Overcoat - analysis of the work. "Ideological and artistic analysis of the story of N. V. Gogol" Overcoat Overcoat what is the main artistic

The entire course of the assignment can be divided into several sub-items:

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

So let's get started.

Let's recall the plot of the work

The main character is Bashmachkin Akaki Akakievich, an ordinary working man, of whom there are a great many. He didn't have much friends, neither did he have a wife or children. He lived only by his work, and although the work was not solid, it consisted in a simple rewriting of texts, for Akaki it was everything. Even at the end of a working day, the main character took the papers home and continued to rewrite. For a very long time, Akaki collected money for the purchase of a new overcoat, with the thought that this purchase would change the attitude of those around him and colleagues. And, finally, having accumulated a large amount, the hero buys the desired thing, but, unfortunately, his happiness did not last long. Returning home late at night, the hero was robbed. Together with the greatcoat, the meaning of Akaky Akakievich's life also disappeared, because he could not earn another one. Returning home already without an overcoat, the hero froze to death, which subsequently led to his death.

Displaying 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 its work. No one will even notice his disappearance. He is not needed and interesting to anyone, although he tries his best to attract attention, all his works remain in vain.

The main artistic idea of ​​the work

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

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The main idea is to portray a powerless, immensely humiliated and downtrodden "little man".

"The Overcoat", like other stories by Gogol about a humiliated person, is in continuity with Pushkin's "Station Keeper". Based on the creative experience of Pushkin, Gogol created deeply original artistic generalizations in Petersburg stories. In the center of attention of the author of "The Stationmaster" was the image of acute collisions of the "little" man with the noble, powerful of this world, collisions that resulted in the collapse of the hero's happiness. Gogol broader reflected the social inequality of "little" people, showing not only their defenselessness, but also a severe struggle for everyday existence. Gogol's portrayal of the life's fate of heroes is inextricably merged with the disclosure of constant social oppression, which, condemning the "little" person to suffering, mercilessly disfigures him, erasing a living human individuality.
The deep drama with which "The Overcoat" is imbued is revealed, on the one hand, in the depiction of the ordinary, and, on the other, in the display of the hero's "upheavals". The development of the plot in the story is primarily based on this inner collision. "This is how the peaceful life of a man proceeded, who, with four hundred salaries, knew how to be content with his lot, and would have reached, perhaps, to a ripe old age, if there had not been various disasters scattered along the path of life, not only titular, but even secret, real, outside and all kinds of advisors. " The story of the acquisition of an overcoat is everyday life, revealed in its dramatic tension. An ordinary, commonplace phenomenon appears as a "disaster"; an insignificant event, as in focus, concentrates in itself a reflection of the essential aspects of reality.
The tension and drama of these clashes make the ending of the story organic, in which the author introduces fantasy. Science fiction in "The Overcoat" is a necessary element in revealing the main idea of ​​the story.
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The idea of ​​humanism in Nikolai Gogol's story "The Overcoat".
The hero of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's story "The Overcoat" Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin 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 a titular adviser - and yet he is humble, meek, devoid of ambitious dreams. Bashmachkin has no family or friends, he does not go to the theater or to visit. All his "spiritual" needs are satisfied by rewriting papers: "It is not enough to say: he served zealously, - no, he served with love." Nobody considers him for a person. “Young officials made fun of him and made fun of him, how much clerical wit was enough ...” Bashmachkin did not answer a single word to his offenders, did not even stop work and did not make mistakes in his letter.

Gogol introduces into the story the image of a young official, perhaps of an autobiographical character. This official, having entered the service, was about to join in the mockery of Bash-machkin, but upon hearing his words, he suddenly stopped, “as if pierced, and since then everything seemed to have changed in front of him and seemed in a different form ... And for a long time then, in the midst of the most cheerful moments, a low official with a bald spot on his forehead appeared to him, with his penetrating words: "Leave me, why are you offending me?" - and in these penetrating words other words rang out: "I am your brother." “Love your neighbor as yourself” - if this truth is violated, the human world has nothing to hold on to.

