Heroes and images of the story “The Overcoat”

• old overcoat- a modest person without ambitions;
• new- a happy and proactive person;
• general's- a furious, terrible, domineering spirit.

Important! The story also reveals the image of St. Petersburg. Gogol describes it here as a cold, cruel, dirty, dangerous and dark city.

Composition of the work

Themes

• Small man- a leading theme that describes a simple person without special talents or pretensions, whose interests and troubles do not concern anyone.
• Real and fantastic - preceived after death mystical powers, Bashmachkin was at least somehow able to stand up for himself.
• Immorality- revealed through the images of higher officials who do not care about anyone, including their family. They want to have fun on the side and force their subordinates to grovel.
• The absurdity of the state structure- is revealed through the search for the overcoat. No one is going to look for the stolen clothes, but the entire police force has been ordered to catch the ghost.

Issues

• Lack of humanism. All the characters described are selfish and cowardly, and do not empathize with their colleague at all. The same Akaki Akakievich has no goal in life, he was not interested in art, did not strive to acquire new knowledge. All of them are interested only in material values.
• Indifference. Everyone remains indifferent to the hero’s problem, and the general does his best to stifle any glimmers of empathy within himself.
• Social inequality . The huge gap between the titular adviser and the general puts them in different positions: the subordinate is speechless from fear, and the leader, without hesitation, humiliates him.

Composition

The story was N.V. Gogol’s favorite genre. He created three cycles of stories, and each of them became a fundamentally important phenomenon in the history of Russian literature. “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, “Mirgorod” and the so-called St. Petersburg stories are familiar and loved by more than one generation of readers.
Gogol's Petersburg is a city that amazes with its social contrasts. A city of poor workers, victims of poverty and tyranny. Such a victim is Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin, the hero of the story “The Overcoat”.
The idea for the story arose from Gogol in 1834 under the influence of a clerical anecdote about a poor official who, at the cost of incredible efforts, realized his long-standing dream of buying a hunting rifle and lost it on his first hunt. But in Gogol this story did not cause laughter, but a completely different reaction.
“The Overcoat” occupies a special place in the cycle of St. Petersburg stories. Popular in the 30s. The plot about an unfortunate official, overwhelmed by poverty, was embodied by the author in a work of art, which Herzen called “colossal.” Gogol’s Bashmachkin “had what is called an eternal titular adviser, over whom, as you know, various writers mocked and made jokes, having the commendable habit of leaning on those who cannot bite.” The author, of course, does not hide his ironic grin when he describes the spiritual limitations and wretchedness of his hero. Akakiy Akakievich was a timid, dumb creature, who meekly endured the “clerical ridicule” of his colleagues and the despotic rudeness of his superiors. The stultifying work of a copyist of papers paralyzed any spiritual interests in him.
Gogol's humor is soft and delicate. The writer does not for a single moment lose his ardent sympathy for his hero, who appears in the story as a tragic victim of the cruel conditions of modern reality. The author creates a satirically generalized type of person - a representative of the bureaucratic power of Russia. The way the bosses behave with Bashmachkin is how all “significant persons” behave. The humility and submission of the unfortunate Bashmachkin, in contrast with the rudeness of “significant persons,” evoked in the reader
not only a feeling of pain for the humiliation of a person, but also a protest against the unjust orders of life in which such humiliation is possible.
The St. Petersburg stories revealed with enormous force the accusatory thrust of Gogol’s work. Man and the anti-human conditions of his social existence—here main conflict, which underlies the entire cycle. And each of the stories represented a new phenomenon in Russian literature.
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.”
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.

Other works on this work

He became the most mysterious Russian writer. In this article we will look at the analysis of the story “The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol, trying to penetrate into the subtle intricacies of the plot, and Gogol is a master at building such plots. Don't forget that you can also read a summary of the story "The Overcoat".

The story "The Overcoat" is a story about one "little man" named Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin. He served as the simplest copyist in an unremarkable county town, in the office. However, the reader can think about what the meaning of a person’s life might be, and a thoughtful approach cannot be done here, which is why we are analyzing the story “The Overcoat.”

