Gogol wrote the story based on an anecdote with a similar plot. But despite the humorous mood of the work, the author here raises the “fashionable” theme of the “little man” at that time.
The work is written in the form of a “biography” of Bashmachkin, almost without other characters. The story was written under the impression of a “clerical anecdote” of an official who saved up for a gun all his life and then lost it. Gogol decided to write on this topic, but the work was difficult and long to write.
Main character quotes
The author structured the essay in such a way that the life of the main character is traced from birth to death.
The plot is based on the protagonist's conflict with social order, authority and indifference. The problems of small creatures do not touch the hearts of the strong; they do not notice them.
“Leave me alone... why are you hurting me?” Akakiy.
— This phrase of the hero is the theme of the work. It contains deep meaning.
When tailor Petrovich refuses to repair Bashmachkin’s overcoat, he begs him to find a way to put patches on it.
“What about the new one? After all, I don’t even have money for this.” Akakiy .
- he says.
“It will be necessary to reduce ordinary expenses, although at least for one year: banish drinking tea in the evenings, do not light candles in the evenings when walking the streets, step as lightly and carefully as possible on stones and slabs, almost on tiptoe, so that in this way do not wear out the soles too quickly; give the laundry to the washerwoman to wash the clothes as little as possible...” Akakiy.
— The hero of the story reasons, looking for ways to solve problems.
Quotes from the book Overcoat (60 quotes)
Nikolai Gogol is a writer who has become famous for centuries for his works. From school they begin to study his “Dead Souls”, “The Inspector General”, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”. It was precisely this last work that made Gogol famous. People of that time were interested in the topic related to folk beliefs and fantastic stories. The writer also did not ignore the problem of the “little man,” which he reveals in the story “The Overcoat.” A gloomy story about a petty official who gave up worldly goods to buy a new overcoat, about the indifference of people. Below are quotes from the book “The Overcoat”.
How much inhumanity there is in man, how much ferocious rudeness is hidden in refined, educated secularism and, God! even in that person whom the world recognizes as noble and honest...
As for the rank (for we first of all need to declare the rank)
And the poor young man covered himself with his hand, and many times later in his life he shuddered, seeing how much inhumanity there is in man, how much ferocious rudeness is hidden in refined, educated secularism, and, God! even in that person whom the world recognizes as noble and honest...
The creature disappeared and hid, not protected by anyone, not dear to anyone, not interesting to anyone, not even attracting the attention of an observer and the nature of an observer not missing putting an ordinary fly on a pin and examining it under a microscope <…>.
.how much inhumanity is in man, how much ferocious rudeness is hidden in refined, educated secularism, and, God! even in that person whom the world recognizes as noble and honest.
The child was christened, and he began to cry and made such a grimace, as if he had a presentiment that there would be a titular councilor.
You need to know that Akaki Akakievich spoke mostly in prepositions, adverbs and, finally, particles that absolutely have no meaning.
..after all, you can’t get into a person’s soul and find out everything he thinks..
the official cannot be said to be very remarkable, short in stature, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, even somewhat blind in appearance, with a small bald spot on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of his cheeks and a complexion that is called hemorrhoidal...
There is nothing angrier than all kinds of departments, regiments, offices and, in a word, all kinds of official classes. Now every private person considers the whole society insulted in his own person.
..there will always be a circle of people for whom what is insignificant in the eyes of others is already significant...
You need to know that Akaki Akakievich spoke mostly in prepositions, adverbs and, finally, particles that absolutely have no meaning. If the matter was very difficult, then he even had the habit of not finishing his sentences at all, so that quite often, having begun his speech with the words: “This, really, is absolutely ...”, and then nothing happened, and he himself forgot, thinking that everything has already been said.
..So in holy Rus' everything is infected with imitation, everyone teases and makes faces at his boss..
The official's last name was Bashmachkin.
“There is a strong enemy in St. Petersburg of everyone who receives a salary of four hundred rubles a year or so.”
..Compassion was not alien to him; Many good movements were accessible to his heart, despite the fact that his rank very often prevented them from being discovered..