Sewing an overcoat was not just a salvation of the body from the cold, but an uplifting of the soul, an affirmation of human dignity. It was not only the feat of Akaki Akakievich, but also the feat of Petrovich, a tailor-drunkard, he put his soul into it, he made every seam with love. secretly behind Akaki Akakievich, to once again admire his creation.

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 are controversial. One of these works is the story "The Overcoat".

In the mid-1930s, Gogol heard an anecdote about an official who had lost a gun. It sounded like this: there was one poor official who was a passionate hunter. He saved up for a long time for a gun, which he had long dreamed of. His dream came true, but while sailing on the Gulf of Finland, he lost it. Returning home, the official died of frustration.

The first draft of the story was titled "The Tale of an Official Stealing an Overcoat." In this version, some anecdotal motives and comic effects were seen. The official bore the surname Tishkevich. In 1842, Gogol completes the story and changes the hero's surname. The story is being printed, completing the cycle of "Petersburg Tales". This cycle includes stories: "Nevsky Prospect", "Nose", "Portrait", "Carriage", "Notes of a Madman" and "Overcoat". The writer worked on the cycle between 1835 and 1842. The stories are combined in a common place of events - St. Petersburg. Petersburg, however, is not only a place of action, but also a kind of hero of these stories, in which Gogol paints life in its various manifestations. Usually writers, talking about St. Petersburg life, illuminated the life and characters of the capital's society. Gogol was attracted by petty officials, artisans, beggar artists - "little people". Petersburg was not chosen by the writer by chance, it was this stone city that was especially indifferent and merciless to the "little man". This topic was first discovered by A.S. Pushkin. She becomes the leading one in the work of N.V. Gogol.

Rod, genre, creative method

In the story "The Overcoat" one can see 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 the Monk Akaki of Sinai on the novella "The Overcoat", including famous names: V.B. Shklovsky and G.P. Makogonenko. Moreover, in addition to the striking external similarity of the fate of St. Akaki and the hero Gogol 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 "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 as for its enormous, which you cannot find in any novel, semantic richness. The meaning of the work is revealed by some compositional and stylistic techniques with the extreme simplicity of the plot. A simple story about a beggar official, who invested all his money and soul in a new overcoat, after the theft of which he dies, under the pen of Gogol found a mystical denouement, turned into a colorful parable with a huge philosophical implication. "The Overcoat" is not just an accusatory satirical story, it is a wonderful work of fiction that reveals the eternal problems of being, which will not be lost either in life or in literature as long as humanity exists.

Sharply criticizing the dominant system of life, its inner falsity and hypocrisy, Gogol's work prompted the idea of ​​the need for a different life, a different social order. The "Petersburg stories" of the great writer, including "The Overcoat", are usually attributed to the realistic period of his work. Nevertheless, they can hardly be called realistic. The sorrowful tale of the stolen greatcoat, according to Gogol, "unexpectedly takes on a fantastic ending." The ghost, in which the deceased Akaki Akakievich was recognized, tore off the greatcoats from everyone, "without disassembling rank and rank." 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. Akaki Akakievich was viewed as a typical "little man", a victim of the bureaucratic system and indifference. Emphasizing the typicality of the 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 a person - a victim of a social system - has been 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 Akaki Akakievich's weak protest against clerical jokes: “Leave me, why are you offending me?” - and 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 his words contain 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 poverty, which is deliberately emphasized by Gogol and brought 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 the second determines the humanistic pathos of the work: even a person like Akaki Akakievich has the right to exist and has a fair attitude towards himself. Gogol sympathizes with the fate of his hero. And it makes the reader involuntarily think about the attitude to the entire world around him, and first of all about the feeling of dignity and respect that every person should evoke to himself, regardless of his social and material status, but only taking into account his personal qualities and merits.

The nature of the conflict

The concept 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 in the life of the hero. The whole life of a person appears before us: we are present at his birth, when he is given a name, we 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 cycle "Petersburg Tales", firmly entered the Russian literature of the XIX century.