The main character of "The Overcoat"

So, main character Akakiy Bashmachkin was a “little man.” This concept is widely used in Russian literature. However, what attracts more attention is his character, way of life, values ​​and attitude. He doesn't need anything. He looks distantly at what is happening around him, there is emptiness inside him, and in fact, his slogan in life is: “Please leave me alone.” Are there such people today? All around. And they are not interested in the reaction of others, they care little about who thinks what about them. But is this right?

For example, Akakiy Bashmachkin. He often hears ridicule from fellow officials. They make fun of him, saying offensive words and competing in wits. Sometimes Bashmachkin will remain silent, and sometimes, looking up, he will answer: “Why is that?” Analyzing this side of "The Overcoat", the problem of social tension becomes visible.

Bashmachkin's character

Akaki passionately loved his work, and this was the main thing in his life. He was busy rewriting documents, and his work could always be called neat, clean, and done with diligence. What did this petty official do at home in the evenings? After dinner at home, having returned from work, Akaki Akakievich walked back and forth around the room, slowly living through long minutes and hours. Then he sank into a chair and throughout the evening he could be found writing regularly.

Analysis of Gogol's story "The Overcoat" includes an important conclusion: when the meaning of a person's life is in work, it is petty and joyless. Here is further confirmation of this idea.

Then, after such leisure time, Bashmachkin goes to bed, but what are his thoughts about in bed? About what he will copy at the office tomorrow. He thought about it, and it made him happy. The meaning of life for this official, who was a “little man” and was already in his sixth decade, was the most primitive: take paper, dip a pen in an inkwell and write endlessly - carefully and diligently. However, another goal in Akaki’s life nevertheless appeared.

Other details of the analysis of the story "The Overcoat"

Akakiy had a very small salary in the service. He was paid thirty-six rubles a month, and almost all of it went towards food and housing. A harsh winter has come - an icy wind blew and frost struck. And Bashmachkin wears worn-out clothes that cannot keep him warm on a frosty day. Here Nikolai Gogol very accurately describes the situation of Akaki, his old shabby overcoat, and the actions of the official.

Akaki Akakievich decides to go to the workshop to repair his overcoat. He asks the tailor to fill the holes, but he announces that the overcoat cannot be repaired, and there is only one way out - to buy a new one. For this thing, porno calls a gigantic amount (for Akaki) - eighty rubles. Bashmachkin doesn’t have that kind of money; he’ll have to save it, and to do this he’ll have to enter a very economical lifestyle. Doing an analysis here, you might think why this “little man” goes to such extremes: he stops drinking tea in the evenings, doesn’t give laundry to the laundress once again, walks so that his shoes are washed less... Is it really all for the sake of the new overcoat that he then lose it? But this is his new joy in life, his goal. Gogol is trying to encourage the reader to think about what is most important in life, what to give priority to.

conclusions

We briefly reviewed the plot incompletely, but isolated from it only those details that are needed in order to make a clear analysis of the story “The Overcoat”. The main character is spiritually and physically untenable. He does not strive for the best, his condition is poor, he is not a person. After another goal appears in life, other than rewriting papers, he seems to change. Now Akaki is focused on buying an overcoat.

Gogol shows us the other side. How callously and unfairly those around Bashmachkin treat him. He endures ridicule and bullying. On top of everything else, the meaning of his life disappears after Akakiy’s new overcoat is taken away. He is deprived of his last joy, again Bashmachkin is sad and lonely.

Here, during the analysis, Gogol’s goal is visible - to show the harsh truth of that time. The “little people” were destined to suffer and die; no one needed them and were uninteresting. Just like the death of the Shoemaker was not of interest to those around him and those who could help him.

You read brief analysis the story "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol. In our literary blog you will find many articles on various topics, including analyzes of works.

In 1842, Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol wrote a short work, “The Overcoat,” with which he completed the cycle of his “Petersburg Tales.” Date of first publication: 1843. The story tells the story of the life and death of a “little man,” whose fate is so similar to millions of other unfortunate destinies of the inhabitants of Russia in the nineteenth century.