You need to know that Akaki Akakievich spoke mostly in prepositions, adverbs and, finally, particles that absolutely have no meaning.
“But even more remarkable is that from then on the appearance of the dead official completely ceased.”
..At dinner he drank two glasses of champagne - a remedy, as you know, that works well in promoting gaiety. Champagne gave him a disposition for various emergencies...
After all, you can’t get into a person’s soul and find out everything he thinks.
“Suddenly, rumors spread throughout St. Petersburg that at the Kalinka Bridge and far away a dead man began to appear at night in the form of an official, looking for some kind of stolen overcoat and, under the guise of a stolen overcoat, tearing off all sorts of overcoats from everyone’s shoulders, without distinguishing rank and title... »
...remained in that pleasant position, the better of which you can’t imagine for a Russian person, that is, when you yourself don’t think about anything, and yet thoughts themselves creep into your head, one more pleasant than the other, without even bothering to chase after them and look for them. .
His name was Akaki Akakievich.
“...One official served in one department; the official cannot be said to be very remarkable, short in stature, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, even somewhat blind in appearance, with a small ski on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of the cheeks and a complexion that is called hemorrhoidal.”
..he, like many who have a heroic appearance, felt such fear that, not without reason, he even began to fear about some painful attack.
“Leave me, why are you hurting me?”
...remained in that pleasant position, the better of which you can’t imagine for a Russian person, that is, when you yourself don’t think about anything, and yet thoughts themselves creep into your head, one more pleasant than the other, without even bothering to chase after them and look for them .
But there will always be a circle of people for whom what is insignificant in the eyes of others is already significant.
You need to know that Akaki Akakievich spoke mostly in prepositions, adverbs and, finally, particles that absolutely have no meaning.
He somehow became more lively, even stronger in character, like a man who had already defined and set a goal for himself.
“Leave me, why are you hurting me?”
His ordinary conversation with inferiors was stern and consisted of almost three phrases: “How dare you? do you know who you are talking to? Do you understand who is standing in front of you? However, he was a kind man at heart, good with his comrades, helpful; but the rank of general completely confused him.
So, one official served in one department; the official cannot be said to be very remarkable, short in stature, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, even somewhat blind in appearance, with a small bald spot on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of his cheeks and a complexion that is called hemorrhoidal...
how much inhumanity there is in a person
There is nothing angrier than all kinds of departments, regiments, offices and, in a word, all kinds of official classes. Now every private person considers the whole society insulted in his own person.
Akaki Akakievich did not indulge in any entertainment.
But there will always be a circle of people for whom what is insignificant in the eyes of others is already significant.
...the wind, according to St. Petersburg custom, blew on him from all four sides, from all alleys.
The child was christened, and he began to cry and made such a grimace, as if he had a presentiment that there would be a titular councilor.
one cannot say that he is very remarkable, short in stature, somewhat pockmarked, somewhat reddish, even somewhat blind in appearance, with a small bald spot on his forehead, with wrinkles on both sides of the cheeks and a complexion that is called hemorrhoidal... What to do! The St. Petersburg climate is to blame.
Leave me, why are you hurting me?
how much inhumanity there is in man, how much ferocious rudeness is hidden in refined, educated secularism, and, God! even in that person whom the world recognizes as noble and honest...
Compassion was not alien to him; Many good movements were accessible to his heart, despite the fact that his rank very often prevented them from being discovered.
...and many times later in his life he shuddered, seeing how much inhumanity there is in man, how much ferocious rudeness is hidden in refined, educated secularism, and, God! even in that person whom the world recognizes as noble and honest...
Akaki Akakievich spoke mostly in prepositions, adverbs and, finally, particles that absolutely have no meaning.
It is not enough to say: he served zealously - no, he served with love. There, in this copying, he saw his own diverse and pleasant world. Pleasure was expressed on his face; He had some favorite letters, which if he got to, he was not himself: he laughed, and winked, and helped with his lips, so that in his face, it seemed, one could read every letter that his pen wrote.