Main characters

The hero of the story is Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, a minor official of one of the St. Petersburg departments, a humiliated and disenfranchised person "of short stature, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, somewhat even 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 grumble: he is already over fifty, he did not go beyond the correspondence of papers, did not rise above the rank of a titular councilor (a state official of the 9th class who does not have the right to acquire personal nobility - if he born a nobleman) - and yet he is meek, meek, devoid of ambitious dreams. Bashmachkin has no family or friends, he does not go to the theater or to visit. All his "spiritual" needs are satisfied by rewriting papers: "It is not enough to say: he served zealously, - no, he served with love." Nobody considers him for a person. “Young officials made fun of him and made fun of him, how much clerical wit was enough ...” Bashmachkin did not answer a single word to his offenders, did not even stop work and did not make mistakes in his letter. All his life Akaki Akakievich has been serving in the same place, in the same position; his salary is scanty - 400 rubles. per year, the uniform is no longer green, but a reddish-flour color; The overcoat worn out to the holes is called the hood by the colleagues.

Gogol does not hide the limitations, paucity 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, non-spiteful, not doing evil, innocent. The appearance of the greatcoat reveals the hero's inner world, for the first time the emotions of the hero are depicted, although Gogol does not give the character's direct speech - only a retelling. Akaki Akakievich remains wordless 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 protagonist from the famous researcher B.M. Eichenbaum. He saw in Bashmachkin an image that "served with love", in rewriting "he saw his own varied and pleasant world", he did not think at all about his dress, about anything else practical, he ate without noticing the taste, did not indulge in any entertainment, in a word, he lived in some of his own ghostly and strange world, far from reality, was a dreamer in a 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, all of its whole.

Along with Bashmachkin, the image of an overcoat plays an important role in the story. It is quite comparable with the broad concept of "honor of the uniform", which characterized the most important element of the noble and officer's ethics, to the norms of which the authorities under Nicholas I tried to introduce commoners and all officials in general.

The loss of his greatcoat turns out to be not only material, but also moral loss for Akaki Akakievich. Indeed, thanks to the new overcoat, Bashmachkin, for the first time in a department environment, felt like a man. The new overcoat is able to save him from frost and disease, but, most importantly, it serves him as protection from ridicule and humiliation from 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 it is being sewn, it turns into the 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 is the whole plot, but, of course, the real plot (as always with Gogol) in the style, in the internal structure of this ... anecdote ", - this is how V.V. Nabokov.

A hopeless need surrounds Akaki Akakievich, but he does not see the tragedy of his position, 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, just to bring the implementation of his plan closer. The overcoat becomes a kind of symbol of a happy future, a beloved child, for the sake of which Akaki Akakievich is ready to work tirelessly. The author is quite serious when he describes his hero's enthusiasm for the realization of his 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 it returns to itself a 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 associated with the emergence of the idea to sew a new overcoat or fix an old one. The development of the action - Bashmachkin's trips to the tailor Petrovich, an ascetic existence and dreams of a future greatcoat, buying a new dress and visiting a name day, on which Akaky Akakievich's greatcoat should be "washed". The culmination of the action is 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 an overcoat and yearns for it. The epilogue ends the story - 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 comic at the same time. In the deathly silence of the Petersburg night, he tears off his overcoats from officials, not recognizing the bureaucratic difference in rank 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 "a lady friend Karolina Ivanovna," and, having ripped off his general's coat, the "spirit" of the dead Akaki Akakievich calms down, disappears from St. Petersburg squares and streets ... Apparently, "the general's overcoat fell on his shoulder completely."

Artistic identity

“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 even not comic in itself) position is taken, which serves as a mere impetus or reason for development comic techniques. 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 a kind of 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. Eichenbaum in the article "How the" Overcoat "by G naked was made.

The "Overcoat" is narrated in the first person. The narrator knows the life of officials well, expresses his attitude to what is happening in the story by means of numerous remarks. “What can we do! the Petersburg climate is to blame, ”he notes about the hero's deplorable appearance. The climate forces Akaki 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, the depiction of details of the environment in which the hero lives, the plot of the narrative - 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 language, is combined with sublime pathetic declamation, 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 to shock souls with a faithful depiction of this life." It is precisely such a writer, a writer who shocking souls with the depiction 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 the deepest creations of Gogol."
Herzen piled up "The Overcoat" as 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 Vogue from the words of “one Russian writer” (as is commonly believed, FM Dostoevsky): “We all left Gogol's“ Overcoat ”.