In contact with

Main storyline

History of creation works and who is his Main characters. In the early 30s of the 19th century, Gogol heard humorous story about the suffering of a poor official who dreamed of an expensive gun, who had been saving for it for a long time and who suddenly died of grief after losing it.

These events became the basis for the creation of the story. The “Overcoat” genre is a comically sentimental story about the gray, joyless life of ordinary St. Petersburg officials. Let us state summary.

First part. Meet the main character

The narrative begins with information about the birth and original naming of the main character. The mother, after suggesting several fancy Christmas names, decided to give newborn his father's name Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin. Next, the author describes in detail who the hero was and what he did in life: was not rich, served titular advisor, whose responsibilities included meticulous rewriting of papers.

Bashmachkin loved his monotonous work, performed it with diligence and did not want any other occupation for himself. Lived from paycheck to paycheck having meager food and the most necessary things for life.

Important! Bashmachkin was a very humble and kind person. Young colleagues never took him into account, and what’s more, they mocked him in every possible way. But this could not disturb the peace of mind of the protagonist; he never reacted to insults, but quietly continued his work.

Going to the tailor

The plot of the story is quite simple, it tells how the main character first bought an overcoat and then her lost. One day Bashmachkin discovered that his overcoat (a coat with folds on the back, uniform civil servants in the 19th century) was very worn out, and in some places it was completely torn. The official hurried to the tailor Petrovich so that he could patch the outer clothing.

Sounds like a sentence tailor's refusal to repair an old overcoat and advice to buy a new one. For a poor official with an annual salary of about 400 rubles, the amount of 80 rubles required to sew a new overcoat was simply unaffordable.

Bashmachkin is saving for new clothes

The hero had accumulated half of the amount - set aside monthly a penny from every ruble. He decides to acquire the other half by saving: he refuses dinner, walks on tiptoes so as not to spoil the soles of his shoes, and wears only a robe at home in order to save on linen and laundry. Unexpectedly at the service they issue 20 rubles bonus more than the expected amount, which speeds up the process of sewing a new thing.

New overcoat and its theft

The tailor masterfully performs Bashmachkin's order, who finally becomes the happy owner of an overcoat made of good cloth with a cat on the collar. People around him notice the new thing, rejoice for the hero and congratulate him, and in the evening they invite him to tea at the house of the assistant clerk.

Akaki comes for the evening, although he feels awkward there: such an event is unusual for him. Stays visiting until midnight. On the way to the house in a deserted square, unknown people stop him and take his new overcoat off his shoulders.

Applying to the bailiff and visiting a “significant person”

The next day unfortunate Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin goes to for help private bailiff, but the campaign was not successful. In a department where everyone sympathizes with grief and tries to help. On the advice of his colleagues, the main character turns to a “significant person” who, wanting to impress a friend present in his office, treats Bashmachkin rudely, which plunges the unfortunate man into shock and unconsciousness. The upset titular councilor wanders through cold St. Petersburg in his shabby clothes, catches a cold and becomes seriously ill.

Death and appearance of a ghost

A few days later, delirious and feverish, Akaki Akakievich dies. After his death, a ghost appears in the city, external description resembling a deceased person hunting for the overcoats of passers-by .

One day, on the way home, a “significant person” meets ghost of Bashmachkin, who screams and attacks the general, trying to take away his overcoat . After this incident, the appearance of the dead ghost completely stops.

Other heroes

In addition to Akaki Akakievich, the story contains the tailor Petrovich and the “Significant Person,” whose description helps the author to better reveal Bashmachkin’s nature. The characteristics of the heroes allow us to understand the characteristics of that time.

Akaki Akakievich:

• appearance: old man 50 years old, short, with a bald spot on his head, pale complexion. Does not attach importance to his clothes, wears shabby and faded things;
• attitude to work: is zealous about his responsibilities, never skips work. For him, rewriting papers is the greatest pleasure in life. Even after work, Akaki Akakievich took papers home to practice writing;
• character: gentle, timid and fearful. Bashmachkin is a spineless person who does not know how to stand up for herself. But at the same time, he is well-mannered, calm person, who did not allow himself foul language and swearing, his main virtues were sincerity and sincerity;
• speech: speaks incoherently and incomprehensibly, mostly using prepositions;
• life position: homebody living in his own little world, not interested in entertainment and communication. Despite his miserable existence, he loves his job, is happy with his life and knows how to enjoy the little things.