The creature disappeared and hid, not protected by anyone, not dear to anyone, not interesting to anyone, not even attracting the attention of an observer and the nature of an observer not missing putting an ordinary fly on a pin and examining it under a microscope.
And Petersburg was left without Akaki Akakievich, as if he had never been there.
how much inhumanity there is in man, how much ferocious rudeness is hidden in refined, educated secularism, and, God! even in that person whom the world recognizes as noble and honest...
The child was christened, and he began to cry and made such a grimace, as if he had a presentiment that there would be a titular councilor.
“Leave me, why are you hurting me?”
It is unlikely that anywhere one could find a person who would live like this in his position. It is not enough to say: he served zealously - no, he served with love.
He simply didn’t know what to do, where to put his arms, legs and his entire figure.
Akaki Akakievich was born against the night, if memory serves, on March 23rd.
So, one official served in one department; The official cannot be said to be very remarkable, short in 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 and a complexion that is called hemorrhoidal.
After all, you can’t get into a person’s soul and find out everything he thinks.
The creature disappeared and hid, not protected by anyone, not dear to anyone, not interesting to anyone, not even attracting the attention of a natural observer who would not allow an ordinary fly to be placed on a pin and examined under a microscope; a creature who meekly endured clerical ridicule and went to the grave without any extraordinary cause, but for whom nevertheless, although just before the end of his life, a bright guest flashed in the form of an overcoat, reviving his poor life for a moment, and upon whom misfortune just as unbearably fell how it fell upon the kings and rulers of the world...
Having written to his heart's content, he went to bed, smiling in advance at the thought of tomorrow: will God send something to rewrite tomorrow?
...and many times later in his life he shuddered, seeing how much inhumanity there is in man, how much ferocious rudeness is hidden in refined, educated secularism, and, God! even in that person whom the world recognizes as noble and honest...
It is unlikely that anywhere one could find a person who would live like this in his position. It is not enough to say: he served zealously - no, he served with love.
Minor Character Quotes
Since there are very few characters in the story, each one deserves attention. There is no way to do without this in the story. Petrovich, when he was a serf, trimmed his master. And now he works as a tailor, he has been mending clothes for a long time. And this tailor sewed him an old overcoat. But those times are long gone, the overcoat is so worn out that “nothing can be done.”
“Yes, more than three fifty hundred will have to be applied.” Petrovich .
— Having convinced the official of the need to purchase a new overcoat or have it sewn, he names the price, pursing his lips with importance.
“No, this will come out: killing work and wasting money,” Petrovich.
— He tells Akaki Akakievich important, after which he feels destroyed.
There is another, seemingly random character: the secretary. But he emphasizes with his rudeness the attitude of society towards such a petty official as Akaki:
“Where did you get such spirit? Where did you get these thoughts from?” Secretary .
The image and characteristics of Akaki Akakievich in the story “The Overcoat”: a description of appearance and character
- However, Akakiy was not embarrassed by this state of affairs. He wanted his things to serve him for as long as possible.
***
Oddly enough, despite all his diligence in work and diligent fulfillment of his duties, Bashmachnikov does not bother to have a good attitude towards himself.
***
His work colleagues laughed at him and made fun of him all the time. They discussed rumors about his seventy-year-old owner and that she was beating Takakiy Akakievich.
***
Completely upset, Akakiy Akakievich falls into the blues and is overcome by a fever. The humid climate of the city only contributes to the development of the disease and aggravation of its condition.
***
There was nothing left after him - all his things were in terrible condition and were of no value.
***
- His death went unnoticed by anyone - he was too small and insignificant a person in this life.
***
Chizhevsky became one of those researchers who debunked the postulate about the bureaucratic component of the story.
***
D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky, analyzing the image of Bashmachnikov, argued that Gogol raised an important topic in the story and drew people’s attention to the fact that “there are a legion of such Bashmachnikovs.”
In post-Soviet times, many scientists, specialists in Gogol’s work, for example, S. A. Goncharov, V. A. Voropaev, drew attention to the religious background of “The Overcoat”.
Now let’s try to figure out what was wrong with the “holiness” of Akaki Akakievich, why he broke down.