Gogol's works have been staged and filmed many times. One of the last theatrical performances, The Overcoat, was staged at the Moscow Sovremennik. The Overcoat was staged by director Valery Fokin on the new stage site of the theater, called "Another Stage", intended primarily for staging experimental performances.

“To stage Gogol's“ Overcoat ”is my old dream. In general, I believe that Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol has three main works - the Inspector General, Dead Souls and the Overcoat, - said Fokin. I had already staged the first two and dreamed of "The Overcoat", but I could not start rehearsing, because I had not seen the leading actor ... an unusual one should have played here, and really an actor or an 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 play, I realized that Neelova was the only actress who could do what I thought of,” says the director. The premiere of the performance took place on October 5, 2004. The scenography of the story, the performance skills of the actress M. Neyelova were highly appreciated by the audience and the press.

“And here again Gogol. "Contemporary" again. Once upon a time, Marina Neyelova said that sometimes she 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 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 Neyelova in the world at all, that she was erased from the Whatman of the universe with a soft eraser and a completely different creature was painted in her place. Gray-haired, liquid-haired, evoking in everyone who looks at him, and disgusting disgust, and a magnetic pull. "


“In this series, Fokin'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 advisor, not a poor scribe, unable to change verbs from the first person to the third, this is not even a man, but some strange creature of the neuter gender. To create such a fantastic image, the director needed an actor incredibly flexible and plastic, not only physically, but also psychologically. The director found such a universal actor, or rather an actress, in Marina Neyelova. When this gnarled, angular creature with rare matted tufts of hair on a bald head appears on the stage, the audience tries unsuccessfully to guess in him at least some familiar features of the brilliant prima of Sovremennik. In vain. Marina Neyelova 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 have absolutely no meaning, serve rather as a speech or even sound characteristic of the character), the role of Marina Neyelova practically turns into a pantomime. But the pantomime is truly mesmerizing. Her Bashmachkin comfortably settled in his old gigantic overcoat, like in a house: he fumbles there with a pocket flashlight, relieves his needs, settles down for the night. "

The entire course of the assignment can be divided into several sub-items:

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

So let's get started.

Let's recall the plot of the work

The main character is Bashmachkin Akaki Akakievich, an ordinary working man, of whom there are a great many. He didn't have much friends, neither did he have a wife or children. He lived only by his work, and although the work was not solid, it consisted in a simple rewriting of texts, for Akaki it was everything. Even at the end of a working day, the main character took the papers home and continued to rewrite. For a very long time, Akaki collected money for the purchase of a new overcoat, with the thought that this purchase would change the attitude of those around him and colleagues. And, finally, having accumulated a large amount, the hero buys the desired thing, but, unfortunately, his happiness did not last long. Returning home late at night, the hero was robbed. Together with the greatcoat, the meaning of Akaky Akakievich's life also disappeared, because he could not earn another one. Returning home already without an overcoat, the hero froze to death, which subsequently led to his death.

Displaying 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 its work. No one will even notice his disappearance. He is not needed and interesting to anyone, although he tries his best to attract attention, all his works remain in vain.

The main artistic idea of ​​the work

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

N. V. Gogol is considered the most mystical writer in Russian literature. His life and work is full of secrets and mysteries. Gogol's story "The Overcoat" is studied in literature lessons in the 8th grade. A complete analysis of the work requires an acquaintance with the work and some biographical information of the author.

Brief analysis

Year of writing – 1841.

History of creation- the story is based on an anecdote with a similar plot.

Topic- the theme of the "little man", a protest against social orders that limit the individual.

Composition- the story is built on the principle of “being”. The exposition is a short history of Bashmachkin's life, the outset is the decision to change the overcoat, the culmination is the theft of the overcoat and a collision with the indifference of the authorities, the denouement is the illness and death of the protagonist, the epilogue is the news of the ghost stealing the overcoat.

genre- a story. A little overlaps with the genre of the "lives" of the saints. Many researchers find similarities in the plot with the life of the Monk Akaki Sinai. This is indicated by the numerous humiliations and wanderings of the hero, his patience and rejection of worldly joys, death.