Bashmachkin's return home at midnight

Tailor Grigory Petrovich:

• a former serf with a pockmarked, one-eyed face, often walked with bare legs, as was customary for tailors while working;
• occupation: skilled craftsman responsible for fulfilling orders. He helped his clients choose material for the product, gave advice, and made discounts, especially when he was drunk.
• character: he loved to drink, for which he was often beaten by his own wife. A sober Petrovich is an intractable and rude person, a drunk one is more compliant and soft. He was very proud of his products, loved to put on airs and “gouge” prices.

"Significant Person"

• an older general with a courageous, heroic appearance;
• attitude towards his position: he became significant not so long ago, so he tried with all his might pretend to be important person . Treated people of lower rank with disdain and behaved appropriately with equal rank;
• character: good father of the family, strict and demanding boss. Treats people of lower rank rudely and keeps them in fear. In fact, this is a kind person, worries that he offended Bashmachkin.

Attention! Although main character He was an inconspicuous person, at first glance he seemed absolutely unnecessary in society, his life had a great influence on those around him.

Only such humble people can awaken our sleeping conscience. It is clear from the story that some of his colleagues, seeing Bashmachkin’s kindness and humility, stopped mocking him. In the quiet complaint of mistreatment, they could hear: “I am your brother.” And the “significant person” himself, after long pangs of conscience due to the unfair treatment of Akaki Akakievich, meeting with the ghost of the deceased, began to treat his subordinates more leniently and kindly.

Realism in Russia of the 40s .

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is a special, colorful figure in Russian literature. His name is associated with a lot of mystical, strange and even scary things. Consider one of the most mystical stories of the 19th century - “Viy”! In fact, Gogol has several even stranger and instructive works, one of which is “The Overcoat”. The history of Gogol’s creation of “The Overcoat” is rooted in the problems of society in the 19th century.

Plot

The petty official Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin leads a very quiet, modest and inconspicuous life. He works in the office, rewrites any papers, and only in this activity does he find some kind of outlet. Colleagues laugh at him and openly mock him, his bosses don’t notice him, he has no family or friends.

One day Bashmachkin realizes that his old overcoat has completely fallen into disrepair and urgently needs a replacement. To save up for a new coat, Akaki Akakievich takes unprecedented measures; he saves on food, candles, and even walks on tiptoes so as not to tear his shoes. After several months of hardship, he finally buys a new overcoat. At work, everyone - some maliciously, some kindly - admires the old man's acquisition and invites him to one of his colleagues for the evening.

Akaki Akakievich is happy, he spent a wonderful evening visiting, but when the hero returned home late at night, he was robbed and his new overcoat was taken away. In despair, Bashmachkin runs to the authorities, but in vain, he goes to see a “high” person, but he only shouts at the petty official. Akaki Akakievich returns to his closet, where he soon dies, and the residents of St. Petersburg learn about a mysterious ghost who tears off the greatcoats from rich citizens and shouts “Mine!”

The history of the creation of Gogol’s “The Overcoat” reflects an entire era with special problems, shows the unusual and distant history of our country and at the same time touches on eternal questions humanity, still relevant today.

Theme "little man"

In the 19th century, a direction of realism emerged in Russian literature, covering all the little details and features real life. The heroes of the works were ordinary people with your daily problems and passions.

If we talk briefly about the history of the creation of Gogol’s “The Overcoat,” then the theme of the “little man” in a large and alien world is especially acutely reflected here. A petty official floats with the flow of life, never gets indignant, experiences neither strong ups nor strong downs. The writer wanted to show that a real hero life is not a shining knight or a smart and sensitive romantic character. But here is such an insignificant person, crushed by circumstances.

