritual world of the hero. This is precisely the main artistic idea of the work.

Categories
- Dogs
- Cats
- Cat care
- Pets
- Free birds
- Birds
- Bird breeding
- Poultry
- Cat diseases
- Dog diseases

Popular

What is the main idea of ​​the story The Overcoat. Analysis of “The Overcoat” Gogol