Direction- critical realism.

History of creation

In The Overcoat, the analysis of the work is impossible without the background, which prompted the author to create the work. Someone PV Annenkov in his memoirs notes a case when, in the presence of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, a “clerical joke” was told about a petty official who had lost his gun, for the purchase of which he had been saving money for a long time. Everyone found the anecdote very funny, and the writer grew gloomy and deep in thought, it was in 1834. Five years later, the plot will emerge in Gogol's "Overcoat", artistically rethought and creatively reworked. This backstory of creation seems very plausible.

It is important to note that the writing of the story was difficult for the writer, perhaps some emotional, personal experiences played a role: he was able to finish it only in 1841, thanks to the pressure of M.V. Pogodin, a famous publisher, historian and scientist.

In 1843, the story was published. It belongs to the cycle of "Petersburg Tales", it becomes the final and the most rich in ideas. The author changed the name of the main character during the work on the work Tishkevich - Bashmakevich - Bashmachkin).

The title of the story itself underwent several changes ("The Tale of an Official Stealing an Overcoat") before the final and most accurate version, "The Overcoat", came down to us. Critics accepted the work calmly, during the life of the author it was not particularly noted. Only a century later did it become clear that "The Overcoat" had a tremendous impact on Russian literature, on the historical understanding of the era and the formation of literary trends. Gogol's "little man" was reflected in the work of many writers and poets, created a whole wave of similar, no less brilliant, works.

Topic

The work is structured in such a way that we trace the entire life of the protagonist, from the moment of birth (where the story of why he was named Akaki is mentioned) and up to the most tragic point - the death of the titular councilor.

The plot is based on the disclosure of the image of Akaki Akakievich, his clash with public order, power and indifference of people. The problems of an insignificant being do not bother the mighty of this world, his life, and even death, no one notices. Only after death, justice will triumph in the fantastic part of the narrative - about a night ghost taking overcoats from passers-by.

Problematic"Overcoat" covers all the sins of a well-fed soulless world, makes the reader look around and notice those who are as "small and defenseless" as the main character. Main thought the story is a protest against the lack of spirituality of society, against the orders that humiliate a person morally, materially and physically. The meaning of Bashmachkin's phrase “Leave me ... why do you offend me?

”- contains both moral and spiritual and biblical context. What the work teaches us: how you can not relate to your neighbor. Idea Gogol's idea is to show the powerlessness of a small person in front of a huge world of people who are indifferent to the grief of others.

Composition

The composition is built on the principle of the lives or "walks" of saints and martyrs. The whole life of the protagonist, from birth to death, is the same painful feat, a battle for truth and a test of patience and self-sacrifice.

The whole life of the hero of "The Overcoat" is an empty existence, a conflict with social order is the only act that he tried to commit in his life. In the exposition of the story, we learn brief information about the birth of Akaki Bashmachkin, about why he was so named, about the work and the inner world of the character. The essence of the tie is to show the need to acquire a new thing (if you look deeper - a new life, striking bold changes).

The culmination is an attack on the main character and his encounter with the indifference of the authorities. The denouement is the last meeting with a "significant person" and the death of the character. The epilogue is a fantastic (in the favorite Gogol style - satirical and terrifying) story about a ghost who takes his greatcoats from passers-by and eventually gets to his offender. The author emphasizes the powerlessness of a person to change the world and achieve justice. Only in the “other” reality the main character is strong, endowed with power, they are afraid of him, he says boldly into the eyes of the offender what he did not have time to say during his lifetime.

main characters

genre

The story of the titular counselor is built on the principle of the lives of the saints. The genre is defined as a story, due to the scale of the content plan of the work. The story of a titular counselor in love with his profession has become a kind of parable and acquired a philosophical implication. The work can hardly be considered realistic, given the ending. She turns the work into a phantasmagoria, where bizarre unreal events, visions, strange images intersect.

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