The image of Bashmachkin became the starting point for further development not only Russian, but also world literature. European authors of the 19th and 20th centuries tried to find ways for the “little man” to escape psychological and social shackles. This is where the characters of Turgenev, E. Zola, Kafka or Camus were born.

The history of the creation of "The Overcoat" by N. V. Gogol

According to researchers of the great Russian writer, original plan The story was born from an anecdote about a petty official who wanted to buy himself a gun and saved for a long time for his dream. Finally, having bought the treasured gun, he lost it while sailing in the Gulf of Finland. The official returned home and soon died from his worries.

The history of the creation of Gogol’s “The Overcoat” begins in 1839, when the author was just making rough sketches. Little documentary evidence has survived, but fragments indicate that it was originally comic story without much morality and deep meaning. Over the next 3 years, Gogol took up the story several more times, but brought it to the end only in 1841. During this time, the work almost lost all its humor and became more pathetic and deep.

Criticism

The history of the creation of Gogol’s “Overcoat” cannot be understood without taking into account the assessment of contemporaries, ordinary readers and literary critics. After the publication of a collection of the writer’s essays containing this story, at first they did not pay due attention to it. At the end of the 30s of the 19th century, the theme of a distressed official was very popular in Russian literature, and “The Overcoat” was initially classified as one of the same pitifully sentimental works.

But already in the second half of the 19th century, it became clear that Gogol’s “The Overcoat” and the story of the creation of the story became the beginning of a whole movement in art. The theme of the crushing of man and the quiet rebellion of this insignificant creature have become relevant in Russian authoritarian society. The writers saw and believed that even such an unfortunate and “small” person is a person, a person who thinks, analyzes and knows how to defend his rights in his own way.

B. M. Eikhenbaum, “How the “Overcoat” is Made”

A great contribution to understanding the history of the creation of Gogol’s story “The Overcoat” was made by B. M. Eikhenbaum, one of the most famous and honored Russian critics of the 19th century. In his work “How the Overcoat is Made,” he revealed to the reader and other authors the true meaning and purpose of this work. The researcher noted the original, fairy-tale style of narration, which allows the author to express his attitude towards the hero throughout the story. In the first chapters, he mocks Bashmachkin’s pettiness and pitifulness, but in the last chapters he already feels pity and sympathy for his character.

The history of the creation of Gogol’s “The Overcoat” cannot be studied without interruption from the social situation of those years. The author is indignant and indignant at the terrible and humiliating “Table of Ranks” system, which puts a person in certain limits, from which not everyone can get out.

Religious interpretation

Gogol was often accused of playing too freely with Orthodox religious symbols. Someone saw his pagan images of Viy, the witch and the devil as a manifestation of lack of spirituality, a departure from Christian traditions. Others, on the contrary, said that in such ways the author is trying to show the reader the way of salvation from evil spirits, namely Orthodox humility.

Therefore, some researchers saw the history of the creation of Gogol’s story “The Overcoat” precisely in a certain religious context. internal conflict author. And Bashmachkin no longer performs as collective image a minor official, but as a person subjected to temptation. The hero invented an idol for himself - an overcoat, lived and suffered because of it. The religious interpretation is also supported by the fact that Gogol was very fanatical about God, various rituals and carefully observed everything.

Place in literature

The movement of realism in literature and other forms of art created a real sensation in the world. artists and sculptors tried to depict life as it is, without embellishment or gloss. And in the image of Bashmachkin we also see ridicule of something that is fading into history. romantic hero. He had high goals and majestic images, but here a person has the meaning of life - a new overcoat. This idea forced the reader to think deeper, to look for answers to questions in real life, and not in dreams and novels.

The history of the creation of N. V. Gogol’s story “The Overcoat” is the history of the formation of Russian national thought. The author correctly saw and guessed the trend of the times. People no longer wanted to be slaves in the literal and figurative sense; a rebellion was brewing, but it was still quiet and timid.

30 years later, the theme of the already matured and more courageous “little man” would be raised by Turgenev in his novels, Dostoevsky in his work “Poor People” and partly in his famous “Pentateuch”. Moreover, the image of Bashmachkin migrated to other forms of art, to theater and cinema, and here it received a new meaning.